Parramatta 16 Manly 20
Here we go again, indeed … different jerseys, and vastly differing fortunes. Parramatta took themselves back not to the glory days, but the slightly more gory days.
Manly were about as brave as it gets, losing three players to injury during the match, and they showed the type of steel spoken of by the Tooheys commercial shown on the big screen before games in the 1980s - but has been lacking somewhat so far this season.
The Sea Eagles lost two players in the first half - leaving as many on their bench for most of the game - and then another in the second half.
First Steve Menzies, then winger Michael Bani and finally Luke Williamson were sidelined. Bani, who scored a first-half try, fared the worst. He was taken to hospital as a precaution after suffering numbness in his fingers following a tackle in which he was hit awkwardly by Eels debutant Kristopher Keating. Play was held up for several minutes as Bani was stretchered off the field late in the first half.
Menzies damaged his hamstring after just six minutes, and Williamson was ironed out by Eric Grothe's hip midway through the first half … talk about Pump 'em, thump 'em, pick 'em up and dump 'em.
In the midst of it all, Parramatta staged a comeback. Down 14-8 just after half-time, they scored two tries in five minutes to take the lead by the hour mark; first Chad Robinson scored, even though the ball appeared to flick Nathan Hindmarsh's forearm just before he touched down, and then fullback Luke Burt crossed the stripe.
Then the twist. Just as it looked like Parramatta were powering home, the visitors evoked another line from the Tooheys ad - Manly's comin' back, a good try'll do it. Heath L'Estrange scoring didn't quite have the same ring as Crusher keeps on comin', but it was wonderful viewing still. A remarkable win.
That's not to say Manly showed all the courage. While they faced the adversity during the game, it was a different story during the week. On Monday, Eels halfback Tim Smith hopped on a plane to the Gold Coast, suspending his first-grade career indefinitely after revealing he suffered from bipolar disorder. And so four years after losing a key player so early in the season in Jamie Lyon, history repeated itself.
Back then, the Eels responded with a victory over the Broncos in Brisbane, with Lyon admitting during the week that he watched the game on TV from Wee Waa.
Last night he watched from second receiver in the defensive line, and he certainly felt more at home than he did at Parramatta in 2004.
Not so Grothe, the enigmatic Parramatta winger. He was heavily involved in the first points of the match for all the wrong reasons. First, he took on Sea Eagles fullback Brett Stewart and lost - dragged over the sideline. Then he cut off a speculative ball from Menzies on the burst, only to undo that good work by sliding across field and slipping a horrible ball to Jarryd Hayne.
Bani, the former fisherman from far North Queensland, caught the wayward pass and crossed for an easy try.
Two significant things then happened: Menzies walked up the tunnel shaking his head after tearing his hamstring, and the rain began to fall, leaving most in the ground shaking their heads.
After Manly halfback Matt Orford kicked through in the 17th minute, Grothe was slow on the turn in the slippery conditions and Michael Robertson showed more urgency to score. Grothe has been found out several times this season, with opposition coaches continuing to target him regularly. Here we go again, the Eels fans must have thought.
Paramatta threw everything at their opponents for the rest of the half, however, their attack was as awkward as it had been for much of the season. For all the talk of playing for each other, they did not even look like they knew on another.
The home side finished the half with only two penalties to show for all their pressure, trailing 10-4 at the break. Parramatta's only consolation was that Manly's troops kept falling.
MANLY 20 (M Bani H L'Estrange M Robertson B Stewart tries M Orford 2 goals) bt PARRAMATTA 16 (L Burt C Robinson tries L Burt 4 goals) at Parramatta Stadium. Referee: S Hayne. Crowd: 14,025.
