Sea Eagles shot down by star’s dire injury blow and Dogs mauling

“He just got his shoulder in an awkward position there,” Seibold said. “So I’d expect that he’d have an operation, when appropriate, so we won’t see him again this year ... it was always a calculated risk, the medical staff said.

“Obviously with a player of his quality and standing in our team, we wanted to pursue that risk. We didn’t want to worry about next year. We wanted to worry about what’s in front of our face.”

The 26-year-old’s injury capped off a costly day for the Sea Eagles, who were playing for a spot in the top eight.
Instead they remain ninth and face a dogfight to qualify for the post-season.

Canterbury, on the other hand, are flying high after three straight wins and looking good for a top-two berth in the play-offs.

“The great thing was everyone played their role, and then we get a team performance like that,” Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo said. “That’s what we’ve been trying to build towards. When everyone plays their role and does their job, we’re a strong team.”

Ciraldo warned that the Bulldogs still have plenty of scope for improvement. His side led 12-4 after a bruising first half that featured some brutal body contact.

The opening try of the game came from an unlikely source - Canterbury prop Sam Hughes - who was on the spot in the 14th minute when Jason Saab spilled a towering Matt Burton bomb The ball bounced opportunely for Hughes, who charged 12 metres to score.

Canterbury were in again in the 30th minute when they worked a set play and quick hands from Connor Tracey and Stephen Crichton created a metre of space for Jacob Kiraz, which was all he needed to finish in the corner. Crichton converted both tries from the sideline.

Playing in his 100th NRL game, Saab made amends for his costly fumble by scoring in the 38th minute, after centre Tom Trbojevic roved from one side of the field to the other to throw the final pass.

There was a nasty incident late in the first half when Bulldogs centre Bronson Xerri copped a Viliame Kikau boot flush in the face as they attempted to make a tackle. A bloodied Xerri was taken off for a head-injury assessment but was cleared to return.

Manly fullback Lehi Hopoate kept his team in the game in the 50th minute with a trysaving tackle that forced Tracey to put a boot on the sideline as he dived for the in-goal area. There was no such let-off for the Sea Eagles five minutes later, when halfback Lachlan Galvin again combined with Tracey and Crichton to send Kiraz over for his second try.

Crichton’s conversion left the Sea Eagles 18-4 in arrears and playing catch-up. Xerri was next to get his name on the scoresheet, powering over and stretching out to touch down between the posts.

Ten minutes later, Xerri was in again after beating attempted tackles from Trbojevic and Saab to score in the corner. The procession continued in the 73rd minute when former Newcastle winger Enari Tuala crossed for his first try in Canterbury colours.

Hughes iced an emphatic win in the 77th minute when he crashed over for a double. Crichton was perfect with the boot, landing all seven conversion attempts.

There could be further dramas for Manly after prop Matthew Lodge was placed on report for a high tackle on Jaeman Salmon late in the second half.

The result sent the majority of the 25,801-strong crowd home happy on a day in which the Bulldogs honoured the team who beat Manly in the 1995 grand final.