Sea Eagles brace for Broncos NRL backlash

No time for moping, Manly have moved on quickly from their bitterly disappointing NRL loss to Parramatta as they brace for a Brisbane backlash.

NRL head of football Graham Annesley conceded Manly were dudded by an incorrect forward pass call in the final minute of the Sea Eagles’ 19-16 defeat to Parramatta at Bankwest Stadium.

Winger Reuben Garrick was wrongly denied the match-winning try, leaving the Eagles needing to beat the besieged Broncos on Thursday night to retain their place in the top eight.

“Obviously with a shortened season, you’ve got to get a few wins in pretty quickly so that’s our main focus,” Manly hooker Dany Levi said on Monday.

Instead of being the last-gasp hero, Garrick admitted the gut-wrenching loss was still raw but the Eagles could ill-afford to dwell on the touch judge’s blunder.

“We can’t do much about it. It’s a decision made in a split second. We make them as players; they make them as refs,” Garrick said.

“You’ve just got to move on from it and we know we put in a good performance and were unlucky not to come away with the two points.

“Parramatta are a quality side. They haven’t lost yet so the form line there is pretty good so hopefully that can propel us into a few good matches coming up and hopefully we can bounce back after the short turnaround.”

Des Hasler’s side certainly won’t be taking Brisbane lightly at Central Coast Stadium, despite the Broncos suffering the club’s worst loss – a 59-0 drubbing at the hands of the Sydney Roosters.

Garrick said the Sea Eagles’ own humiliating 36-18 home loss last year to wooden spooners Gold Coast was lesson enough.

“We’re expecting a very tough match. I’m sure they’ll be firing after a tough loss. You’ve got to be wary of teams coming off big losses,” he said.

“Every team in the NRL, you can never think it’s going to be an easy game. We learnt that last year against the Titans.

“You’ve got to keep your wits about you every single match and you’ve got to perform every week. That’s the beauty of this competition – the bottom teams can upset the top ones.

“We’re very wary about the Broncos.”

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