It's a boilover at Leichhardt as Wests Tigers return from being 16-0 to win 34-26 against a Manly Sea Eagles.
The game started with early pressure from the Tigers, but the momentum soon swung around to Manly. Off the back of two set restarts to catch the Tigers too far in on their left as Jason Saab goes over in the corner, and Rueben Garrick kicks the conversion to have it 6-0 in the 9th minute.
The Sea Eagles again made the Tigers pay for an offside penalty as Manly charged down the left side, and Lehi Hopoate went over for another try in his rookie year, and it was 10-0 in the 11th minute.
The Tigers put some pressure on the Manly line, and it was showing some promise. A Manly scrum from a Tigers error going at their line gave Ethan Bullemor space in the middle. His bust opened up the Tigers' middle, and Tom Trboivic came steaming in support to score Manly's third try and lead 16-0 in the 24th minute.
But an early six again gave the Tigers the room they needed to charge down the field. With too much pressure from set restarts, Manly folded as Api Korosai made a run from dummy half about 20 meters out from the goal line to pounce and give the Tigers a sniff at 16-6 in the 25th minute.
And only four minutes later, after another penalty for a dangerous tackle, the Tigers line formed up nicely, and a nuggety Heath Mason crashed and slid over the line to give the Tigers back-to-back tries and right back in the game at 16-12
With mounting pressure on their try line, the Manly Sea Eagles kept fouling in the ruck, and referee Peter Gough had warned captain Daly Cherry-Evans to get the boys to pull their heads in. Gough had seen enough as in the 36th minute; he sent Ethan Bullemor off for 10 minutes, much to the disgust of the Cherry-Evans. And the half ended on this dramatic note.
Only six minutes into the second half and, more drama ensued as Haumole Olakau'atu was found to come in high against Heath Mason as he returned the ball from a kick. The Bunker conferred with the ref and was sent to the sin bin as Bullemor ran back on.
Wests, at this time, also had to take Aiden Sezer off with a shoulder complaint, putting Latu Fainu into the game. And in no time, Fainu injected himself into the game with a sneaky no-look pass to a rampaging Alex Seyfarth, who ran 20 meters to score. With Api Korosai kicking for injured Sezer, the Tigers went in front 18-16 in the 49th minute.
An early knock-on from the restart by Jason Saab in his quarter of the field gave the Tigers another chance to pressure for a try. After some back-and-forth errors, the Tigers' last kick in the set pinballed into the Manly defence, and Ethan Bullemor could get his mitts on the ball as Latu Fainu scooped it up and made a charge for the goal line and scored. Tigers up 24 -16 after the successful conversion.
With the momentum all in the Tigers' favour, an awkward kick from Lachlan Galvin on the last ball had an even more awkward bounce for Tolutau Koula, as it bounced over his head and into the hands of Solomona Faataape, and Tigers were roaring 30-16.
Down on their luck in the 61st minute, Turbo took it upon himself to get the Sea Eagles back in the game by going over the line after some quick big yards. Rueben Garricks' kick put the Sea Eagles back in the game, trailing 30-22.
But as Manly looked to be getting back into the game, the Bunker found a swinging arm from Correy Waddell, and Manly were down to 12 men for the third time in the game with 13 minutes to go.
But the Sea Eagles showed resolve in the face of adversity. They made the most in the yards from an offside penalty to shift the ball right and from Olakau'atu into the hands of Tommy Turbo, who went over for his third, but Garricks' miss meant they were a try behind at 30-26 with 10 minutes to go.
It was back and forth as both teams were making breaks up the middle, but Manly broke twice when it seemed imminent they would score, with Saab unable to handle the balls that came his way and knocking on in the play the ball.
The Tigers finally clawed their way over in the 79th minute to seal the deal and win 34-26 in a great game at the 8th Wonder of the World.
Tom Trbojevic tried his hardest, but he found it hard to find too many partners in the second half as the game kept slipping through their fingers. For some reason, the Manly middle ruck went to jelly, and the Sea Eagles let themselves get behind the eight ball and being off their feet after playing with 12 men for 30 minutes.
The Tigers had too much tenacity; Galvin and the Fainu brothers were excellent, and their energy was contagious to the team. At the same time, the cool head of Koroisau guided them toward victory.
Before the game, West's coach Benji Marshall said if they follow the process, they will be rewarded; their completion rate was higher than Manlys', and the Sea Eagles left 39 missed tackles out on the field.
This gives the Wests fans and club the hope they will not get a third wooden spoon this year and, to top it off, a remarkable comeback win at the 8th Wonder of the World. Wests gets the bye in the next round.
Manly had a chance to secure a middle spot in the ladder but must be content with 7th. The Sea Eagles travel to Accor Stadium next round to take on the Canterbury Bulldogs.