The Roosters had Nathan Brown sent off but still managed to send the Sea Eagles packing with a 26-16 win at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday night.
Brown was marched in the 63rd minute for a high shot on Ben Trbojevic but the Roosters scored a try in his absence to put the finishing touches on a win that keeps their slim finals hopes alive.
The Roosters launched an early raid in the seventh minute and Daniel Tupou looked set to cross for yet another try but some desperate defence from Haumole Olakau'atu forced him into touch.
Manly marched down field and opened the scoring in the 11th minute through a penalty goal to Reuben Garrick but it was the home side who bagged the opening try when Tupou soared high to bring down a Luke Keary bomb for the 141st four-pointer of his career.
The Roosters had a second try in the 23rd minute when centre Joey Manu exploded out of dummy half from close range and couldn't be stopped. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii's sideline conversion made it 12-2.
Joseph Manu try 22nd minute
Manly hooker Lachlan Croker went close in the 26th minute but strong goal line defence by James Tedesco kept the Roosters' line intact.
A clever grubber by Keary earned the Roosters a repeat set late in the half but a dropped ball by Victor Radley let the Sea Eagles off the hook.
With time running down, the Roosters got another opportunity and made the most it with Billy Smith delivering a deft flick pass for Tupou to complete his 27th career double. Suaalii again converted from wide out to make it 18-2 at the break.
Nathan Brown sent off
The Roosters went further ahead in the 52nd minute when Smith disposed of Tolu Koula with a powerful fend and plunged over to give the Tricolours a 20-point lead.
The Sea Eagles lost Toafofoa Sipley to the sin bin midway through the second half before Brown was given his marching orders by referee Ashley Klein in the 61st minute.
Just three minutes later Josh Schuster chipped and regathered to score the Sea Eagles' first try to make it 22-8.
With both teams down a man the Roosters went right and Suaalii slid in for the 20th try of his career. He missed the conversion and the score stayed at 26-8.
Josh Schuster try 63rd minute
Sipley returned to the field with 11 minutes to play to give Manly a one-man advantage and Schuster produced another pinpoint kick for Brad Parker to score to pull it back to 26-12.
Manly continued to throw the ball around and Koula finished off a powerful run by Olakau'atu to give the Sea Eagles the final say but the night belonged to the Roosters, who move to 24 competition points with games against the Dolphins, Eels, Wests Tigers and Rabbitohs to come.
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Match Snapshot
- Sea Eagles prop Matt Lodge left the field in the eighth minute with a knee injury with coach Anthony Seibold confirming post-match that he had suffered an ACL injury.
- Sea Eagles centre Brad Parker left the field for a HIA in the 24th minute which he passed.
- A total of 13 penalties were blown in the first half as both sides struggled for discipline.
- Jared Waerea-Hargreaves set the tone for the Roosters with 11 runs for 108 metres in the opening 40 minutes.
- Roosters centres Joey Manu and Billy Smith racked up 18 tackle breaks between them.
- Roosters skipper James Tedesco had 16 runs for 161 metres and broke seven tackles.
Daniel Tupou try 18th minute
- Roosters winger Daniel Tupou has scored seven tries in his past four games at the SCG.
- The Roosters have won four of their past five games at the SCG.
- Sea Eagles forward Toafofoa Sipley was sent to the sin bin in the 59th minute after repeated infringements by Manly.
- Roosters halfback Drew Hutchison came up with a 40-20 in the 61st minute.
- Roosters bench forward Nathan Brown was sent off in the 63rd minute for a high tackle on Ben Trbojevic.
- Roosters halfback Drew Hutchison was placed on report in the 76th minute for a high tackle on Ethan Bullemor.
Daniel Tupou try 38th minute
Play of the Game
Roosters centre Billy Smith turned in one of the best performances of his 22-game career and came up with a well deserved try in the 52nd minute when he put a huge fend on Tolu Koula and surged into the left corner to give the home side a 20-point lead. The 23-year-old has endured a horror run with injuries during his career but has started to string some games together in Trent Robinson's backline and showed his class with a try, two line break assists and one try assist to go with 119 run metres.
Billy Smith try 51st minute
What they Said
"I felt like that was as good as we have constructed a game in a while. We had some variation, we asked some questions and we were much more threatening tonight. There was a bit more cohesion and a bit more attempt and freedom to play and that's what created the opportunities. I'm really happy with Sandon [Smith] and that's why he still played and played a lot of minutes but he's a young half learning his trade whereas Drewy [Hutchison] is a more experienced half, he's a game manager and that allowed Teddy [Tedesco] and Kez [Keary] to flow off him and play their game." - Roosters coach Trent Robinson
Roosters: Round 23
"The Roosters won the physical battle tonight. Most of the little contests in the game - whether it's a physicality thing or an effort thing - they probably won just about all of them. The guys kept fighting to the end but we just weren't where we need to be to beat a good team. Regardless of where they are on the ladder they are always a physical challenge and they won that challenge tonight. We were still throwing some punches at the end but we didn't get it quite right when the game was on the line." - Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold
Sea Eagles: Round 23
What's Next
The Roosters host the Dolphins at Allianz Stadium in Round 24 while the Sea Eagles get a stern test of their finals credentials when they square off with premiers Penrith at 4 Pines Park.