Manly coach Anthony Seibold has conceded the Sea Eagles “got what they deserved” following Saturday afternoon’s 20-12 loss to the Dragons in Wollongong.
The Sea Eagles were plagued by comical unforced errors throughout the Round 4 contest, suffering their second-straight defeat after the Dragons ran over for four unanswered tries.
Speaking to reporters in the post-match press conference, Seibold confessed Manly bottled the fundamentals during the eight-point loss, missing crucial tackles and dropping the Steeden on multiple occasions.
“We were outplayed by the Dragons tonight, that was really clear for everyone to see,” Seibold said.
“They hustled and bustled us, and forced quite a few errors. They were deserved winners.
“We were second by a fair distance.”
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The Sea Eagles missed 36 tackles and registered 16 errors, finishing with a completion rate of just 67 per cent.
“You get what you deserve in this comp. It’s a tough comp,” Seibold continued.
“If you turn up and you’re not at your best, you get what you deserve, and I feel like the Dragons were the better team tonight.
Superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic was particularly wasteful in defence, knocking on three times and gifting possession away early in the second half with a needless forward pass.
“I’ve never seen Tom rattled, but he’s dropped out of this game,” Fox League commentator Andrew Voss said during the game.
“Is this Tom Trbojevic, or is this a double? Cut price Tom Trbojevic, the Aldi version.
“What’s happened?”
Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans, who equalled the club record of 309 games this weekend, denied that the club was dealing with any “hoodoo” at WIN Stadium — the Dragons have won nine of their previous ten matches against Manly at the Wollongong venue since 2005.
“I really don’t pay too much attention on the hoodoo stuff,” Cherry-Evans told reporters post-game.
“I’ve never gone into a game thinking I’m going to lose, let alone because of hoodoo.
“We just didn’t bring our best tonight.
“Luckily it’s only Round 4 and we’ve got plenty of time to correct it.”
Cherry-Evans also refused to blame conditions for the team’s sloppiness, declaring: “We were just not good enough.
“We can’t blame the footy or the slippery conditions. It’s just something we don’t want to get used to, dropping the ball like that.”
Meanwhile, Dragons coach Shane Flanagan admitted the hosts were far from their best on Saturday, but praised his team for its resilience in defence.
“It was an important game for us,” Flanagan said.
“We showed some real resilience defensively … I was really happy with our attitude.
“I’ve got a good football team. I know it, I’ve just got to convince them.”
The Dragons will next face the Knights in Newcastle while the Sea Eagles will host reigning champions the Panthers in Manly.
