Raiders 30 Sea Eagles 18
Manly's dreadful season gets worse
Manly's awful season has gone from bad to worse after Daly Cherry-Evans and Jamie Lyon were sidelined with injuries as the Raiders won 30-18 in Canberra.
PT1M30S 620 349As the errors piled up, Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart staunchly backed Jack Wighton.
The fullback showed why with a brilliant performance in Canberra's 30-18 win over Manly, which has them poised to launch an attack on the top four.
Criticised from pillar to post after recent error-ridden displays, Wighton was superb in setting up two tries on Friday night at Canberra Stadium, scoring another and denying Tom Trbojevic a four-pointer when Manly threatened a late comeback.
Jack Wighton is congratulated by Raiders teammates on Friday night. Photo: Getty Images
He could have finished with a double had he not spilt the ball over the line in the first half, but it proved irrelevant as the Raiders put the competition heavy-hitters on notice.
Manly's late rally from 30-6 down was brave considering they had lost halves Daly Cherry-Evans (ankle) and Jamie Lyon (hamstring) and prop Brenton Lawrence (pectoral) to injury during the match.
Parramatta recruit Junior Paulo made a strong debut when rushed into Canberra's starting line-up after he received an early release from the Eels.
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NRL: Raiders v Sea Eagles
The Canberra Raiders clash with the Manley Sea Eagles at GIO Stadium. Photo: Elesa Kurtz
But Wighton was the headline act, and this time for all the right reasons.
His tackle to stop Trbojevic was critical, as a successful conversion would have put Manly within 30-24 with four minutes left.
"I've got faith in all my players and Jack showed us tonight why I certainly put trust in him, I know he's got that in him," Stuart said.
"It's not as though Jack's down on confidence, he's just made a few errors in a game of football and they've been highlighted a bit more than other people.
"That's understandable because when you're in that [fullback] position they're usually big errors.
"That was a wonderful tackle that Jack made on Trbojevic and he basically went from a standing start to make it."
But while he described the first 55 minutes as the best football his team has produced all season, Stuart was filthy with their late fadeout.
"He scores there and [Manly] kicks the goal, they're six points down after being down 30-6, it's inexcusable," he said.
"It's not just coming from me, the boys are all disappointed, too. Having two points, I'll take it any day of the week.
"Five-day turnarounds [after Sunday's home win over Canterbury] are always tough, but that is no excuse for the poor finish we had."
Only 9157 fans fronted to watch Canberra's masterclass, but that will certainly improve if they continue to play such brilliant attacking football.
Canberra's pack is so deep, they were able to leave out star forwards Paul Vaughan and Shaun Fensom in a bid to overcome a five-day turnaround after Sunday's home win over Canterbury.
The Raiders have leapt to fifth and just a point outside the top four before a Thursday night blockbuster against the Broncos in Brisbane next Thursday.
Stuart was pleased with Paulo's first-up display after his release was pushed forward when he posted a picture on Instagram consorting with alleged convicted criminals.
"He played how I expected him to play, he's a very good footballer. It's why we worked so hard to get him there," Stuart said.
Raiders centre Joey Leilua continued his brilliant form by setting up two tries through offloads, and must surely now be taken seriously by NSW coach Laurie Daley as an Origin II contender.
In the fifth minute the Raiders conceded early points when Cherry-Evans stepped inside Luke Bateman to score under the posts.
Five minutes later Canberra squandered a chance to draw level when winger Brenko Lee, a replacement for injured cousin Edrick, spilt a pinpoint kick from Wighton.
However the same combination atoned soon after when Wighton injected himself into the line, before offloading to an unmarked Lee to score in the corner.
In the 28th minute the Raiders again butchered a chance when Wighton was denied by a strong tackle over the top from Manly centre Dylan Walker.
With eight minutes left in the first half Trbojevic was denied by some urgent Raiders scrambling defence, with Wighton and Jordan Rapana combining to tackle him dead in goal.
The crucial period of the game occurred just before half-time.
On the back foot for much of the first 40 minutes, Manly generated some momentum but the Raiders' on-line defence repelled them for back-to-back sets.
Soon after the Raiders took their first lead of the game at 12-6 when Leilua's offload put Josh Hodgson in to score a try, a day after he welcomed his first-born son George into the world.
Canberra piled on three more tries to Elliott Whitehead, Wighton and Josh Papalii, backing up from Queensland Origin duty.
Manly closed the gap late, but the Sea Eagles' finals hopes look in tatters with just four wins from 12 games, and a lengthening injury toll.
CANBERRA RAIDERS 30 (Brenko Lee, Josh Hodgson, Elliott Whitehead, Josh Papalii, Jack Wighton tries; Jarrod Croker 5 goals) bt MANLY SEA EAGLES 18 (Daly Cherry-Evans, Matt Parcell, Api Koroisau tries; Dylan Walker 2, Jamie Lyon goals) at Canberra Stadium on Friday night. Crowd: 9157. Referees: Jared Maxwell and Adam Gee.
