Sea Eagles go down to Souths in wet

A brave Manly Warringah Sea Eagles suffered a 14-0 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium tonight in round 16 of the Telstra Premiership.

In a lacklustre game in front of over 10,000 fans in wet conditions during the Origin period, the Sea Eagles trailed by eight at half-time in an effort full of merit against a more experienced team.

Missing 12 established players through Origin, suspension, and injury, Manly Coach Anthony Seibold gave lock Caleb Navale his NRL debut with Aitasi James and Aaron Schoupp making their club debuts.

Tommy Talau started the game at five-eighth, Schoupp at centre and Karl Lawton  in the second-row after being named at half earlier in the week.

South Sydney centre Richard Kennar opened the scoring in the 9th minute with their first visit into Manly’s half for a 4-0 lead. 

The Rabbitohs went to an 8-0 lead when full-back Jye Gray dived over for the home side in the 20th minute. 

Manly continued to push for points but struggled to adjust in the wet weather with several errors.

The Sea Eagles shot out of the gates in the second half but poor handling errors continued to be the side’s worst enemy. Lawton broke through the line with a strong run and attempted to pass out wide to Talau, with the ball unfortunately hitting the ground.

Manly’s woes continued as they were denied by the bunker in the 64th minute. Talau found his way through the line and dived over, but the decision was called back for an obstruction.

Talau was placed on report for a shoulder on Jai Arrow with three minutes remaining. South Sydney then scored in the next set through Keaon Koloamatangi for the 14-0 win.

Following a bye next week, the Sea Eagles travel to Townsville to take on the North Queensland Cowboys in Round 18 of the NRL Telstra Premiership at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, on Saturday July 6, at 7.35pm. 

Rabbitohs 14 (Tries: Kennar 9’, Gray 20’, Koloamatangi 78’. Conversions: Walker 1/3) d Sea Eagles 0