Manly throw away 16-point lead to lose to Canterbury and seal their worst EVER end to a season
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Manly throw away 16-point lead to lose to Canterbury and seal their worst EVER end to a season after a seventh-straight defeat – but Daly Cherry-Evans insists rainbow jersey saga is NOT to blame for Sea Eagles’ capitulation
- Manly have succumbed to their worst end to a season in the club’s history
- The Sea Eagles suffered a one-point defeat by Canterbury on Friday night
- It means they end the season losing seven matches in succession
- Daly Cherry-Evans insisted that poor run was not due to the rainbow jersey saga
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Manly have succumbed to their worst end to a season in club history after a late Matt Burton field goal consigned the Sea Eagles to a 21-20 loss, and their seventh straight defeat.
Down 16-0 after 20 minutes, Canterbury rallied to draw level early in the second half before Burton produced a massive final five minutes to claim the win for the Bulldogs.
The five-eighth batted back a kick to help set up a try, forced and error and then kicked a field goal with two minutes to play to snap the Dogs’ own four-match losing streak.
Manly Sea Eagles have been consigned to their worst end to a season in the club’s history
Matt Burton kicked a field goal in the final minutes to seal a one-point victory on Friday
The win will offer some hope to Canterbury fans over the summer, with new coach Cameron Ciraldo incoming and Reed Mahoney and Viliame Kikau among key signings.
But rarely has the last match of a season summed up a year like it did for Manly on Friday night.
When the Sea Eagles last won way back in mid-July, they sat eighth on the ladder and were still a genuine contender as they threatened to find form without Tom Trbojevic.
Canterbury Bulldogs stars celebrate after finishing the 2022 season on a high at Accor
Since then though they have had their season drastically derailed by the pride jersey saga, failing to win another match and dropping their last seven for the first time in the club’s 76-year history.
Yet captain Daly Cherry-Evans insists the fiasco was not the reason for their capitulation on the final stretch.
‘No, absolutely not. We couldn’t have been any clearer that we moved on from that during the season. If we were to use that as an excuse that would be pretty poor for us.’
Daly Cherry-Evans insisted that the rainbow jersey saga did not contribute to their downfall
He added: ‘It’s not the time for pointing fingers and blaming people. It’s about coming together, finding ways to help the club, and making sure that you’re doing the best to come back next year and for us to all play better footy.’
Coach Des Hasler echoed Cherry-Evans’ statement, describing the controversy as ‘gone and dusted’.
‘We had a real hard edge about us, we just lost momentum.
‘I think we’ve got to look at it as the events that happened – they’re gone, they’re dusted. There’s a lot to be learned out of them as well.’