New Sea Eagle Matt Parcell has claimed his second match-winning try in as many games in Manly colours, but as many as three concussions soured an impressive 15-12 win over tournament favourites the Warriors.
Manly centre Brayden Wiliame upset the home crowd by opening the scoring with a strong barge-over from an Isaac John cutout pass but it didn't take long for Warriors star Shaun Johnson to bring them to their feet. He jinked and passed to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who did enough to send Ken Maumalo away in space and a rare conversion from out wide from Johnson put the home side up.
A nasty bounce from the restart put the Warriors straight back on the attack but Blake Ayshford spilled a regulation pass with the try-line begging.
A high shot from Albert Vete rattled Jamie Buhrer and forced him from the field for an assessment, with the forward suffering a suspected broken jaw.
Shortly after that a beautiful Ryan Hoffman offload and an even better regather from rookie Ata Hingano stretched the Warriors' lead to 12-4 at the break.
There were awful scenes to open the second half as a raised knee from Konrad Hurrell collected Jake Trbojevic's jaw with the young Sea Eagles captain needing to be taken from the field in a medicab. After a long delay Manly were awarded a penalty but couldn't cash in as Tom Trbojevic spilled it. Some razzle dazzle saw the Warriors go the length of the field but Ken Maumalo was bundled into touch as he tried to score.
Tom Trbojevic made amends when he scooped up a Warriors dropped ball and raced away to score. Another Warriors drop – from Hingano – put Manly back on the attack and Matt Parcell cashed in when he was on the spot to collect a pinpoint Feleti Mateo grubber in the bonus zone and snatch the lead.
A head clash with teammate Blake Leary left Nathan Green down and dazed and in need of a concussion check but as the match wound down the frustrated Warriors couldn't find the scoring play they needed as Manly clinched an upset win.
The win puts Manly on top of the Hunua group, with the Warriors needing to beat the Broncos on Sunday to secure a place in the quarter-finals.
Manly Sea Eagles 15 (Wiliame, T Trbojevic, Parcell tries) def New Zealand Warriors 12 (Maumalo, Hingano tries)
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