Broncos coach Anthony Griffin accused his undermanned side of rolling over as Manly's star-studded backline ran riot in a second-half blitz at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.

Despite being without seven of his full-strength team, including Queensland State of Origin duo Darren Lockyer and Sam Thaiday, Griffin offered no excuses for their capitulation to lose the NRL match 34-10.

Brisbane had been ahead 10-4 at halftime but could not cope with Manly's intensity and pressure as they took their game up two gears to lap up life at their home away from Brookvale Oval.

Highlighted by one of the tries of the season to Daly Cherry-Evans, Manly scored five unanswered converted tries to notch their sixth win in seven matches and move into second place on the NRL standings.

"We did a good job to get ourselves in that position (at 10-4) but we rolled over when the heat came on," Griffin said.

"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."

Manly coach Des Hasler described his side's first half as scratchy as they dominated but failed to convert pressure into points.

It turned around immediately after the break as Tony Williams crossed in the 45th minute and then the dam-wall burst when Jamie Lyon gave the Sea Eagles the lead 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.

"You need that, you need those players who come up with those special plays," said Hasler.

It was the second try of the match for Brisbane-product Cherry-Evans, the only member of Manly's backline not to play representative football.

In contrast, Brisbane's greenhorn backs boasted an average age of just 21 and were no match for their rivals once they won the fight up front, especially on the left side where Will Hopoate also crossed for a double.

NSW prop Jason King's forgettable week continued in the first half when he limped off with a worrying ankle injury but he returned to play out the game.

Hasler defended his captain following the harsh post-Origin criticism, labelling it unwarranted.

"I thought he came back well tonight and was one of the best out there."

King would not comment about the scathing assessments of his effort in the Blues' 16-12 loss but was buoyed he could play out Manly's win and remained hopeful of being cleared by scans on Saturday.

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 also have scans on Saturday.

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