Manly survive Dragons fightback to claim victory at WIN

Things appeared ominous for the home side when Manly scored three times in the opening 16 minutes – the last of which came from a kick-off – but to their credit, the Dragons rallied and led early in the second half before being overrun.

Sea Eagles winger Reuben Garrick dove over from a Jason Saab bat back in the sixth minute to open the scoring, and Tom Trbojevic sliced through on the right edge with just 15 minutes on the clock to increase the lead to 10-0. 

But it was a long-range breakaway from the ensuing kick-off, finished off by Garrick, that had loss number six firmly on the cards for the Dragons as they trailed 16-0 after as many minutes. 

Facing the prospect of heavy defeat, the Red V lifted, and a sneaky Luciano Leilua try off a penalty tap from close range ignited a spark just 10 minutes before half-time.

Jacob Liddle increased the intensity of the contest when he joined from the bench and was rewarded soon after with a try from dummy half, and when Daniel Atkinson grubbered to the corner in the final seconds of the half, it appeared Setu Tu may have tied the scores. 

But the winger dropped the ball while trying to ground it, leaving the score 16-12 at the break. 

Tu made up for the error four minutes into the second stanza when he finished off a shift to the right, with the possession coming via a Liddle one-on-one strip. The try and subsequent Valentine Holmes conversion gave the Dragons the lead at 18-16.

But the joy was short-lived with Sea Eagles prop Kobe Hetherington crashing over under the post in the 54th minute to get the lead back. A Lehi Hopoate try with 15 to go put the visitors 10 points clear and ultimately out of reach.

“It was definitely an improvement,” Head Coach Shane Flanagan said.

“I thought we competed really hard. We had our opportunities. I think the confidence is probably low… I thought attitude and effort was there; execution probably down a touch.”

The Dragons next take on South Sydney at Accor Stadium on Saturday, April 18th.