The Sea Eagles can return Tom Trbojevic to fullback, but it doesn’t mean they’ll start winning matches.
That much was clear on Friday night as Manly suffered their third consecutive defeat with a 28-12 loss to the Raiders, and their hopes of playing finals football all but slipped away.
And, hopes were high, especially after a Tolu Koula line break led to a try for Trbojevic in the third minute of the match.
But after the opening three minutes promised so much, the following 77 delivered so little for the Sea Eagles, as the Raiders stifled their attack and a hat-trick for Ethan Strange led Canberra to their 17th win of the season – returning them to the top of the NRL ladder as they eye-off the minor premiership.
Daly Cherry-Evans and Trbojevic will be having nightmares about Strange and his left-foot step for the rest of the season, as two of the game’s most experienced players were schooled by a 20-year-old playmaker who is well on his way towards a NSW debut.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was glowing in his praice for Strange and the future he has in the NRL, Origin and international arena.
“I’ve got a very strong opinion of Ethan, and I’ve got a very strong opinion of where he’s going to go as a player. If you have a look at his game today to where he started with us a year and a half, two years ago, he’s still only 25-30 games I suppose into his career. He’s got an unbelievable future in front of him,” Stuart said.
“I think he will play for Australia this year and he’ll be our next five-eighth for NSW, and I don’t sit here gloating, I don’t sit here as a happy coach saying that, I firmly believe that. He’s got Origin attitude, the way he defends, the way he runs the football. He’s got the qualities of a representative player already as a young person.”
Manly coach Anthony Seibold said the team didn’t lack effort.
“We worked really hard with regards to our kick-chase, we really suffocated them there for long periods of time, making [Jamal] Fogarty kick from inside his 40 for a lot of their sets,” Seibold said.
“But the thing we weren’t good enough was a little bit of accuracy in our attack down attacking their line, and then we gave I think four yardage penalties which gave them field position, and they were able to capitalise.
“When you’re playing against the team that’s sitting first and a really consistent side like the Raiders, you’ve got to be squeaky clean with your discipline.”
The Sea Eagles weren’t without opportunity, and the game threatened to crack wide open after Canberra fullback Kaeo Weekes was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul on Luke Brooks. But not even that could inspire a resurgence from the Sea Eagles and the Raiders’ defence rallied to prevent any points being added during the 10 minutes they were down a man.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Manly, who only went into the sheds at half-time down by four points and took a narrow lead in the second half after Koula scored.
But Canberra looked like they wanted it more. When Jed Stuart or Xavier Savage made a break, Strange, Seb Kris or Weekes were always there in support, while Trbojevic and Brooks were often caught with the ball in their hands but no one to pass it to.
Ethan Bullemor was close to the Sea Eagles’ best on field, and his battering-ram style of play through the middle helped lead to Koula’s try, but Manly’s forwards ran out of puff on a cool night in the nation’s capital.
That was made even harder when Jake Trbojevic was knocked out with 23 minutes to go, but the game was wrapped up by then, and even more so when Kris pounced on a loose pass and ran away to score.
The Raiders have the bye next week, but a lazy shoulder charge from Corey Horsburgh with six minutes on the clock could see him in trouble with the match review committee and potentially sidelined for Canberra’s clash with Penrith in two weeks time.
As for Manly, their lack of consistency this season made finals football seem like a dream, but it’s even more of a fantasy following their display on Friday with the team likely needing four wins from their final four matches if they’re any hope of making the top eight.
“The reality is we can’t look around anywhere else, we have to be so focused on what’s ahead,” Cherry-Evans said.