Wests Tigers have had the last laugh over Luke Brooks, ambushing ill-disciplined Manly for a 34-26 upset win on the Sea Eagles five-eighth’s return to Leichhardt Oval.
In the halfback spot that Brooks filled for 11 seasons, former Manly junior Latu Fainu put the last-placed Tigers on top during a run of 30 unanswered points that overturned Manly’s 16-0 lead and threw their finals hopes into doubt.
Not even a Tom Trbojevic hat-trick of tries could save the Sea Eagles, who missed the chance to book their top-eight spot with victory on Thursday night.
They must now beat top-four hopefuls Canterbury or Cronulla to guarantee they will play finals in 2024, or hope the Dolphins lose at least one of their last three games.
It’s hard to see Manly winning either of their own clashes or making a deep impact in finals if they reprise Thursday night’s wayward performance, during which they lost three men to the sin bin.
“You get what you deserve in the NRL,” said Manly coach Anthony Seibold.
“On the effort parts of the game and the discipline, they beat us.
“You have to give the Tigers credit. We were outplayed, and our discipline let us down.”
Manly conceded two soft first-half tries, both on the back of Jake Trbojevic mistakes, to watch their 16-0 lead close to four points in the space of five minutes.
Repeated penalties sent Ethan Bullemor to the sin bin after he had set Tom Trbojevic up for a runaway try earlier in the half, before Haumole Olakau’atu went for 10 minutes following a high shot on rookie fullback Heath Mason.
Olaka’autu looks likely to spend time on the sidelines for the shot given his record, and while he was off the park, Fainu put the Tigers on top for the first time.
The 19-year-old sent Alex Seyfarth over untouched with a no-look pass only seconds after Olakau’atu left, having just come on to replace injured veteran Aidan Sezer (shoulder).
When Fainu scooped the ball up following a set restart and darted for the line, the Tigers were on their way to a shock eight-point lead.
The Sea Eagles were rattled after Lachie Galvin’s kick bounced over Tolu Koula to gift Solomon Faataape a try and the Tigers a 14-point advantage.
Trbojevic bagged two more tries to make the Tigers nervous while Corey Waddell was in the sin bin for a high shot on Solomon Alaimalo in the final quarter of the game.
But the Tigers were officially home as Samuela Fainu, the Tigers’ best player this season, burst over on the left in the final seconds.
“My hair’s falling out,” joked Tigers coach Benji Marshall.
“They’re a great side, the strike they have in their team, they’re pushing for the top four, they’re tough to defend, and for us to fight to the death like that in front of our home crowd who have been amazing all year, I told them, ‘I’m so proud’.”
For his part, Brooks had a quiet night following a strong first season since leaving the club where he became maligned for his long-time inability to inspire a finals berth.
He and Tom Trbojevic held Sezer up ahead of what could have been the night’s first try but like the rest of the spine, he struggled to reassert Manly’s influence on the contest when the Tigers began to fire.
The Leichhardt Oval crowd booed Brooks with every touch in the first half and took particular delight when he dropped the ball cold while Manly were on the attack down the left edge.
The Tigers’ second consecutive win moves them onto level points with 16th-placed Parramatta and adds intrigue to the sides’ round-27 meeting, which could decide the wooden spoon.
