Josh Schuster wowed in his NRL return while Tom Trbojevic enjoyed his best performance of the year, as the Sea Eagles beat the Raiders 42-14 to close out Round 12.
On the eve of the New South Wales team being named, Trbojevic, who endured a patchy start to the year littered with injury niggles, stood tall with a hat-trick of tries and 239 running metres.
Two of those four-pointers were assisted by five-eighth Josh Schuster, who after three weeks out injured returned with a bang, finishing the game with three try assists and scoring one of his own.
Tom is on today!
The victory at GIO Stadium snapped a three-game losing streak for the Sea Eagles, who have now won six of their last eight against Canberra.
While the Raiders opened the scoring after five minutes, it was the Sea Eagles who took a 16-8 lead into the break thanks to a Brad Parker try in between Tom Trbojevic's double.
Right on half-time Jarrod Croker kicked a penalty goal after he was collected high by Haumole Olakau'atu to ensure the Raiders remained in the contest, but that wouldn't last long.
Schuster sends Parker over
Quickfire tries to Reuben Garrick and Tom Trbojevic's, along with a well deserved try for Schuster and a seventh four-pointer through Jason Saab, blew the final scoreline out.
Raiders interchange man Ata Mariota scored his first NRL try 12 minutes from full-time, while Ben Condon grabbed another for Manly on the siren.
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Match Snapshot
- The win was the third time this year the Sea Eagles have scored 30 points or more in a game and was their first victory since Round 8.
- Off the interchange both Ethan Bullemor (162 metres) and Samuela Fainu (108 metres) impressed for the Sea Eagles.
Schuster scores and tensions boil
- The Sea Eagles lost Ben Trbojevic to a suspected hamstring injury midway through the game and he didn't return. Sean Keppie was also sent for a HIA on eight minutes which he passed before getting back on the field.
- Haumole Olakau'atu was placed on report for a high shot on Jarrod Croker seconds before half-time, which led to the veteran centre kicking a penalty goal.
- Hudson Young and Sean Keppie were both sent to the sin bin after they came together directly following Josh Schuster's try 22 minutes from full-time.
Play of the Game
While there was plenty of attractive attacking footy played at GIO Stadium, this defensive effort from the Trbojevic brothers was arguably the most important play of the game for Manly. Just as the Raiders looked set to reduce their deficit to two points early in the second half, Tom Trbojevic held Elliott Whitehead up just long enough for Jake Trbojevic to come through and knock the ball from his grasp inches above the try-line.
The Trbojevic brothers combine to save a try
What They Said
"I'm not going to come here and say we came all cocky and confident, we didn't. We prepared to play the game that Manly played tonight. There was patches of play tonight we weren't happy with and we let ourselves down. We will get straight back on the horse." – Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.
"I was pleased for guys like Tom (Trbojevic) and Jake (Trbojevic) and Josh Schuster to play well today, those three guys were really influential." – Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold.
NRL Press Conference: Raiders v Sea Eagles - Round 12, 2023
What's Next
The Raiders head away to Accor Stadium for a clash against the Rabbitohs in Round 13, and with Zac Woolford in line to return from a head knock, coach Ricky Stuart will have three frontline hookers to choose from once again. A trip to Newcastle to play the Knights awaits the Sea Eagles, who will be boosted by the return of Toafofoa Sipley from suspension.