A Reuben Garrick hat-trick led the Sea Eagles to a 28-16 win over the Roosters in Gosford on Friday night.
The Sea Eagles are now two from two under new coach Anthony Seibold and have put themselves in the box seat to take home the Pre-Season Challenge title after collecting 14 points on the night.
Manly sit on 29 points on the ladder with the Sharks, Warriors, Bulldogs and St Helens all on 14 ahead of their Round 2 games over the weekend. One of those sides will need the full 15 points to join Manly a force a countback.
A fast start from Manly had them on the board after just four minutes through Kelma Tuilagi after Brad Parker flew high to tap a cross field kick down to the back-rower.
Cooper Johns then launched a pinpoint cross field kick of his own three minutes later for Reuben Garrick to regather but Roosters winger Corey Allan's scramble defence was enough to force Garrick into touch.
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Come the 15th minute and Garrick wouldn't be denied after some slick hands from Josh Schuster and Tuilagi gave him a clear passage to the corner. The winger converted his own try for a 10-0 Manly lead.
The Roosters lost Joseph Suaalii to a head knock in the 18th minute before the Sea Eagles stretched their lead to 16-0 when Tolu Koula showcased his speed and footwork to grab Manly's third try.
In the 35th minute the Roosters looked to have their first try but Drew Hutchison was penalised for a double movement.
Garrick grabs two
Garrick made it a double just before half-time after Schuster and Weekes handled in the build-up and Manly took a 20-0 lead to the sheds.
Five minutes into the second half the Sea Eagles had their fifth try and a bonus point when hooker Gordon Chan Kum Tong exploded out of dummy half and found Weekes who sent Garrick away to complete his hat-trick.
The Roosters finally got on the board in the 65th minute when Nat Butcher stormed onto a Hutchison pass from close range to make it 26-4.
Brandon Smith put Lindsay Collins over three minutes later before a 60-metre raid was finished off by Tuipulotu Katoa to make it 26-16.
A penalty goal to Garrick with five minutes to play made it 28-16 as Manly rounded out the pre-season in style and set their sights on the Bulldogs in Round 1.
Butcher gets one for the Chooks
Match snapshot
- The Sea Eagles picked up 12 points for the win and two bonus points for scoring five tries and making six line breaks.
- Roosters skipper James Tedesco sat out the second half after making 85 metres from eight runs in the opening 40.
- Tolu Koula had a superb night for Manly with a try, two line breaks and 154 running metres.
- The Sea Eagles won the line break count 6-3.
Tuilagi crosses for the Sea Eagles
- Roosters centre Joseph Suaalii left the field in the 18th minute for a HIA after getting his head in an awkward position trying to tackle Haumole Olakau'atu. He failed the HIA and was ruled out of the rest of the game.
- Manly centre Brad Parker copped a couple of knocks to his mouth and was sent for a HIA in the 33rd minute. He was unable to stop the bleeding and sat out the remainder of the game.
- Sean Keppie had a good night for Manly with 115 metres from 12 runs.
- The Sea Eagles lost seven games in a row at the end of the 2022 season, including a 20-10 loss to the Roosters, who won their last eight on the trot.
Manly piling on the points
Play of the Game
Give Tolu Koula an inch and he'll take a mile. The 20-year-old centre was at his dazzling best in the 25th minute after Cooper Johns took the odds to running the ball on the last and linked with Haumole Olakau'atu who found Koula. The flyer put a sweet move on Junior Pauga before finding fellow young gun Kaeo Weekes in support. The 21-year-old fullback got away from Sandon Smith and sent the ball back inside to Koula who raced away for the try.
Koula puts on the after burners
What They Said
"We just wanted to get the little things right and I thought we did that, especially in the first half. It has been a really good two weeks for the club and hopefully we can take it into the start of the competition. Seibs has been great, his attention to detail has been great. He has brought a good feel to the place. Tom is going really well. That trip overseas was great for him and he has come back in a really good frame of mind." - Sea Eagles lock Jake Trbojevic
"You want to come out and start the year well and we didn't do that. It was pretty embarrassing that first half. We don't have [Luke] Keary or Sammy [Walker] so it's not ideal... it would have been good to have us all together our here building that connection but we've got a couple of weeks to go. We've got a bit to work on but it's only a trial." - Roosters skipper James Tedesco
What's Next
The Roosters expect Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Luke Keary and Sam Walker back on deck for their season opener against the Dolphins at Sunorp Stadium on March 5 while star centre Joey Manu is considered a 50-50 chance with a facial injury.
The Sea Eagles will have superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic up and running in a fortnight for their Round 1 clash against the Bulldogs at 4 Pines Park.