‘Unfair and not true’: Marshall slams reports of Tigers disharmony following upset win

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Tom Trbojevic has shown signs of returning to his best, firing the Sea Eagles back into the NRL’s top eight with a 30-12 win over South Sydney.

Two games into his shift from fullback to centre, Trbojevic scored a double at Brookvale Oval on Sunday and set up another as Manly ran to a 24-0 lead.

The win made it two straight for Manly after what had loomed as a crucial fortnight for coach Anthony Seibold, and consigned the Rabbitohs to six straight losses.

The main concern for South Sydney will be Brandon Smith, after he limped from the field with ankle injury late in his return game from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Playing his first game in nine months and featuring for Souths for the first time, Smith started and played two short stints before being hurt in a tackle.

Smith’s injury came on the same leg he ruptured his ACL last August, and adds to what has been a wretched few years of injuries for the Rabbitohs.

As undermanned as the Rabbitohs may be, this was still a crucial win for Manly given the noise around Sydney’s northern beaches a fortnight ago.

Seibold said last week that he would reconsider Trbojevic’s centre move after the Souths match, wanting his most dangerous man to get his confidence back.

Trbojevic appears to have at least done that, running with power again in what was easily his best match since March.

He regularly played a roaming role in attack, popping up on the left of the field to give Manly an extra number on that side of the field in attack.

The Sea Eagles’ first try came in that fashion, with Trbojevic linking up with new No.1 Lehi Hopoate on the left side of the field to send Reuben Garrick over.

Trbojevic scored Manly’s next himself when he again went in field searching for the ball, and created pressure by chasing through on a Daly Cherry-Evans kick.

On the next play he made use of the broken defensive line and stepped through two to score.

It was Trbojevic’s second try after the break that showed the most promise, when he again took a ball on the left, charged infield and beat three to score.

Trbojevic has starred as a roaming centre at representative level, but questions linger over defensive cohesion with two Souths tries coming late down his edge.

The Sea Eagles have the bye next week before a difficult month against three of the NRL’s top four, and they desperately need Trbojevic firing if they are to play finals.

Manly hope to have Haumole Olakau’atu back as soon as after that bye, after a middle led by Matt Lodge able to overturn Souths’ better early ball on Sunday.

Garrick also scored a double in the win, while fellow winger Jason Saab appeared to suffer a lower-leg injury late.

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Oh man, that’s a tough one. Graham throws on offload on his own 30 that hits Arrow directly in the face. Koula picks it up and races 30 metres to score an easy try. That’s the falcon of the year thus far.

Garrick converts and we finish at 30-12 to the Sea Eagles. 

Nice note for the Rabbitohs to finish on, Wighton slides a handy grubber in behind Taulau for Tass to score. He can’t convert his own try, Souths narrow the gap to 24-12. 

Smith, on his return from injury after ten months on the sidelines, is down with what looks like an upper ankle injury. Looked like Lodge got him with a hip drop, but they won’t penalise. Smith limps off.

Tass drops a bomb, Tevaga lets him know about it and Tass pushes him over and Manly get a penalty. A try here would kill off a Souths comeback you would think.

But the Rabbitohs hold fast and deny them, Smith shut down Trbojevic with a good tackle, and now Souths work it away.

Saab had an awkward collision with Trbojevic as Duncan scored and he’s gone off with Tommy Talau coming on at right wing. 

Smith’s been good since he came back on, he’s playing as a middle now and has got the Rabbitohs moving. Wighton forces Hopoate to bat the ball over the sideline, then Johnston goes short to Duncan and he beats two defenders to get his second!

Maybe there’s some life in this game yet! Tass takes the kick and it’s wide, it’s 24-8 Manly but with plenty of time left.

There’s one for the Rabbits- Smith digs into the line at first receiver and goes out to Johnston, who pilots it left for Duncan to crash over. Start of the comeback maybe?

Humphreys kick from touch is wide and it’s 24-4 Manly. 

This is getting really bad for Souths – Saab cruises around the outside of Tass easily and he’s got DCE in support to score their fifth try of the day.

As Garrick lines up the kick here’s a stat worth watching – if Souths lose this by 33 or more, they’ll end the round in dead last.

They’re still a bit off there though – Garrick’s kick is wide and Manly lead 24-0. 

A penalty puts Manly on the attack, a pass hits the ground as it goes left but Trbojevic picks it up and waltzes through some terrible defence to score his second. The Rabbitohs don’t like it, but that’s a fair try, awful defence.

Garrick converts and it’s Manly 20-0. 

And off we go – injury update for Souths, Liam Le Blanc is struggling with back spasms and may not return today.

The Sea Eagles are well in control at the break, the Rabbitohs are struggling to get moving at all. A listless display from Souths thus far.

Johnston picks up a loose ball inside his own 20 and takes off downfield to give Souths some field position, Graham goes up for a Humphreys kick a few tackles later and Munro dives on it but Graham knocked it on.

Souths concede a penalty because Gray was out of play – meaning he was in front of the play the ball and got involved in the play, it’s the most frustrating penalty in the world to cop – and Manly are soon in again, they spread it right, Brooks taps it on to Garrick and he steps back inside two defenders to score.

Nice footy from Manly but this could get ugly for Souths. Garrick’s kick is wide and it’s 14-0 Sea Eagles. 

Johnston drops a bomb in a contest with Trbojevic and Manly get it back, next play they go down that side again and Trbojevic beats the tackle of Johnston to score! Just his second try of the year and his first since moving to centre.

Garrick converts and Manly are up 10-0.

Koula drops the ball and Munro picks it up on Manly’s 40, can South Sydney reply?

Not this time – Duncan takes a kick on the last but fumbles it as he looks to pass.

Hubner drops the ball after a good shot from Lodge and Manly have their first shot at the line. They force a drop out to build a bit of pressure but Waddell fumbles the ball into a defender.

But the Sea Eagles challenge it and I think they’ll get it…yup, call overturned. They run a nice shift to the right, Trbojevic pops up on that side and Garrick finishes with a swan dive in the corner. Bit of a training run try, that.

Garrick’s kick is no good and it’s 4-0 Manly. 

Wests Tigers have bitten back at their critics with the most significant win of the Benji Marshall era yet — a frantic 30-28 upset defeat of the Sydney Roosters that breathes life into their season.

Under fire from all quarters this week amid the exit of gun junior Tallyn Da Silva and a six-game losing streak, the Tigers overcame the absences of Jarome Luai, Api Koroisau and Jahream Bula and rode a stunning 20-0 lead to one of the year’s biggest boilovers.

Latu Fainu had a career-best game to prove he’s ready to replace Lachie Galvin in the halves, while new second-choice hooker Tristan Hope impressed in only his second NRL game by putting Sione Fainu over.

In his first appearance against the Roosters since being inexplicably cut, Tigers prop Terrell May was immense with a team-high 199 run metres.

An admittedly undermanned Roosters side threatened to break the Tigers’ hearts when James Tedesco burrowed over on the left side in the final 20 seconds, helping the Tricolours close to only two points behind.

But with seven seconds left, the Roosters were stifled by the Tigers’ defence and the visitors held on, Adam Doueihi having landed his third penalty goal minutes before.

The Tigers’ first defeat of the Roosters since 2018 puts the joint venture two wins out of the top eight to finish the weekend and vindicates Marshall’s claims of improvement — albeit not always in results — during his second year as coach.

Marshall had been adamant the Tigers were better than their recent form slump suggested and would have been buoyed when Starford To’a offloaded to Charlie Staines down the short-side for first points.

Caught napping by that try, the Roosters were asleep at the wheel again when Savala spilt the ball cold on the 50-metre line, allowing Latu Fainu to regather and sprint to the line.

Hope’s flat ball to bench forward Sione Fainu made it a 20-point game and gave Tigers fans another glimpse into the bright future promised by the trio of brothers brought over from Manly.

The Tigers’ defensive resolve was just as promising, with the visitors holding their hosts up over the tryline three separate times in the first half and withstanding 14 more red zone tackles than they enjoyed with the ball.

Marshall’s side would’ve been nervous when Mark Nawaqanitawase bulldozed through four defenders for his second try, which cut the lead to only six with four minutes to play.

Tedesco’s four-pointer pulled the Roosters closer than they’d been since Staines’ opener, but time ran out to avoid an all-time Tigers upset.

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Lodge gets Arrow high to put Souths on the attack and a few tackles later a loose pass from Smith hits the ground and Garrick knocks it on as he tries to pick it up.

Garrick wants to challenge so they do and they get it. Manly ball.