"By Ben Horne
The Manly Sea Eagles have stretched their unbeaten run at Brookvale Oval to seven; with a resounding 36-14 win over the Canberra Raiders. In front of a stellar crowd of more than 17,000, the Sea Eagles reversed a half-time deficit to crush the Raiders seven tries to two in an awesome display.
While the second-half saw Manly score thirty points through some brilliant attacking football, it was once again the strength of their defence and the dominance of their forward pack, which saw them emerge such convincing victors. Lock Ben Kennedy was rewarded for his powerful start to the year with a spot in the Australian Test squad selected last night, and he may be joined later in the rep season by teammates Anthony Watmough, Sam Harris, Steve Menzies and Brent Kite, who all continue to star for the high flying Eagles.
After Canberra veteran Jason Smith crossed for his side after just 12 minutes, the Raiders were effectively shut out of the contest by the hard-hitting Manly defence. Led by Watmough, Kennedy and Luke Williamson, who each made 79 tackles between them, the Sea Eagles were able to overwhelm the Canberra forwards. Enjoying the better of field position and possession in the opening half, the Sea Eagles struggled with their execution, scoring just once through centre, Steve Matai.
However the weight of possession finally took its toll in the second, as the Manly passes began to stick. The previously undefeated Raiders had no answer, as they were steamrolled by the home team.
Manly fullback Brett Stewart continued his prolific try-scoring form, crossing first in the 42nd minute, and again five minutes later to give his side a 16-8 lead. Keeping their foot firmly on the pedal, the big hits kept on coming from Watmough, Kennedy and co. physically punishing the Raiders. Manly received quality service from their bench all day, with the likes of Harris, Shayne Dunley and Kylie Leulaui all continuing the dominance of the Manly engine room during their stints on the field.
Captain Michael Monaghan marched under the posts almost untouched to extend the lead to 14, before the Manly defence once again aimed up to deny Canberra any chance of a late fight back. The Raiders threw everything they had at the Sea Eagles, mounting numerous sets on the Manly goal line. Matt Adamson crashed over in the 66th minute, but the Sea Eagles showed great concentration and intensity to prevent Canberra from scoring again.
In return for their commitment in defence, Manly finished the game with three dazzling tries to put the home-crowd in raptures. Scott Donald slid over in the 72nd minute, on the end of a crisp back-line movement, before Harris pounced on a Michael Witt cross-field kick to score. Then as if sun-bathed Brookvale couldnt get any sweeter, Steve The Beaver Menzies crashed over to ice the cake and cement Manlys place as equal Premiership leaders.
For the first time this season, Canberra were intimidated by a dominant opposition forward pack. Led by Watmough and Kennedy in particular, the Sea Eagles forced continual mistakes as the frustration mounted for the visitors. The game featured a number of minor scuffles, highlighting the Raiders annoyance as well as Jason Smith being placed on report for a dangerous throw and Clinton Shifcofske being sin-binned in the final moments.
While the Sea Eagles first half was riddled with mistakes, their second half performance showed all the makings of a finals-bound team. Defensively they were strong throughout, and patience with the football saw their attacking play flourish. The Sea Eagles are undefeated at Brookvale in 2005 and have turned the venue into the graveyard for opposition sides it once was. The Rabbitohs will make the journey across the Spit next week. "
www.mightyeagles.com
The Manly Sea Eagles have stretched their unbeaten run at Brookvale Oval to seven; with a resounding 36-14 win over the Canberra Raiders. In front of a stellar crowd of more than 17,000, the Sea Eagles reversed a half-time deficit to crush the Raiders seven tries to two in an awesome display.
While the second-half saw Manly score thirty points through some brilliant attacking football, it was once again the strength of their defence and the dominance of their forward pack, which saw them emerge such convincing victors. Lock Ben Kennedy was rewarded for his powerful start to the year with a spot in the Australian Test squad selected last night, and he may be joined later in the rep season by teammates Anthony Watmough, Sam Harris, Steve Menzies and Brent Kite, who all continue to star for the high flying Eagles.
After Canberra veteran Jason Smith crossed for his side after just 12 minutes, the Raiders were effectively shut out of the contest by the hard-hitting Manly defence. Led by Watmough, Kennedy and Luke Williamson, who each made 79 tackles between them, the Sea Eagles were able to overwhelm the Canberra forwards. Enjoying the better of field position and possession in the opening half, the Sea Eagles struggled with their execution, scoring just once through centre, Steve Matai.
However the weight of possession finally took its toll in the second, as the Manly passes began to stick. The previously undefeated Raiders had no answer, as they were steamrolled by the home team.
Manly fullback Brett Stewart continued his prolific try-scoring form, crossing first in the 42nd minute, and again five minutes later to give his side a 16-8 lead. Keeping their foot firmly on the pedal, the big hits kept on coming from Watmough, Kennedy and co. physically punishing the Raiders. Manly received quality service from their bench all day, with the likes of Harris, Shayne Dunley and Kylie Leulaui all continuing the dominance of the Manly engine room during their stints on the field.
Captain Michael Monaghan marched under the posts almost untouched to extend the lead to 14, before the Manly defence once again aimed up to deny Canberra any chance of a late fight back. The Raiders threw everything they had at the Sea Eagles, mounting numerous sets on the Manly goal line. Matt Adamson crashed over in the 66th minute, but the Sea Eagles showed great concentration and intensity to prevent Canberra from scoring again.
In return for their commitment in defence, Manly finished the game with three dazzling tries to put the home-crowd in raptures. Scott Donald slid over in the 72nd minute, on the end of a crisp back-line movement, before Harris pounced on a Michael Witt cross-field kick to score. Then as if sun-bathed Brookvale couldnt get any sweeter, Steve The Beaver Menzies crashed over to ice the cake and cement Manlys place as equal Premiership leaders.
For the first time this season, Canberra were intimidated by a dominant opposition forward pack. Led by Watmough and Kennedy in particular, the Sea Eagles forced continual mistakes as the frustration mounted for the visitors. The game featured a number of minor scuffles, highlighting the Raiders annoyance as well as Jason Smith being placed on report for a dangerous throw and Clinton Shifcofske being sin-binned in the final moments.
While the Sea Eagles first half was riddled with mistakes, their second half performance showed all the makings of a finals-bound team. Defensively they were strong throughout, and patience with the football saw their attacking play flourish. The Sea Eagles are undefeated at Brookvale in 2005 and have turned the venue into the graveyard for opposition sides it once was. The Rabbitohs will make the journey across the Spit next week. "
www.mightyeagles.com
