NYC Rd 18 Manly 24 Parramatta 22

by NRL

A Kayse Greer double has helped the Manly Sea Eagles NYC team grab their second win of the year, 24-22 against the Parramatta Eels at Brookvale Oval.

Going into the break at 10-10, the Sea Eagles traded tries with the Eels in the second half, before Greer scored in the 78th minute to secure a great victory.

Both sides played some expansive football in the early stages, with the perfect conditions allowing for a great spectacle. The Sea Eagles had an early chance through Kayse Greer, but it was the Eels who struck first in the 9th minute through Jon Pepa, giving them an early 4-0 lead.

They made it 10-0 in the 15th minute when Joseph Ualesi pounced on a fumbled bomb to push the Eels further in front.

The second try brought Manly to life however, as they powered downfield on the end of a break by Matt Ikuvalu and forced a line drop out. From the ensuing set Jack Trbojevic barged his way over to close the gap to 10-4 in the 21st minute.

The Eels attacked the Sea Eagles line for long periods over the next ten minutes, but some good defence held them at bay, and they eventually turned defence into attack to level the scores just before the break through Greer.

Hitting the ball at full speed about 12m out, the Manly back-rower carried three Eels defenders over the line and reached up and behind his head to ground it, before Josh Drinkwater's conversion had us level at 10-10 at the break.

After a tight third quarter of the game it was the Sea Eagles who struck first after the break, with Nathan Cooper slicing through the defence on the left side to put Manly in front 16-10 after an hour.

The lead didn't last long however, as Kaysa Pritchard took advantage of a quick play-the-ball to scoot out of dummy half and score under the posts in the 66th minute, levelling the scores again at 16-16.

The teams continued to trade tries, with the Sea Eagles pushing in front again in the 70th minute when Dylan Strickland dived over in the corner on the end of a long backline movement, edging them in front 20-16 as the game came to a close.

The Eels wouldn't die however, and Pritchard grabbed his second in the 74th minute off a great ball by Sea Eagles junior Jamil Hopoate to give them the lead 22-20. A slice of luck would give the Sea Eagles one final chance when Drinkwater's long kick was knocked down by the Eels and regathered by Dylan Kelly, restarting the tackle count.

Greer would cap off a great game, strolling through some tired Eels defence to win the game for Manly 24-22. The Eels attempted a short kick-off for a final shot, but it came up unsuccessful, and the Sea Eagles recorded their second victory of the year.

MANLY SEA EAGLES 24
(K Greer 2, J Trbojevic, N Cooper, D Strickland Tries; J Drinkwater 2/5 Goals)
Defeated
PARRAMATTA EELS 20
(K Pritchard 2, J Pepa, J Ualesi Tries; J Wehbe 2/3, Z Clay 1/1 Goals)
At Brookvale Oval, Sydney

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