Dragons win 20-18 over Manly to hand Sea Eagles a third-straight loss
Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold has questioned the NRL schedule after his side was forced to play a third game in 11 days, with players only having 20 minutes of proper field sessions this week on the back of their long flight from Perth.
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Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold has slammed the NRL schedule after his side was forced to play a third game in 11 days, with players only having 20 minutes of proper field sessions this week on the back of their long flight from Perth.
Manly started very slowly in the first half of their 20-18 loss to the Dragons but clicked into gear after the break, with Seibold and skipper Daly Cherry-Evans not wanting to use the short turnaround as an excuse.
This year’s draw has been weirder than ever before with plenty of sides playing the same team twice in the opening rounds, while some clubs have copped brutal travel schedules all across the country and to Las Vegas.
The Sea Eagles have had plenty of games at home but have had to travel to Auckland and Perth already, with the club forced to back up on Thursday just five days after they played in Western Australia.
It capped a stretch of three games in 11 days, with the Sea Eagles to experience something similar from rounds 10-12 when they play three games in 12 days including a trip to Townsville.
Other clubs have also copped it, with the Raiders playing in Vegas, Townsville and Darwin in the opening six rounds.
“This is something I was going to say regardless of the result, but that’s five games in 25 days,” Seibold said.
“The NRL’s never been more demanding and we talk about player welfare and wellbeing and so on. I just don’t understand how not only is it five games in 25 days, if you narrow it down a bit more, it’s three games in 11 days.
“I see it’s the same with other clubs, I see the Raiders with their schedule and the Sharks schedule.
“But if you just look at us for a minute, three games in 11 days and then we lose two days in the air to Perth, you know, it’s a five-hour trip each way, so there’s another two days down.
“I don’t understand it. The competition is demanding and it’s never been more demanding. The GPS data is through the roof this year.
“So I’ve got to say I just don’t understand that. I think it’s something that needs to be looked at.
“It’s certainly not an excuse for how we play because I felt as though we competed really hard at the end, and you don’t do that if you don’t have energy, but it’s something that needs to be looked at.
“I don’t know how that comes about; playing Perth on Saturday, flying back Sunday, and then we turn around on a Thursday night.
“We had 20 minutes on the field this entire week, so it’s difficult. I’ve seen other teams with it as well, so it’s not just us, it’s across the competition and needs to be looked at.”
The Sea Eagles will be without Jake Trbojevic next week after he suffered category one symptoms following a head knock early in the contest, while Nathan Brown (AC joint) and Tommy Talau (lower leg) are also in doubt.
Toff Sipley also faces a nervous wait after he was sent to the sin bin for a hip drop, but Cherry-Evans says it was an accident and that the match review committee needs to factor in that he suffered a head knock and lost his feet as a result.
Manly slide continues as Dragons survive scare to sink Sea Eagles
A Tyrell Sloan double has lifted the Dragons into the top eight after they survived a spirited second-half comeback from the Sea Eagles to pick up their second win at 4 Pines Park in 17 years.
The 20-18 scoreline flattered the home side who played their best footy when they were down to 12 men but were totally outplayed by the Dragons in the first half, with St George Illawarra’s big men having a field day through the middle.
Jack de Belin and Toby Couchman caused all sorts of problems for Manly in the opening 20 minutes, with Sloan eventually opening the scoring after some slick work from Clint Gutherson.
The visitors held a slender 8-0 lead at the break and looked set to run away in the second half when Sloan raced away for his second, but the Sea Eagles roared back into the contest after they were reduced to 12 men.
But after blowing a couple of big leads earlier this season, the Dragons lifted when it mattered most with a gutsy short side raid from Lachlan Ilias ending up with Kyle Flanagan who found Jacob Liddle who burst through to put them back in front.
“I thought our attitude and effort was first class,” Shane Flanagan said, proud of how his side dug deep despite losing a few players to head knocks and injury.
“I thought they tried hard under some really difficult circumstances.”
The Sea Eagles then cut the gap to two points thanks to a high-flying Jason Saab, but Reuben Garrick missed the sideline conversion.
The home fans thought they’d stolen it with a few minutes to go when Luke Brooks pounced on a loose kick to score, but Toff Sipley was offside and interfered in the play to kill off the comeback.
O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?
Thursday night’s match showed how badly the Sea Eagles need Tom Trbojevic back in the team, with the superstar fullback a chance of returning next week from his knee injury.
Trbojevic hasn’t played since the round four win over the Eels, with Manly lacking his presence in attack even though Lehi Hopoate was outstanding at the back.
While ‘Turbo’ could be back next week, the Sea Eagles will be without Jake Trbojevic after the workhorse lock was dazed following a tackle gone wrong on David Klemmer, with the Blues skipper to be out for the mandatory 11 days.
The Sea Eagles need all hands on deck after their third-straight loss without their main man at the back to fix their attack, with their eleventh error of the night leading to Sloan’s second try.
“Turbo is a chance,” Anthony Seibold said.
“He’s been running. He’s done two runs and has another run on Saturday morning so he’s a good chance.”
SUPER SLOAN
This was Sloan’s best game of the season and came at the perfect time with fellow winger Christian Tuipulotu out injured.
The speedster scored twice, made three line-breaks and ran for 209 metres with plenty of physical carries coming out of trouble.
That’s what coach Shane Flanagan wants to see from a man who is brimming with freakish natural talent.
“He’s a tough kid,” Flanagan said.
“He’s putting his hand up for the tough stuff at the back end of the field.”
HIP DROP DRAMA
The Sea Eagles could be down another forward for next week’s game against Penrith after prop Sipley was sent to the sin bin for an ugly hip-drop tackle on Dragons winger Mat Feagai.
It looked at first as if Feagai had been hit high, but replays showed Sipley got his tackle technique wrong and landed on the back of his foot.
Feagai was in agony and had to be helped from the field, with the Sea Eagles actually outscoring their rivals 8-6 with a man in the bin.
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Originally published as Dragons win 20-18 over Manly to hand Sea Eagles a third-straight loss
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