{"id":423004,"date":"2024-09-22T21:40:24","date_gmt":"2024-09-22T21:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=423004"},"modified":"2024-09-22T23:07:56","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T23:07:56","slug":"how-30-seconds-of-rotten-luck-tore-manly-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=423004","title":{"rendered":"How 30 seconds of rotten luck tore Manly down"},"content":{"rendered":"

2023 finish: 12th | 2024 finish: 7th<\/p>\n

All the hard blood, sweat and tears of the past 10 months came crashing down in the first 30 seconds of Saturday night's elimination final for the luckless Sea Eagles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Centre Tolu Koula – the last-gasp hero of the win over the Bulldogs the previous week – was KO'd making the first tackle of the game and his night was over.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Aussie icon waves chequered flag as axe falls on Ricciardo<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Australia's richest race among six set for top upgrade<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeff<\/strong>How 'violent' JWH influence saved Roosters season<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Then on the second tackle, Jake Trbojevic was left seeing stars and while he returned after passing his HIA, he was a shadow of his usual shelf.<\/p>\n

\"Tolutau<\/p>\n

The Roosters, smelling blood in the water in the battle of the beaches, applied the pressure and after 30 minutes, the game was as good as over.<\/p>\n

The unprecedented opening left Manly fans wondering what could have been after an otherwise highly impressive season.<\/p>\n

Anthony Seibold<\/a> lifted the club from 12th to seventh on the ladder and on their day, the Sea Eagles had the strike power to match any attack in the league.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tommy Talau, one of the buys of the year, scored 18 tries, closely followed by brilliant fullback Tom Trbojevic (17), Jason Saab (12) and centre Reuben Garrick (10).<\/p>\n

The Manly back five oozed power and pace and thrilled the Brookvale faithful anytime rival defences were off their game.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Much was made of Tom Trbojevic<\/a>'s injuries late in the year but in a make or break season for the luckless fullback, he still managed 20 games, inspiring the team with his mere presence on many occasions.<\/p>\n

The Sea Eagles had a potent mix of youth and experience and provided both State of Origin captains – the ageless Daly Cherry-Evans<\/a> and Jake Turbo in a first for the game.<\/p>\n

DCE turns 36 next February but is the NRL's Peter Pan – he played 24 games and shows no sign of slowing down.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Halves partner Luke Brooks<\/a> proved a great signing, taking some of the kicking and playmaking pressure off DCE and he was rewarded with his first finals campaign after more than a decade of frustration at the Tigers.<\/p>\n

He was the only Sea Eagle to play all 26 games and revelled in Manly's fast, open style of play.<\/p>\n

Up front, Nathan Brown added plenty of aggression to the Manly pack that contained powerhouses like Haumole Olakau'atu, Josh Aloiai, Ethan Bullemore and Taniela Paseka.<\/p>\n

Ben Trbojevic stepped out of the shadow of his two older brothers and proved a first grader in his own right, shining at both centre and back row.<\/p>\n

Hooker Lachlan Croker was again one of Manly's best, getting the team going forward and invariably topping the tackle count.<\/p>\n

The club unearthed youngsters like hooker Gordon Chan Kum Tong, Lehi Hopoate and Clayton Faulalo who will develop into regular first graders in years to come.<\/p>\n

The Eagles haven't entered the player market because they know this current squad – given a bit of luck it was denied last weekend – has the makings of a title contender over the next couple of seasons.<\/p>\n

Best player:<\/strong> Luke Brooks played every game in his maiden season at Brookvale and ignited the attack with his pace and vision – a great signing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Needs to lift:<\/strong> Koula had a golden moment in the finals but his overall season's try tally – just seven from 21 games – will have disappointed both him and the coaching staff.<\/p>\n

Best signing:<\/strong> Local rugby union junior Joey Walsh has signed a three-year contract with the club and could be the long-term successor to DCE's halfback throne.<\/p>\n

2025 Gains:<\/strong> Joey Walsh (2027)<\/p>\n

2025 Losses:<\/strong> Bailey Hodgson (Leigh Leopards), Jamie Humphreys (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Karl Lawton (North Queensland Cowboys), Brad Parker (retired), Josh Schuster (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Aaron Woods (retired)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2023 finish: 12th | 2024 finish: 7th All the hard blood, sweat and tears of the past 10 months came crashing down in the first […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":423007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423004"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=423004"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":423014,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423004\/revisions\/423014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/423007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=423004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=423004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=423004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}