A three-try blitz in five minutes in the first half carried the Dolphins to a 30-24 win over an injury-hit Sea Eagles outfit at Suncorp Stadium.
The Sea Eagles lost superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic to a hamstring injury and winger Jason Saab (shoulder) on a night in which they again gave up a 12-point lead to fall to successive losses.
Among a host of stars for the home side, dynamic fullback Trai Fuller was a standout with 155 run metres and a freakish solo try from a chip and chase.
The Sea Eagles struck first in the 10th minute when Daly Cherry-Evans opted to run the ball on the last play and found Ben Trbojevic who put Tommy Talau over in the corner for a 4-0 lead.
The Dolphins hit back four minutes later when Euan Aitken picked off a Cherry-Evans pass and raced 50 metres to lock the scores up at 4-4.
A blow for Manly in the 17th minute when Saab landed awkwardly as he dived for a try but was denied by a great cover tackle by Fuller, whose defensive game was every bit as impressive as his attack.
The Sea Eagles had a second try in the 23rd minute when Tom Trbojevic put a well weighted kick into the in goal for Corey Waddell to follow through and score. Reuben Garrick’s conversion made it 10-4.
With intercepts proving the order of the night it was Luke Brooks who swooped on a Max Plath pass and ran 40 metres before delivering the ball to Tolu Kolua for Manly’s third four-pointer.
The Dolphins closed the gap six minutes before the break when Kodi Nikorima drifted across field and turned Connelly Lemuelu inside for a clear run to the line. Jamayne Isaako added the conversion to make it 16-10.
On the next set it was Fuller in just his fifth game in the NRL producing a slashing solo try when he exploded into space, chipped over Tom Trbojevic and regathered to score before Mark Nicholls grabbed a rare four-pointer and the Dolphins had piled on three tries in five minutes to lead 20-16 at the break.
A mistake by Isaako from the kick-off handed Manly a golden opportunity to hit back but Cherry-Evans made a simple error in the play the ball and the Dolphins came away.
Ten minutes into the second half it was Tom and Jake Trbojevic combining from close range to lock things up at 20-20 after Jake’s late offload put Tom over for the 95th try of his career. Garrick converted for a 22-20 lead.
An offside penalty against the Sea Eagles in the 56th minute handed Isaako an easy shot and the sharpshooter did the job to lock it up again at 22-22.
The Sea Eagles edged back in front in the 65th minute after Felise Kaufusi was penalised for a late tackle and Garrick slotted the kick to make it 24-22 to the visitors.
The contest took another twist in the 67th minute when the Dolphins marched down field on the back of a penalty and Jack Bostock finished off slick lead-up work by Isaiya Katoa and Herbie Farnworth to score. Isaako converted from wide out for a 28-24 Dolphins lead.
The Dolphins extended the lead to 30-24 after Ethan Bullemor was penalised for a dangerous tackle and from there the home side were able to close out their sixth win of the season.
Source: NRL.com