Sea Eagles fall short of Jersey Flegg finals..

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2024 Jersey Flegg Cup campaign has been cut agonisingly short following a heartbreaking 28-26 defeat to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Saturday at Belmore Sports Ground.

Manly required a victory over the second placed Bulldogs side if they were any hope of making the top-five, with the results of the Sharks and Warriors game also needing to go in their favour.

The Sea Eagles put up a good fight and matched their opponents in the first half to score three tries for an 18-all scoreline at half-time. Manly took the lead in the 39th minute and a chance at finals footy was looming following their fifth try nine minutes later.

But in heartbreaking fashion, the home side fought back to score two late tries to steal the lead and the much-needed two competition points. Both teams finished the match with five tries apiece, with the deciding factor proving to be conversions.

A silly mistake from Manly deep in their own half gifted Canterbury the opening try in the third minute through hooker Reuben Moyle for an early 6-0 lead.

The Bulldogs made it two on the trot with a try off the back of a smart offload to five-eighth Mitchell Woods in the 11th minute to extend their lead to 12-0.

The Sea Eagles bounced back with a try through Blake Metcalfe in the 19th minute. A smart grubber kick to the in-goal bounced perfectly for the full-back to fly through and ground the ball for a 12-6 scoreline.

Manly soared back into the match with a try two minutes later through winger Nepote Taufa. A crossfield kick bounced awkwardly and fooled Canterbury’s defence, allowing for Taufa to take the ball on the run and dive over in the corner to level the scores at 12-all.

A 40/20 from the Bulldogs in the 27th minute propelled them downfield en route to their third try through half-back Cassius Tia as the home side regained an 18-12 lead.