Round 13
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 42 d. Sydney Roosters 0

2008 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Manly demolish Roosters
Mon June 9, 2008
Source: www.manlyseaeagles.com.au

In round seventeen last season Manly demolished the Sydney Roosters 56-0 at beautiful Brookvale Oval. It was the type of occasion that made one proud to be associated with the club whether you were fan or player. You did however have that feeling that it was the kind of result that only came once in a blue moon.

Judging by today's outcome, blue moons are appearing frequently on the northern beaches.

Last year's clash pitted Manly, second only to Melbourne at the time, against the Tri-Colours who were propping up the table. The lopsided scoreline therefore was not surprising but this Centenary season meet produced a tally that shocked even the most ardent Sea Eagle.

As the boys ran onto the turf, they were welcomed by a guard of honour from the players' fathers and it was announced that Steven Bell was celebrating his 50th match in maroon and white.

Seven minutes later, in dire conditions and on the back of a strong all-round opening, he had the opening try. The forward pack led like they always do and the halves were catastrophic inside the opposition red zone. Bell found space and using his trademark step drew first blood.

From the restart, Brent Kite and Glenn Stewart made metres and when Brad Fittler's side attempted a charge-down, Manly had six more. At the conclusion of the set, Orford went for the line and without looking, passed to Josh Perry who returned the ball. So many Roosters had committed to the tackled player that 'Ox' found space on the right and delivered the killer ball to Steven Bell.

Two tries to Bell inside three minutes. What a way to commemorate 50 matches for your club and what a way to begin a match against the NRL leaders.

In the opening quarter the Chooks hardly saw the football; at one point the possession stat was 73-27 Manly's way. And at one point there were four line dropouts inside ten minutes.

The Sea Eagles weren't perfect, making their first error near nineteen minutes but from the scrum, the opposition knocked on. The excuse of 'it was wet out there' was not going to wash with coach Fittler.

His team was missing several representative stars but on paper it was still a strong outfit, with Mark O'Meley and David Shillington providing the grunt up front and the regular halves pairing of Mitchell Pierce and Braith Anasta intact.

As the Roosters were fast learning however, on paper and in reality are two very different things. They were a shadow of the side that had the second best points differential in the comp and after twenty minutes, had hands on hips and heads focused on shoelaces.

One sour note was a Shillington tackle on Stewart that looked okay but put the second rower on the deck for a lengthy period. He went off, never to return as the record-equalling Steve Menzies entered the fray.

The record is most matches for the Sea Eagles, with 334 and the record belongs to Max Krilich, the hooker who between 1970 and 1983 represented club, state and country, making more appearances for the Silvertails than anyone before or after him.

With 'Beaver' on the side our confidence levels rose and it wasn't too long before the next try materialised. Lyon passed terribly to his winger David Williams but it fooled two Roosters who slipped and gave the beared former Eel enough room to manoeuvre and plant it down with authority.

For all our dominance, we only led 14-0 at the break. It should undoubtedly have been more but Hasler would be more than happy at the exuberant opening against the '72 Grand Final opponents.

Each and every Sea Eagle had worked tirelessly and given their all for the next player in the line. No one can be singled out for being weak, just as no one can be singled out for being brilliant because it was the overriding team cohesiveness that was on display on Pittwater Road.

On 44 minutes, Nick Bradley-Qalilawa bombed a certain try after sublime play by Orford and Luke Williamson on the fringes but it was a minor blemish because four minutes later, Orford scored another. It went from Orford to Perry to Menzies to Lyon to Orford, each pass better than the last. A sign of a good leader is when he starts something and sees it through to the end.

You wouldn't want to leave your seat though because at 20-0, we were just getting started.

Steve Menzies hacked the ball out of Shaun Kenny-Dowall's loose carry before it flew into the waiting grasp of Jamie Lyon who sped to the line untouched. The Manly fans on Family Hill greeted him with open arms and loved the effort from the former International.

Keep standing and applauding because a couple of sets later, we had another try. The play - which will go down as the best of the day, if not the season ? began when Orford spun it out to Lyon who instantly sent it straight to Robbo. He then sped twenty metres before waiting and squaring low for Menzies. The versatile fan-favourite then summed it all up and hit Watmough with the try-assist, the second rower sticking his arm high in the air on the way to the tryline - "YEE HA!"

Mickey Paea was placed on report in the 59th minute for a high shot on Perry. He valiantly soldiered on and was in the thick of it just two tackles later. The tackle may have bounced off the chest but he will still have a case to answer for when the match review committee take a look at this one.

If you thought Perry was dizzy after that hit, the Roosters' heads must have been spinning after the next Manly try. Orford ran laterally before handing it to Bradley-Qalilawa who should have been ushered into touch but instead walked but four faltering fowls. He even centred the try as another slipped in his wake. Next week Fittler's boys are opening Roosters on Ice but I'd suggest some practice beforehand!

Video Referee Chris Ward was called into action for the first time in the 65th minute as David Williams and Kenny-Dowall were in a foot race for the ball after Lyon's kick early in the count was placed in-goal with pinpoint accuracy.

There were cats and dogs pouring on Brookvale in the final ten minutes but rain, hail or shine, the Mighty Sea Eagles were alert, prepared and unrelenting in front of 13,842 drenched but delighted supporters.

Eight tries to nil, 42 points, a complete performance. There are no nice ways to put it for the Bondi lads; it's just the awful truth and a not too flattering scoreline that will stare them in the face for a while yet.

For Manly, Luke Williamson was quiet but effective, topping the tackle count with 23 and Michael Robertson's temporary home at the back failed to halt his form, the 25-year old making 159 metres. Josh Perry, Anthony Watmough and Brent Kite were the leading forwards, making 13, 11 and 10 hitups respectively. 'Choc' also made a remarkable 10 tackle breaks, almost double the next closest. The halves of Orford (11 kicks for 280m) and Lyon (6 kicks for 208m) were a leading light, always in-sync with each other and their teammates.

Manly will end the round in second spot but this is effectively a four point match as the bye is welcomed in round fourteen. We are now competition frontrunners with a for and against that will be extremely handy come the latter rounds this season and is now the envy of the league.

News Source: www.manlyseaeagles.com.au


Manly NRL and NYC teams for Roosters clash
Tue June 3, 2008
Michael Robertson will fill-in at fullback for Manly's top of the table showdown against the competition leaders Sydney Roosters this Sunday at Brookvale Oval.

Brett Stewart was the only Manly player selected for NSW today with Brent Kite and Jamie Lyon both missing out. Kite was one of the players vying for the vacancy created by the injury to Ben Cross, but the selectors opted for Newcastle's Steve Simpson instead. Joel Monaghan has been placed on standby for Jarryd Hayne and Mark Gasnier should one of them withdraw from the Blues side.

The Sea Eagles have teamed up with Bowel Cancer Australia in the fight against Australia's second biggest cancer killer. Only lung cancer kills more people.

The Delmege and Penn families, co-owners of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, have generously given up their naming rights and rear jersey sponsorship for the match, so that the Institute can promote the week.

The player's fathers will form a guard of honour at the match as players come onto the field.

Now in its 9th year, Bowel Cancer Awareness Week is a national initiative of Bowel Cancer Australia. For further information visit www.bowelcanceraustralia.org

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles v Sydney Roosters
Brookvale Oval
Sunday 8th June 2008
3:00pm

Sea Eagles (NRL):
1 Michael Robertson
2 Steve Bell
3 Jamie Lyon
4 Steve Matai
5 David Williams
6 Steve Menzies
7 Matt Orford (c)
8 Brent Kite
9 Matt Ballin
10 Josh Perry
11 Anthony Watmough
12 Glenn Stewart
13 Luke Williamson

Subs:
14 Heath L'Estrange
15 Glenn Hall
16 Vic Mauro
17 Mark Bryant
18 Nick Bradley-Qalilawa
19 Shane Neumann
(two to be omitted)

Coach: Des Hasler

TOYOTA CUP
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles v Sydney Roosters
Brookvale Oval
Sunday 8th June 2008
12:45pm

Sea Eagles (NYC):
1 Rhys Wolloghan
2 Trent Reilly
3 Mark Page
4 Matt Grieve
5 John Grey
6 Kieran Foran
7 Daly Cherry-Evans
8 Inoke Tapaatoutai
9 Brad Bennett
10 Ilija Radan (c)
11 Darcy Lussick
12 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
13 Kenny Edwards

Subs:
14 Jai Jones-Wiegold
15 Zac Bowles
16 Cameron Woo
17 Michael Tiopira
18 Todd Wilson
20 Bodie O'Connell
(two to be omitted)

Coach: David Penna

Tue June 3, 2008
• Minichiello back for the Roosters
  

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