Bulldogs fall in nail-biter at Brookvale
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A late field goal to Daly Cherry-Evans has helped guide the Sea Eagles to their first win of the season with a 13-12 victory over Canterbury in torrential conditions on Sunday night.
In a scrappy contest, the Bulldogs levelled the scores with nine minutes to go before Cherry-Evans took advantage of a Braidon Burns error late in the match to slot home a one-pointer from 22 metres out.
On a night the Sea Eagles paid tribute to the late Bob Fulton with the unveiling of the northern grandstand named in his honour, it was the visitors who shocked the home crowd early with two tries inside 14 minutes to take an 8-0 lead.
Bulldogs halfback Brandon Wakeham, a late inclusion for the side, regathered his own kick to opening the scoring in the first minute.
The Bulldogs then extended their lead when new recruits Burns and Matt Dufty linked up on the right edge.
Turbo gets his first of the season
Manly needed to be next to get on the board and did three minutes later with Brad Parker and Reuben Garrick combining to send Tom Trbojevic over for his first try of the 2022 season.
For all of Canterbury's good work in the first half, the Sea Eagles took a two-point lead into the break with former Bulldog Kieran Foran sending Garrick over on the edge.
Match snapshot
- The Sea Eagles took a 12-10 lead into the break despite completing at 62 percent (compared to Canterbury's 91%) and having only 45 percent possession.
- Bulldogs halfback Brandon Wakeham was a late inclusion, replacing Jake Averillo in the No.7 jersey. He responded with a try.
- Bulldogs playmaker Matt Burton missed a crucial conversion from next to the posts in the first half in what turned out to be a costly miss.
- Canterbury lost Jack Hetherington to a partial shoulder dislocation in the first half and will require scans on Monday.
- Sea Eagles fullback Tom Trbojevic returned to form with a try and over 202 metres for the match.
- Manly coach Des Hasler celebrated his 250th win in the NRL.
- The Sea Eagles produced 16 errors compared to Canterbury's 10 for the match.
Dufty kicks for Burns
Play of the game
The Sea Eagles didn't deserve to lead at half-time but found some spark in the 39th minute to cross through Reuben Garrick with a nice 'harbour bridge' pass from Kieran Foran landing nicely in the winger's hands.
Foran pass all class
What They Said
"I'm disappointed for the players. They're trying their guts out. Trying hard. Few little lessons there for us. That try before half time hurt. That was one we didn't need to give away and shouldn't have given away and to ultimately lose the way we did by a point - a lot of lessons there for us around game management." - Canterbury coach Trent Barrett.
"We spoke about [the ball handling] a little bit as far as how we managed possession. It's funny, it's more the platform you set off the back of your defence which ultimately is going to have a big impact on how you get momentum. You can't always be blaming errors, it's just how you garner what possesion you have and how you treat it." - Manly coach Des Hasler on his side's error rate while playing some adventurous footy despite the wet weather.
What's Next
Manly will host the Raiders at Mudgee's Glen Willow Oval in round four next Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs will have a seven-day turnaround before travelling to Melbourne to take on the Storm at AAMI Park. It will be a homecoming of sorts for former Storm winger Josh Addo-Carr with the fan-favourite to take on his old club.
