In a Nutshell
Parramatta showed a great improvement from their 50-point mauling by Sydney Roosters a week earlier but were unable to hold Manly out at the death, as the Sea Eagles won 22-18
How it unfolded
Manly were without superstars Brett Stewart and Kieran Foran, but that didn’t stop them taking an early four-point lead with a Steve Matai try, and David Williams had a second try turned down by the video referee on ten minutes.
The Sea Eagles went into the break 10-0 ahead, after Peta Hiku went over from dummy-half for a try converted by Jamie Lyon.
But in the opening ten minutes of the second half the Eels came roaring back with unconverted tries by exciting wingers Vai Toutai and Semi Radradra, and Manly were starting to wobble.
After combining with Matai, Lyon put eight points between the teams with a converted try. But the Eels weren’t done, and Radradra scored his sixth try in three games, followed by Nathan Peats going over, with Joseph Paulo landing his first conversion, giving the Eels a 16-18 lead with seven minutes remaining.
But the Sea Eagles snatched it at the death, with Matai grabbing the crucial try, converted by Lyon, to give them a last-gasp victory against a much-improved Parramatta.
A full review of all this weekend’s NRL action will feature in Monday’s edition of Rugby League Express.
