Some would say it was lucky, others would say that it was their persistence. Whichever one you say it was though, it is the two points that matter – as the Manly Sea Eagles scored a last-minute win against the Brisbane Broncos, winning 24-22 at Suncorp Stadium.
It was David Williams who crossed the line for Manly, as the left edge of the Brisbane Broncos defence struggled all night with the fast play of Manly, led by Glenn Stewart and Jamie Lyon.
It was clear that the left edge missed the impact of Justin Hodges in both defence and attack, as replacement centre Matt Gillett, normally a second-rower – struggled with his defence in the centres.
It was an off-night with the boot for the normally reliable Corey Parker, as he missed all 4 of his conversion attempts – something that we very rarely see from him.
“It certainly kept us in touch,” Sea Eagles skipper Jason King said.
“We scored one try and they scored three and the difference was only four points. Unluckily for him he had a tough night with the boot.”
The only downside for Manly in their victory, was second-rower Anthony Watmough, a NSW Origin hopeful – leaving the field with what appeared to be an arm injury.
Geoff Toovey was full of praise for his side’s resilience, as they won their third straight game.
“It was a quality game and there was a bit of luck – no doubt about that,” coach Geoff Toovey said.
“We showed a lot of character to stay in there. There was some fantastic tries scored.”