Manly, thanks to a helping hand from St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown, turned the National Rugby League form book on its head with stunning 38-12 win over the Dragons.

The Sea Eagles, who spent most of last week being vilified after an embarrassing loss to the Wests Tigers, raced in seven tries to overrun the hapless Dragons.

And their cause was given a leg-up by a bizarre incident involving Brown and his captain Trent Barrett in the second half of the game at WIN Stadium.

With the score locked at 12-12, Brown slapped Barrett across the face in an attempt to fire up his troops.

It proved a dismal failure, with the Sea Eagles racing in 26 unanswered points to well and truly bury the disappointment of last week.

"I was poor under pressure, so I probably can't expect them to be good under pressure while I'm being silly," Brown said.

The Sea Eagles moved into the top eight with the victory but they, along with everyone else in the league, are chasing the only side yet to lose this season - Canberra.

The Raiders kept their perfect record with an almost flawless first half on their way to a 36-22 win over Parramatta at Parramatta Stadium.

Brisbane, who along with Canberra were undefeated heading into the weekend, were beaten 32-12 by the New Zealand Warriors at ANZ Stadium.

The Raiders led 26-6 at halftime, but they paid a price for their victory, with prop Luke Davico suffering a groin injury and lock Terry Martin an arm injury.

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