Man of Steel's debut double
Will Swanton, Brookvale Oval | March 18, 2007
Sea Eagles 32 Raiders 6
JAMIE Lyon's first 12 minutes were bloody awful. He dropped a pass from a simple tap penalty then kicked out on the full.
With a whole stack of former Manly greats watching intently from the grandstand on a wet night on Sydney's northern beaches, Lyon was making a poor first impression at his new address … where they do not appear to have paid their electricity bill.
Manly captain Matt Orford suffered a knee injury in the 58th minute. He refused to go off, hobbling around, trying to get away from the Manly trainer, who kept telling him to get off.
A captain can do what he wants and Orford wanted to keep playing, so that's what he did - with his knee heavily strapped. Centre Steve Matai also went off, prompting Lyon's switch to the centres.
The Sea Eagles' premiership-winning side from 1987 was introduced to the 13,000-strong crowd before hostilities kicked off. Paul Vautin, Ron "Rambo" Gibbs and Noel Cleal were all there.
Coach Des Hasler would not have liked everything he saw. That's when he could see anything at all. The lights on the hill went out twice in the second half, delaying play for about five minutes. It wasn't completely dark, but it was pretty grim. Manly skipped away only in the last 15 minutes. Until then, the Raiders were rattling their cage.
Lyon, the former Man of Steel in the English Super League playing in the NRL for the first time since he bolted from Parramatta in 2003, scored two soft tries from kicks. He was rusty in his return to the biggest and baddest competition in the world.
"I thought he showed his class when he had to," coach Hasler said. "He won't be happy with everything he did out there, but he'll come back. Overall I thought we showed plenty of character, heart and guts."
Travis Burns, who spent a lot of time at five-eighth because of Matai's injury, conjured up a perfect 40-20 kick in the second half. The crucial try came from a precise Burns bomb.
The Raiders were on their angry pills. They defended with pride, a quality that can compensate for a lack of superstars, but handling errors and Orford's kicking game were killing them and the Sea Eagles led 14-0 at half-time.
Lyon made his first tackle in the 26th second. Michael Monaghan was miffed when he took a quick tap deep in Raiders territory only for a flat-footed Lyon to fumble it.
When Lyon shanked his kick over the sideline in the 12th minute, he did not appear to bat an eyelid - but must have been squirming inside. Much is expected of him.
"It was very scrappy early on," he admitted. "I dropped a few balls which I don't normally do. I don't think I'll drop that many again all season."
Manly were in charge at half-time but the Raiders refused to go away. When fullback Marshall Chalk scored between the posts for 14-6 in the 44th minute, it was game on.
Only problem was, the lights were out. They sprang to life five minutes later as the players milled around Brookvale Oval like a pack of lost sheep. Manly led by eight points with 35 minutes to go, only for the giant bulbs to pack it in again. Fox Sports and the ground manager agreed play should continue.
Canberra's completion rate was abysmal. Lyon was gifted a try from Burns's crossfield bomb for 20-6 in the 60th minute, and the Sea Eagles were home when Steve Bell crossed with 14 minutes to go.
Raiders forward Neville Costigan was reported for a spear tackle while Manly have concerns over Orford (knee), Matai (ankle) and Steve Menzies (abdominals).
Will Swanton, Brookvale Oval | March 18, 2007
Sea Eagles 32 Raiders 6
JAMIE Lyon's first 12 minutes were bloody awful. He dropped a pass from a simple tap penalty then kicked out on the full.
With a whole stack of former Manly greats watching intently from the grandstand on a wet night on Sydney's northern beaches, Lyon was making a poor first impression at his new address … where they do not appear to have paid their electricity bill.
Manly captain Matt Orford suffered a knee injury in the 58th minute. He refused to go off, hobbling around, trying to get away from the Manly trainer, who kept telling him to get off.
A captain can do what he wants and Orford wanted to keep playing, so that's what he did - with his knee heavily strapped. Centre Steve Matai also went off, prompting Lyon's switch to the centres.
The Sea Eagles' premiership-winning side from 1987 was introduced to the 13,000-strong crowd before hostilities kicked off. Paul Vautin, Ron "Rambo" Gibbs and Noel Cleal were all there.
Coach Des Hasler would not have liked everything he saw. That's when he could see anything at all. The lights on the hill went out twice in the second half, delaying play for about five minutes. It wasn't completely dark, but it was pretty grim. Manly skipped away only in the last 15 minutes. Until then, the Raiders were rattling their cage.
Lyon, the former Man of Steel in the English Super League playing in the NRL for the first time since he bolted from Parramatta in 2003, scored two soft tries from kicks. He was rusty in his return to the biggest and baddest competition in the world.
"I thought he showed his class when he had to," coach Hasler said. "He won't be happy with everything he did out there, but he'll come back. Overall I thought we showed plenty of character, heart and guts."
Travis Burns, who spent a lot of time at five-eighth because of Matai's injury, conjured up a perfect 40-20 kick in the second half. The crucial try came from a precise Burns bomb.
The Raiders were on their angry pills. They defended with pride, a quality that can compensate for a lack of superstars, but handling errors and Orford's kicking game were killing them and the Sea Eagles led 14-0 at half-time.
Lyon made his first tackle in the 26th second. Michael Monaghan was miffed when he took a quick tap deep in Raiders territory only for a flat-footed Lyon to fumble it.
When Lyon shanked his kick over the sideline in the 12th minute, he did not appear to bat an eyelid - but must have been squirming inside. Much is expected of him.
"It was very scrappy early on," he admitted. "I dropped a few balls which I don't normally do. I don't think I'll drop that many again all season."
Manly were in charge at half-time but the Raiders refused to go away. When fullback Marshall Chalk scored between the posts for 14-6 in the 44th minute, it was game on.
Only problem was, the lights were out. They sprang to life five minutes later as the players milled around Brookvale Oval like a pack of lost sheep. Manly led by eight points with 35 minutes to go, only for the giant bulbs to pack it in again. Fox Sports and the ground manager agreed play should continue.
Canberra's completion rate was abysmal. Lyon was gifted a try from Burns's crossfield bomb for 20-6 in the 60th minute, and the Sea Eagles were home when Steve Bell crossed with 14 minutes to go.
Raiders forward Neville Costigan was reported for a spear tackle while Manly have concerns over Orford (knee), Matai (ankle) and Steve Menzies (abdominals).
