Caretaker coach Jim Dymock paid tribute to his side's battling qualities despite the Bulldogs' 27-16 loss to Manly all but ending their chances of a top-eight NRL finish.

Having controlled the game for long periods, the Bulldogs were frustrated by some tremendous defence from second-placed Manly, who maintained their 100 per cent record at Brookvale in 2011, running in four tries to three in front of a crowd of 12,250.

The 10th-placed Bulldogs are two points outside the finals spots, but have a hugely inferior points differential to South Sydney and Newcastle, who sit directly above them on the ladder, and Dymock conceded his side's season was all but over.

"It's out of our hands now ... a couple of decisions didn't go our way today, they tried their heart out, but Manly deserved their win," Dymock said.

"They are second for a reason and to beat them at Brookvale is pretty tough.

"We had plenty of opportunities in the first half and to Manly's credit, their scramble defence was excellent and defensively they are a great outfit.

"To get to top four you have to hit hard and scramble well and they handled it well.

"Our boys, to their credit, gave their all, and done themselves proud, they are a young side and hopefully they can come away with something from the last two games and get a couple of wins."

Dymock felt the `Dogs should have been awarded a penalty try midway through the first half as they piled the pressure on the Sea Eagles, with Kieran Foran marched to the sin bin after tackling David Stagg without the ball, to deny what would have been a certain four points.

"Bloody oath I thought it was a penalty try! It would have been nice to have get the try and have him spend 10 minutes in the bin, but what can you do?" he said.

Dymock also felt his side lost their edge when former Sea Eagle halfback Trent Hodkinson limped off with a suspected broken leg early in the second half.

Hodkinson had been impressive on his return to the club he left at the end of last season, and will undergo scans on Monday to determine the full extent of the injury.

"The last few games Hodko has stood up and led the side around well," Dymock said.

"When he went off we lost our rudder. He was a big loss, but we had others who could fill in like Kris Keating.

"They think it is a suspected fracture, he'll have scans and MRIs tomorrow when we will know more."

Manly coach Des Hasler did his best to play down his side's victory and playfully denied he was aware of their opponents on Friday when Melbourne visit for a game that could not only decide the minor premiership, but also act as a dress rehearsal for the grand final.

"It was their season and they played accordingly," Hasler said.

"They really put us under some pressure early and we were guilty of putting ourselves under pressure.

"We always had enough ... we did what we had to do to get the points."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP