NRL roundup: Tom Trbojevic puts on show in big Manly win
Tom Trbojevic showed why he could one day finish as Manly’s finest ever fullback as he put on a clinic to help the Sea Eagles to a 32-6 flogging of Canterbury. Trbojevic scored a double and set up another three tries in Manly’s big win, as he seemingly emerged from the lockdown a better player than he went in.
The Manly No 1 looked a step above on the Central Coast, as the Sea Eagles controlled the match from the outset and never looked in any real danger. It condemned the listless Bulldogs to their worst start to a season since 1996 at 0-3, as they simply had & nbsp; no answer to the Trbojevic show.
The Sea Eagles No 1’s predecessor Brett Stewart was widely regarded as Manly’s greatest ever fullback when he retired in 2016 alongside Graham Eadie. But there is every chance 23-year-old Trbojevic could finish better than both of them if he keeps on his current trajectory.
He opened the scoring in the fourth minute when some nice hands from Curtis Sironen put Moses Suli free, before he found Trbojevic back inside him. His next try came courtesy of his brother Jake, who put on a perfectly timed short ball with Trbojevic trailing behind him just before the line to make it 8-0.
The Manly ace then backed it up again before and after the break to put Brad Parker over twice and Jorge Taufua once. Parker’s first try came when Trbojevic held the ball up before the line and went short to him, while his next came off the back of a long break downfield.
Taufua, meanwhile, was the beneficiary of a long cut-out ball from Trbojevic on the left edge. Dylan Walker and Daly Cherry-Evans also both impressed in the halves for Manly, while Sironen was also rewarded for a good night with a try on the right edge.
Meanwhile, Canterbury only had themselves to blame as they broke Manly’s line just once and were lucky not to lose by more as Reuben Garrick kicked just two from seven. Four times they had errors while attacking
Manly’s line in the opening 20 minutes, before Jake Averillo got their only try late when he ran onto a Lachlan Lewis grubber.
Meanwhile, Manly hooker Danny Levi became the first man to be sinbinned and penalised under the NRL’s new ruck rules, for holding down in the final minute as the Sea Eagles defended their own line.
Newcastle fell just short of pulling off one of the club’s bravest wins in recent memory after playing out a 14-all draw with Penrith in Campbelltown.
The Knights’ prospects looked grim the moment Connor Watson (ankle) followed Mitchell Pearce (concussion) down the tunnel by the 10th minute on Sunday. Newcastle defied their injury toll to reel in the two-try deficit to force golden point, however neither side could nail a combined eight field goal attempts.
Both teams remain undefeated after three rounds, sitting below Parramatta and Canberra following the first week back after the Covid-19 lockdown.
There were plenty of heroes on both sides, with Knights youngster Chris Randall finishing with 60 tackles on debut. Panthers wingers Josh Mansour and Brian To’o combined for a mammoth 538 metres between them, while Api Koroisau had a game-high 61 tackles.
The Knights looked set to enter half-time down two men and two tries before Jacob Saifti gave them some hope with a four-pointer just prior to the break. Their confidence only lifted when they defended five straight sets on their tryline. But it was not until Bradman Best made the most of a Tim Glasby offload to cross soon after that Newcastle were within sight of pulling off an unlikely upset.
Panthers rookie Matt Burton missed two good looks at field goal, while Knights counterpart Kurt Mann also hit one wide, in the final 10 minutes. Burton had a third chance early in the extra period but hit the upright before the ball fell to Koroisau standing offside.
Best had a supreme chance to find the match-winner after the Panthers rushed Hoy on his next shot, but his pass to Lee went over the touchline. Burton had a fifth chance in the 89th minute but his shot also sailed wide.
Already without the suspended Kalyn Ponga, the loss of both Pearce and Watson left Mann as the Knights’ only playmaker for the contest.
The “visitors” showed plenty of defensive ticker, twice holding Penrith over the line before Viliame Kikau crashed through for opening points in the 19th minute. The Panthers threatened to run away with the contest when Kurt Capewell slipped through soon after for an eight-point try.
The bunker found Knights winger Edrick Lee had kicked Capewell after scoring, giving back-up kicker Stephen Crichton two looks at goal. But Penrith struggled without their own suspended star in Nathan Cleary, and conceded on the final play of the half to a rampaging Saifiti.