Manly steamroll Broncos 34-10
Manly's star-studded backline pulled out the party tricks to lap up life at their home away from Brookvale Oval on Friday night by steamrolling Brisbane 34-10.
Down 10-4 at halftime in their official home match at Suncorp Stadium, the Sea Eagles produced a second-half scoring spree to continue their NRL momentum and move to second place on the standings.
Highlighted by one of the tries of the season to Daly Cherry-Evans, Manly turned on the power to score five converted tries after the break against the understrength Broncos.
It was their sixth win from their last seven matches and also fourth straight against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.
Missing star trio Darren Lockyer, Sam Thaiday and Justin Hodges (hamstring), Brisbane's next generation wilted badly under pressure as they slumped to their third straight loss.
Also without Ben Hunt, Josh Hoffman and utility Matt Gillett, Brisbane's greenhorn backline boasted an average age of just 21 and struggled to contain the Sea Eagles, especially on the left side where Will Hopoate crossed for a double.
In contrast, six of Manly's seven backs have representative experience, and the odd man out, halfback Cherry-Evans, finished with two tries in a starring hand.
Like NSW centre Michael Jennings in Wednesday night's State of Origin clash, Jamie Lyon ended his 2011 try drought with a brilliant AFL-type mark over Gerard Beale to put his side ahead in the 51st minute.
But if that was eye-catching, it had nothing on fullback Brett Stewart's effort to scoop up a Kieran Foran banana grubber with one hand and then off-load to Cherry-Evans in the same diving action for a decisive 28-10 lead.
The Sea Eagles also dominated the bulk of the first half but were kicking themselves when they went into the sheds 10-4 down after failing to convert their pressure.
A lone try to Hopoate, punishing a fumble by his wing rival Yow Yeh, from a slick left-side play was all Manly had to show for their toil.
Steve Matai appeared set to score in the same corner just before the break but was held up for several seconds before Yow Yeh knocked the ball free just as the centre went to ground it.
Matai's frustration doubled moments later when he conceded a dubious penalty at the other end for blocking Dale Copley, allowing Parker to kick his third goal for the six-point lead.
Manly immediately returned a rejuvenated side after the break and Tony Williams started the procession when he dotted down after Anthony Watmough laid the groundwork.
Broncos coach Anthony Griffin refused to make any excuses due to his personnel and was livid with the second-half effort, accusing his team of rolling over.
"We were in the game and leading the game at 10-4 ... but our effort in the middle of the ruck and some of the decisions we made, we just buried ourselves," Griffin said
"We did a good job to get ourselves in that position but we rolled over when the heat came on.
"The opposition went to another level and we just didn't go with them.
"I take nothing away from Manly, they were white-hot but we didn't throw much at them to put them off their game."
In his second match back, Broncos lock Ben Te'o finished the match with grave concerns over the arm he broke in round five and will have scans on Saturday.
Manly coach Des Hasler put the win in perspective considering the Broncos absentees but was particularly delighted with the freakish efforts of Lyon and Stewart.
"You need that, you need those players who come up with those special plays," he said.
"In the second half we stepped it up a little bit and played some patches of pretty good football."
Hasler praised captain Jason King's effort in returning from a first-half ankle injury and defended the NSW prop following harsh criticism of his Origin display.
"I think some of that was unwarranted," Hasler said.
"I thought he came back well tonight and was one of the best out there."
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