Bulldogs, Waratahs and Sea Eagles enjoy victories on Saturday night

The Waratahs made surprisingly easy work of the Western Force in the end, running in three tries in each half for a cruisy 34-10 win.

The first half was a brutal, tightly contested affair, but the second was all NSW. They dominated just about every aspect of play, and rarely looked troubled in defence.

The Western Force, who’d promised so much early this season, were just not at the races in the second half. A lack of discipline was one of their main undoings. The final tally saw the Force lose the penalty count by a staggering 17-5, and the consistent foot-shooting gave NSW good territory and most of the possession, too.

Some will say the Waratahs have an easier draw than others, and that’s probably true. But you can only beat who is put in front of you, and NSW have done that, and must take advantage of the tailwinds now, given most of their Kiwi rivals are in the second half of the season.

Perhaps the best thing for Waratahs coach Dan McKellar is that a win was achieved without many of the names you’d assume are in his first-choice side: like Suaalii, Amatosero, Foketi.

And surnames like Grant (Ben and Jack), Gamble, O’Donnell and Talataina stood up.

Multiple wins and big performances from new faces and bench depth won’t be enough to elicit an outward smile from McKellar. But you can bet he’d be smiling on the inside.

The match was as good as over after 10 minutes when the home side led 14-0 courtesy of tries to Haumole Olakau’atu, Jason Saab and Ben Trbojevic.

The northern beaches’ locals packed out 4 Pines Park. You can sense their optimism.

If Trbojevic remains fit, the Sea Eagles can go all the way. Over recent years, fans have watched Trbojevic with their hearts in their mouths. His awful run of injuries has bordered on cruel.

But he was lovely to watch on a warm Saturday night, and at no stage did he struggle to get to his feet. He looked like a man who was enjoying himself on the field.

Coach Anthony Seibold said Trbojevic had taken a lot of confidence out of his return to international football at the end of last year, while the fullback himself said he was grateful he avoided any surgeries or injuries heading into the Christmas break.

Trbojevic somehow tapped the ball on from Olakau’atu to set up Saab for his four-pointer, then smashed his way through the middle of the Cowboys’ defence to gallop downfield and set up Ethan Bullemor for a try.

Saab was given the try assist with a kick for Reuben Garrick’s try in the second half, but it was the subtle work of Trbojevic to send Saab on his way, and then block a few Cowboys defenders from getting to his winger that made the difference.

The uncertainty surrounding what Daly Cherry-Evans does beyond this year means there is a sense of urgency at the Sea Eagles to get the job done. The last NRL player born in the 1980s is keen to play on, but until it is official, Manly will not die wondering.

Cherry-Evans was excellent in the commanding win. So were five-eighth Luke Brooks, Olakau’atu and Saab.

They head to New Zealand to take on the Warriors next weekend, then enjoy a run of games at home, including the Raiders and injury-hit Parramatta.

The Cowboys were always going to struggle when they had such little ball to start the game. They were not helped by a string of penalties to Manly, and did not receive their own penalty until after the half hour.