Updated ,first published
Manly’s four-game winning streak might be over but coach Kieran Foran believes Sunday night’s narrow defeat to Penrith was his side’s best performance of the year and a promising sign of things to come in a game where a new playmaking star emerged.
The Sea Eagles’ bid for five straight wins under Foran since the sacking of Anthony Seibold fell agonisingly short, as Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary helped orchestrate a hard-fought victory to secure the outright competition lead.
Highly touted Manly halfback Joey Walsh was superb on his starting debut, setting up two tries in a gallant 18-16 defeat that offered a promising glimpse into the club’s future without stalwart Daly Cherry-Evans at the helm.
The 19-year-old’s stunning out-the-back, no-look pass to Haumole Olakau’atu before Ethan Bullemor’s try was the kind of moment that can ignite a career, underlining why there is so much hype around the former schoolboy rugby prodigy.
“This is top-shelf ball play,” said premiership-winning halfback Cooper Cronk in commentary for Fox Sports. “He gets the ball … and tells an absolute lie with his eyes and his hips. That is a very good play by Joey Walsh.”
Walsh thrived in the absence of regular No.7 Jamal Fogarty, but Penrith found a way to surge past Manly after trailing 16-12 with 20 minutes remaining at CommBank Stadium. Walsh attempted a two-point field goal with just over a minute remaining but it fell well short.
The Sea Eagles now look an entirely different outfit to the slow-starting side of March. Whether Foran can maintain his early impact through the winter months remains to be seen, but to be within a try of the competition benchmark, deep into the contest, is an encouraging sign.
“I just said to the guys in there, ‘that’s as good an effort as I’ve seen’,” Foran said. “We’re obviously disappointed because we felt like we were right in it and had a chance to walk away with the win.
“To come here and go toe-to-toe with Penrith, who have been flying lately, I thought it was a mighty effort.
“I thought [Walsh] was great … he walked straight towards it tonight. He came up with some really nice plays at certain times of the game, and he’ll only get better.
“That was a beautiful pass. It just shows you the sort of ability that kid’s got.”
A gorgeous cut-out pass from Cleary just before half-time restored Penrith’s advantage, with winger Brian To’o finishing in the right corner to hand the hosts a 12-6 lead at the break.
Foran was animated in the coaching box when Manly struck first through Clayton Faulalo, but the lead was short-lived as Penrith hit back through Blaize Talagi, who took the line on and delivered in the 10th minute.
Penrith’s only slip-up of the season, against the Bulldogs last month, is almost a distant memory now, with Ivan Cleary’s side sharpening their focus as they build towards the Origin period sitting alone atop the ladder, two points clear of the Warriors, who have five wins from seven starts.
On a weekend of injury concerns for NSW coach Laurie Daley — including Roosters duo Mark Nawaqanitawase (ankle) and Angus Crichton (knee) — Penrith’s stars emerged unscathed a fortnight out from the Blues squad announcement.
Amid a flurry of high-scoring matches across the competition, the defensive resolve shown from both sides for the most part was refreshing to see.
There was drama early in the second half when Nathan Cleary claimed obstruction against Faulalo in the lead-up to Lehi Hopoate’s 52nd-minute try. Referee Wyatt Raymond acknowledged the contact but ruled it had no impact, to the frustration of Cleary, his teammates and Cronk, who declared it was “100 per cent no try”.
Cleary snr said he couldn’t disagree more but ultimately it didn’t have a bearing on the result.
“I thought it was a pretty obvious obstruction,” Cleary said. “I think we’ve got a bit of an issue when officials are making a decision on whether it affected the defensive line or not. Respectfully … do they learn how to do that? If you lose one of the guys inside, it absolutely affects everything.”
The moment threatened to swerve Penrith off track in the second half before Izack Tago found the line and Cleary iced his third conversion from as many attempts to take what proved to be a match-winning two-point lead.
“They took us all the way to the end,” Cleary said. “I think it was a pretty good game and certainly happy to get away with that one.”
Tom Decent is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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