Manly claim stunning
comeback at Brookvale

Round 20
Manly Sea Eagles 32 v Penrith Panthers 30
at Brookvale Oval
Referee: Jason Robinson

Match Summary:
The Manly Sea Eagles have staged a remarkable comeback against the Penrith Panthers, winning by 32-30 at Brookvale Oval this afternoon.

The game began in modest fashion with Penrith opening the scoring through centre Luke Lewis in the 4th minute before the Sea Eagles responded in the 11th minute via stand-in fullback Michael Robertson.

The game ebbed and flowed for a while as both teams found each others measure and began testing their mettle. But it seemed the Manly club would struggle as Penrith piled on two quick tries through Frank Pritchard (25th minute) and Rhys Wesser (31st minute).

Combined with an injury to lock Ben Kennedy, things were looking grim for the home side and the Panthers struck again through zippy five-eighth Preston Campbell as the halftime hooter sounded, heading to the sheds with a 24-6 advantage.

With BK seemingly gone for the game, few people gave the Sea Eagles any hope of coming back, but whatever was said at halftime had a profound effect. One can only assume that Manly revisited the result from last year?s clash between the two clubs where they came back from a 20-point halftime deficit to claim victory and used that as motivation to attack the Penrith lead.

And attack they did, opening the second half with three quick tries to Glenn Stewart, Paul Stephenson and Chris Hicks all within the opening ten minutes of the second stage to draw equal with the Panthers at 24-all. At that point they were again boosted by the return of Ben Kennedy, whose cork to the thigh had settled down.

The Manly club pressed ahead in the 57th minute, taking the lead for the first time in the match with replacement winger Mitch Creary scooting away down the touch line to score. Leading 30-24 the Sea Eagles began to close the game down and play a more conservative brand of football.

Penrith hit back in the 63rd minute through some individual brilliance by Man of the Match Preston Campbell, who ducked and weaved passed a few defenders to score under the posts, setting up a thrilling finish to the game.

Sadly it was an indiscretion in the play the ball that decided the fate of the match, with Burns potting a penalty in the 73rd minute allowing Manly to hold on.

It goes a long way to solidifying the Sea Eagles wares however, and they now sit in 5th spot with plenty of players to return from injury in the coming weeks. They travel to Parramatta next week to take on the Eels in what should be a cracker of a game.

Penrith are now in 11th spot and it?s looking harder each week for them to make the semis. They host the Warriors in Round 21 who are coming off the bye, giving them a good chance of getting back on the road to the finals.


Scorers:
Manly Sea Eagles: 32
Tries: Chris Hicks, Paul Stephenson, Glenn Stewart, Michael Robertson, Mitch Creary
Goals: Travis Burns 6/7
Penrith Panthers: 30
Tries: Preston Campbell(2), Luke Lewis, Frank Pritchard, Rhys Wesser
Goals: Preston Campbell 5/5

By the Clock:
Beautiful day here at Brookvale Oval for this crunch game between Manly and Penrith.

Changes: Brett Stewart is out for the Sea Eagles, with Michael Robertson dropping back to the custodian's role. Mitch Creary comes into the side at wing.

Penrith are as per the program.

1 min: NEWS Preston Campbell for the Panthers kicks-off.

4 min: TRY Penrith Panthers
The visitors open the scoring for the day through Penrith centre Luke Lewis. He's done well to evade several defenders close to the line and score. Michael Monaghan is down in backplay with a sore head and is leaving the field. Shane Dunley is now on the field. Preston Campbell lines up the conversion and adds the extras.
Panthers 6-0

8 min: NEWS Luke Lewis has left the field with a knee injury, sustained in the same passage of play as the one that claimed Monaghan.

9 min: NEWS Both teams are muscling up here and Manly are starting to warm to the contest.

10 min: NEWS Manly surging into the Penrith half with strong runs by Kennedy & Dunley having an impact.

11 min: TRY Manly Sea Eagles
Pressing the line, Manly spread the ball wide with some dummy runners, finding Michael Robertson making the extra man and scores for the hosts. Travis Burns hooks the conversion and the scores remain.
Panthers 6-4

12 min: NEWS Injury update: Monaghan has a broken nose and is getting some stitches. Apparently he'll be back on the field. Not so good for Lewis though, he's got knee ligament damage and is unlikely to return today.

15 min: NEWS Manly on the attack, just being held out by the Panthers and getting repeat sets through goal line dropouts.

20 min: PENALTY GOAL Manly Sea Eagles
Burns slots a penalty from right in front after an indiscretion in the play the ball to level up the scores.
6 all.

23 min: TRY Penrith Panthers
Penrith hit back through barnstorming backrower Frank Pritchard who ran over the top of five-eighth Travis Burns, who's having a mixed game here today. Campbell adds the extras and the visitors are looking healthy here today.
Panthers 12-6

29 min: NEWS Monaghan is back on the field for Dunley.

31 min: TRY Penrith Panthers
Campbell gets the ball on the right side of the field, steps inside Robertson and finds Wesser is support who beats Creary at the back. Nice try and the Panthers are looking very good here. Campbell adds the extras and the visitors have opened up a 12-point lead.
Panthers 18-6

35 min: NEWS Kennedy down in backplay with a knee injury after popping a pass. Nothing going right for the Sea Eagles today as they're penalised for a mid-air tackle on Campbell. BK leaves the field in a fair bit of pain.

37 min: NEWS BK riding a bike on the sideline, so his injury can't be too bad.

40 min: TRY Penrith Panthers
Penrith running away with the game here just before halftime. Rhys Wesser makes a break on the short side, exposing some flimsy defence, before striding away to the fullback and picking up Campbell on the inside. Campbell kicks another on the stroke of the halftime siren and the Panthers have a handsome lead.
Panthers 24-6

40 min: NEWS Halftime: Penrith are in command here at Brookvale after playing some great footy and taking advantage of all their opportunities.

Manly are suffering from their extended injury toll, which is understandable, but their top 8 aspirations are on the line here and they need to put in a big effort.

41 min: NEWS The Sea Eagles restart play for the second half.

42 min: TRY Manly Sea Eagles
The Sea Eagles are straight on the attack after Glenn Stewart swoops on a chip kick from Orford right under the posts as the Panthers seem to fall asleep at the wheel. Burns converts and we've got a game on our hands.
Panthers 24-12

47 min: TRY Manly Sea Eagles
Big comeback on the cards here as Leuluai busts them up the middle, passes to Hicks who finds Stephenson and the Sea Eagles are charging home in the early part of this second half. Burns converts and this game has been turned on it's head.
Panthers 24-18

49 min: TRY Manly Sea Eagles
An unbelievable comeback here! Rhys Wesser loses the ball one-on-one to Orford who flicks the ball back to Burns. Hicks gets his hands on it out wide and speeds away to score. Burns equalises from close to touch and there's a real buzz around the ground now.
24 all.

50 min: NEWS Kennedy is getting ready to come back on.

57 min: TRY Manly Sea Eagles
Matai makes a huge break down the flank and finds replacement Creary backing up to score, capping a remarkable comeback in the second half. Burns converts from the sideline and the home team are pumping.
Sea Eagles 30-24

63 min: TRY Penrith Panthers
Some individual brilliance gets the Panthers back on a level footing with a sparkling try, stepping through the line and scoring under the posts. He converts his own try and we've got a great final 15 minutes to come.
30 all.

73 min: PENALTY GOAL Manly Sea Eagles
Frank Puletua gives away a silly penalty close to the sticks opening up a safe passage for Burns to kick them clear by 2. He does so, despite the attention of Clinton and Wesser who attempted to put him off.
Sea Eagles 32-30

80 min: NEWS Manly complete an amazing comeback here at their Fortress home ground, defeating the Panthers by 32-30 after trailing by 24-6 at halftime.

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Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 - Preston Campbell
2 - Travis Burns
1 - Chris Hicks
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