SeaEagleSI1
Reserve Grader
In a classic Sunday afternoon at North Sydney Oval, the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles secured a comfortable 38-18 win, posting seven tries to the North Sydney Bears’ three.
It was a great start for Manly, who received a penalty on the first run of the game. When Simione Laiafi was held up over the line at the end of the set, itwas a sign of things to come for Manly, who spent the majority of the first half in attacking territory.
Before long, the Sea Eagles found their first points of the day when Hugo Hart busted through the line and offloaded the ball to Joey Walsh, who crossed the line with ease.
The Bears were back in hot water defending their line shortly after, but after a knock-on from Michael Chee Kam and a penalty conceded by Brandon Wakeham and Navren Willett, they got to start a set just five metres shy of halfway. Jake Toby took control and slung a great cut-out ball to Israel Ogden,who found some space and put a grubber through. After Manly tried to trap and scrap the ball it ended up back with the Bears who were now in prime real estate. With a full set in the red zone, Toby put another cut-out ball on a dime for Ogden and he levelled the scores.
The following period was tightly contested, with both sides working their way up-field and holding their lines. It wasn’t until Semisi Kioa made a big breakoff an offload that the momentum shifted in Manly’s favour once more. From there, Chee Kam burrowed his way over the line with plenty of traffic to move through.
From there, the flood gates started to open. In Manly’s next attacking raid, Willett seemed set to get wrapped up off the back of an uninspired shift, but against the odds he freed his arm and found Clayton Faulalo, who showed great skill to dive in the corner.
Late in the half, the Sea Eagles found a cherry on top when Willett produced a try of his own. Working off very limited space following another shift, he took to the air for a spectacular finish that sent the boys in maroon and white into the sheds with a 16-point lead.
North Sydney were determined to close the gap and fought hard in the opening stages of the second half, but Manly were doing a good job on shuttingthem out. The Bears also held strong holding the Sea Eagles out during this period, making for an arm-wrestle.
Neither side really got a leg up in the second half until Faulalo came up with an intercept whilst defending his line, and got wrapped up less than 10 metres out. As most of the Bears weren’t back onside yet, it was simply a matter of shifting the ball left, where Joey Walsh showed some dancing feet before hitting Chee Kam for his second of the afternoon.
Desperate to get themselves back into the contest, North Sydney were going for short restarts. Whilst they were successful, they didn’t result in any points for the Bears. After winning their
first, they were attacking Manly’s line, but Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega scooped a grubber up and went the length of the field to make it back-to-back Sea Eagles tries.
When Hugo Hart made it three straight tries in the set that followed, victory seemed too far out of reach for the Bears. Despite this, they still made sure to have a crack for the fans out at North Sydney Oval. They produced two tries late in the contest to give them something to cheer about, with Sean Vaivelata and Riley Meyn scoring late to soften the scoreboard. Full-time, 38-18.
Talking points
- Semisi Kioa had a blinder, busting tackles, breaking the line, or at the very least finding plenty of metres every time he ran the ball.
- The Bears’ new-look spine has been far from convincing. They seem to miss Kieran Hayman’s presence in the halves, whilst Jake Toby seems to be more effective from the fullback position.
- Joey Walsh was entertaining to watch this afternoon, taking any opportunity on offer to showcase his elusive footwork.
Key moment
Clayton Faulalo’s intercept in the second half was where the game was won. This play led to Chee Kam’s easy try on the next tackle, and off the back of the momentum Manly ran in two more tries in back-to-back sets. After these three tries in six minutes, there was simply no coming back for North Sydney.
It was a great start for Manly, who received a penalty on the first run of the game. When Simione Laiafi was held up over the line at the end of the set, itwas a sign of things to come for Manly, who spent the majority of the first half in attacking territory.
Before long, the Sea Eagles found their first points of the day when Hugo Hart busted through the line and offloaded the ball to Joey Walsh, who crossed the line with ease.
The Bears were back in hot water defending their line shortly after, but after a knock-on from Michael Chee Kam and a penalty conceded by Brandon Wakeham and Navren Willett, they got to start a set just five metres shy of halfway. Jake Toby took control and slung a great cut-out ball to Israel Ogden,who found some space and put a grubber through. After Manly tried to trap and scrap the ball it ended up back with the Bears who were now in prime real estate. With a full set in the red zone, Toby put another cut-out ball on a dime for Ogden and he levelled the scores.
The following period was tightly contested, with both sides working their way up-field and holding their lines. It wasn’t until Semisi Kioa made a big breakoff an offload that the momentum shifted in Manly’s favour once more. From there, Chee Kam burrowed his way over the line with plenty of traffic to move through.
From there, the flood gates started to open. In Manly’s next attacking raid, Willett seemed set to get wrapped up off the back of an uninspired shift, but against the odds he freed his arm and found Clayton Faulalo, who showed great skill to dive in the corner.
Late in the half, the Sea Eagles found a cherry on top when Willett produced a try of his own. Working off very limited space following another shift, he took to the air for a spectacular finish that sent the boys in maroon and white into the sheds with a 16-point lead.
North Sydney were determined to close the gap and fought hard in the opening stages of the second half, but Manly were doing a good job on shuttingthem out. The Bears also held strong holding the Sea Eagles out during this period, making for an arm-wrestle.
Neither side really got a leg up in the second half until Faulalo came up with an intercept whilst defending his line, and got wrapped up less than 10 metres out. As most of the Bears weren’t back onside yet, it was simply a matter of shifting the ball left, where Joey Walsh showed some dancing feet before hitting Chee Kam for his second of the afternoon.
Desperate to get themselves back into the contest, North Sydney were going for short restarts. Whilst they were successful, they didn’t result in any points for the Bears. After winning their
first, they were attacking Manly’s line, but Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega scooped a grubber up and went the length of the field to make it back-to-back Sea Eagles tries.
When Hugo Hart made it three straight tries in the set that followed, victory seemed too far out of reach for the Bears. Despite this, they still made sure to have a crack for the fans out at North Sydney Oval. They produced two tries late in the contest to give them something to cheer about, with Sean Vaivelata and Riley Meyn scoring late to soften the scoreboard. Full-time, 38-18.
Talking points
- Semisi Kioa had a blinder, busting tackles, breaking the line, or at the very least finding plenty of metres every time he ran the ball.
- The Bears’ new-look spine has been far from convincing. They seem to miss Kieran Hayman’s presence in the halves, whilst Jake Toby seems to be more effective from the fullback position.
- Joey Walsh was entertaining to watch this afternoon, taking any opportunity on offer to showcase his elusive footwork.
Key moment
Clayton Faulalo’s intercept in the second half was where the game was won. This play led to Chee Kam’s easy try on the next tackle, and off the back of the momentum Manly ran in two more tries in back-to-back sets. After these three tries in six minutes, there was simply no coming back for North Sydney.
