Doubles to Jake Toby and Raymond Tuaimolo Vaega helped Manly to a 30-28 win over the Rabbitohs in the opening round of the Pre-Season Challenge in Gosford.
Toby and Tuaimolo Vaega were among a host of stars for the Sea Eagles, who gave new coach Anthony Seibold the ideal start to his tenure.
The Rabbitohs got the scoreboard ticking in the fifth minute when five-eighth Dion Teaupa grubbered to the left corner for Tom Carr to score. Blake Taaffe's sideline conversion made it 6-0.
Manly hit back in the eighth minute when Cooper Johns set up winger Tuaimolo Vaega with a classy floating pass before the Teaupa returned serve in the battle of the playmakers with a try of his own.
Come the 21st minute and the Rabbitohs No.6 had his second when he went to the line and found Blake Taaffe who showed slick hands to put Carr into space, the winger then lofting the ball back inside for Teaupa to score.
Some slick handling from Toby and Fletcher Myers on the left edge opened the door for Tuaimolo Vaega to power into the corner for his second try in the 31st minute and Manly were back within eight points.
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The Sea Eagles had a third just two minutes later when Toby scooted out of dummy half and showed plenty of strength to carry three defenders across the line for a four-pointer.
When Johns grubbered for Zac Fulton to regather and score under the sticks the Sea Eagles had three tries in five minutes and they had the lead 20-18 at the break.
What a cut-out from Johns
The Rabbitohs regained the lead six minutes into the second term when Richie Kennar flew high to tap a high ball back to Taaffe who crossed and converted his own try for 24-20.
Taaffe and Teaupa then turned the screws with consecutive forced dropouts but the Sea Eagles dug deep to keep their line intact and they were rewarded in the 56th minute when Myers exploded into space on the left wing and found Toby inside for Manly's fifth try.
With the scores locked at 24-24 and 12 minutes to play the Rabbitohs lost Leon Te Hau to the sin for a dangerous tackle and Manly quickly exploited their one-man advantage to take the lead through Cameron Brown. A superb sideline conversion from Johns gave Manly a 30-24 lead.
A strong run by Jarrett Subloo gave the Rabbitohs a bonus point with their fifth try of the night to close the gap to 30-28 but that's as close as Souths would get as a couple of late mistakes cruelled their chances of a late winner.
Among the many positives for new Manly coach was the form of Johns in the playmaking role and Myers and Tuipulotu out wide.
Carr pounces on one early
Match snapshot
- Former Storm man Cooper Johns made the most of his opportunity in the Manly No.6 jersey with two try assists, one line break assist and 118 running metres.
- A blow for the Rabbitohs with versatile forward Hame Sele suffering a calf injury in the first half.
- Viliami Fifita made a big impression off the bench for Manly with 108 metres from 10 runs.
Tuaimalo Vaega carries them to the line
- Christian Tuipulotu was a powerhouse bringing the ball out of his own end for Manly, finishing the night with 188 run metres, including 73 post-contact metres.
- The Sea Eagles grabbed two bonus points for scoring more than five tries and making more than five line breaks to finish the night with 14 points. The Rabbitohs picked up a bonus point for scoring five tries.
- South Sydney's first tryscorer Tom Carr bagged 22 tries in 23 games for North Sydney in last year's NSW Cup competition.
- Manly centre Fletcher Myers left the field for a HIA in the 68th minute after he was on the end of a lifting tackle which resulted in Souths winger Leon Te Hau being sent to the bin.
Plays of the Game
Wearing the No.6 jersey made famous by one Cody Walker, 21-year-old Dion Teaupa was red hot in the first half, helping himself to a double and laying on another try for Tom Carr. Showing composure well beyond his years, Teaupa chipped for Carr to score, grubbered into the goal post to regather and score himself before taking the ball to the line and sparking an attacking raid which he finished off himself for a 18-4 lead.
Blink and you'll miss him
What They Said
"There were a few errors from both teams but it was good to get the cobwebs out. I just wanted to run hard, find my front and try to get quick play the balls and do my job in defence. I’ve been doing a lot of weights trying to get muscle around my shoulders because I’ve had a lot of injuries the last few years in my shoulders. Hopefully I can be injury-free this season." - Sea Eagles back-rower Ben Trbojevic
"Dion Teaupa came through our pathways system, he's had a fantastic pre-season and I was really happy for him tonight. It's his first NRL pre-season this year and he turned up in great shape, you can see what it meant to him. He has improved out of sight over the last 12 weeks. The boys have embraced him and backed him at training, Cody Walker has done a fantastic job with him and given him the confidence to get out there and back himself like he did tonight."
- Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou
Subloo slices through
What's next
The Rabbitohs head to Mudgee for the annual Charity Shield clash with old foes the Dragons while Manly travel back to Gosford again to face the Roosters.