Manly fumes over late Bunker controversy as Eels survive wild 52-pt thriller: What we learned
It was end-to-end action at CommBank Stadium, but the Eels managed to stave off an early Sea Eagles attacking barrage to win 28-24.
To start the game it was one-way traffic, with Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans running riot and creating breaks on the right side of the field.
Trbojevic scored the first four-pointer from a Reuben Garrick kick, before a simple Jaxson Paulo try handed Anthony Seibold’s men a 14-0 lead inside 12 minutes.
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But Brad Arthur’s men came back strong, scoring three tries within 16 minutes to get themselves back into the game.
The first came from a Mitchell Moses kick, which landed in the lap of centre Will Penisini after the Sea Eagles failed to contest the ball.
Moses then got his own name on the score sheet before Blaize Talagi then crossed on his NRL debut in a moment that was labelled ‘special’ by Fox League’s Corey Parker.
On the stroke of halftime Reuben Garrick scored, which was sparked by Trbojevic, handing Manly an 18-16 lead at the break.
From there, the Sea Eagles were stopped from scoring on multiple occasions, with Dylan Brown’s floated pass finding Morgan Harper for the first of the second half.
Kelma Tuilagi also crossed from a Moses short ball, before controversy marred the game.
Trbojevic broke through the middle of the park at a crucial points in the clash, trailing by 10-points, finding Tolu Koula to score.
But upon review, the Bunker ruled Jake Trbojevic had obstructed Eels forward Luca Moretti, despite both players walking.
The call left both Fox League’s Andrew Voss and Corey Parker stunned, and after another Sea Eagles try to Corey Waddell, the four-pointer could have proven to be the difference.
“That is not obstruction, he has clocked off and given up,” Voss said.
“That is a hard one,” Parker said.
“The look says it all from Seibold. It is a difficult one. They have been consistent with it.”
To close out the game, Manly’s Josh Aloiai was also sent to the sin bin for an open hand strike.
Read below for all the big talking points out of Sunday afternoon’s clash!
TALAGI’S ‘SPECIAL MOMENT’
It’s a moment no NRL player will ever forget, and Blaize Talagi now has a first grade try next to his name only 32 minutes into his career.
Off the back of a scrum, the young gun found himself with clear air after a smart play from both Dylan Brown and Mitchell Moses.
With only one man to beat, Tom Trbojevic, Talagi showed he’s up to the task and charged straight at the representative star, bowling him over to score.
“Talagi, what a moment for the young man on debut, going over the top of Trbojevic there close to the line,” Michael Ennis said.
“Such a special moment on debut, the kid… catch and pass there, Mitch Moses still had plenty to do and that’s a special moment,” Corey Parker said.
Talagi won the SG Ball competition with the Eels in 2023 and a year earlier played for the Australian Schoolboys side. He also only played two NSW Cup games before his debut.
After scoring, Fox League’s cameras also panned to a massive crowd of Talagi’s friends and family who celebrated his four-pointer in emotional scenes.
“Blaze is over on debut, and the bus load of fans among the crowd at CommBank are celebrating,” Andrew Voss said.
“The family and friends get to share that moment, fantastic. You’re on your way young man, you’re on your way.”
OBSTRUCTION PROVES THE DIFFERENCE
An obstruction ruling with 15 minutes to go was the pivotal play of an absorbing fixture in front of 20,354 fans.
Eels utility Luca Moretti jogged across field and purposefully bumped into a stationary Jake Trbojevic as Tom Trbojevic burned into a gap and fed a beautiful spiral ball for flying Tolu Koula who scored under the posts.
Yet Senior Review Official Chris Butler ruled that Moretti was denied a chance to put a tackle on Trbojevic.
The ruling was technically correct, though Moretti appeared to be more chance of stopping daylight saving.
Fox League caller Andrew Voss said: “He wasn’t denied a chance to make the tackle because he wasn’t in a position to make the tackle.”
“He is not putting any effort in,” Voss added.
“That’s correct, but the simple fact that he makes contact with Jake Trbojevic. Moretti is done. He has clocked off.
“That is not obstruction, he has clocked off and given up.”
A converted try would have meant the Sea Eagles trailed by two points. Instead, Parramatta had a penalty. When it was followed by a penalty goal it took the Eels out to a 10-point lead which proved a match-winning buffer.
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EELS’ CLASS PREVAILS
It was an incredibly tight affair, but Michael Ennis believes the Eels’ halves pairing proved the difference with two big plays just after the break.
The first came from Dylan Brown who threw a lofted pass to find Morgan Harper. Then Mitchell Moses chimed in with a bullet to find Kelma Tuilagi on the charge.
The pair of tries proved to be the difference in the end, outside of a controversial Tolu Koula try that was denied for the Sea Eagles.
“The Parramatta halves were very classy to start that second half,” Michael Ennis said.
Moses in particular was excellent at CommBank Stadium, recording three try assists, a linebreak and three linebreak assists to almost certainly lock up six Dally M points.
He also won the kicking battle over his opposite halfback, Daly Cherry-Evans, contributing 141 more metres off the boot.
Ennis predicted pre-game that for the Sea Eagles to have any chance of winning, they needed to stop Moses from dictating terms with his kicking and they failed to deliver.
“The Moses kicking game is a factor, Moses kicks more than anyone… Moses does 95 per cent of the kicking,” Ennis said.
“For Manly to win, they are going to have to do a job on Moses’ kicking game.”
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