Cherry-Evans bites Sharks at the death
the right man, absolutely, in his bid to start a Kiwi league revolution. It will go down as one of the most significant signatures in the history of our sport.
When it comes to RTS, I believe we are witnessing the emergence of a great New Zealand sporting career, a player who will be talked about with reverence beyond league for many years to come. The Cronulla Sharks failed to advance their top four prospects by copping a shock 33-32 defeat to the Manly Sea Eagles.
Daly Cherry-Evans was the hero for the Sea Eagles, kicking a left-footed field goal early in golden point extratime to seal a thrilling win.
The Sharks hit the lead halfway through the second half as Matt Moylan barged over from close range to give Cronulla a 32-26 lead.
But with five minutes left, a deft kick from Cherry-Evans for secondrower Joel Thompson saw the Sea Eagles lock up the score and gave the Manly skipper the stage to snatch a famous victory.
“It was pretty lucky,” Cherry-Evans told NRL.com. “[I was] disappointed I missed the first one in regulation time so it was nice to get a second chance. Often in rugby league you don’t get a second chance.” It was Cherry-Evans’ 18th career field goal.
In the other game of NRL Sunday, the Penrith Panthers were also in danger of a slip up after an underwhelming first half against the Canberra Raiders, but fired late to steal a 40-31 win.
It was another incredible comeback for Penrith, overturning a 14-point second-half deficit to claim their 13th win of the season.
Raiders centre Joseph Leilua crossed over for a hat-trick, while winger Jordan Rapana also pitched in with his ninth try in nine games against the Panthers. But it wasn’t enough for the Raiders who sunk to their 12th loss of the season.
Penrith mounted their comeback from the 26-12 halftime deficit through a Dean Whare try in the 46th minute, only for Leilua to score his third to increase the Raiders lead back to 30-18.
Tyrone Peachey’s converted try closed the margin to six with 20 minutes to go before Sam Williams nailed a field goal to give the Raiders a 31-24 lead. But the Panthers scored the final 16 points, with James Maloney running through the posts in the 78th minute — completing a 28-point second half and another great escape.