Sam Tagataese of the Sharks makes a break during the round 26 NRL match between the Cronulla Sharks and the Manly Sea Eagles. Photo / Getty Images
Sea Eagles 14
Sharks 12
Raiders 28
Eels 24
Manly have denied Cronulla a top four finish and dented their NRL premiership aspirations with a win at Remondis Stadium yesterday.
The Sharks went into the game with a simple equatio- win and snare fourth spot - but now face a sudden death semifinal next weekend.
The result ensured departing coach and Manly legend Geoff Toovey was given a fitting farewell.
A Tom Trbojevic try in the 68th minute gave the Sea Eagles the lead and they were forced to repel several Sharks raids in the last 10 minutes.
The Sharks enjoyed 60 per cent of possession and forced Manly to make 123 more tackles.
They had a mountain of opportunities, being tackled 59 times inside Manly's 20 metre zone and five times they got over the line but were denied by the video referees.
The Sharks dominated the first half but still went into the sheds down by two.
They bombed a plum opportunity when Michael Gordon and Paul Gallen got in each other's way when all they had to do was fall on the ball after Trbojevic spilled a Jeff Robson bomb.
The Sharks caught the Manly defence napping when they went down the blind side and Wade Graham barged over to give them an 8-0 lead.
Their advantage was reduced to two when the Sea Eagles were piggybacked down field by two penalties and Jesse Sene-Lefao carried three defenders over the line.
The Sharks further paid for their ill discipline as two Kieran Foran penalty goals gave the visitors a 10-8 lead at the break.
Sharks winger Valentine Holmes was denied what would have been a contender for try of the year when he was ruled to have knocked it on 100 metres back down field on his own try line.
The home team took back the lead when a Gallen offload put Manly on the back foot and Gerard Beale found a hole on the right edge.
Departing second-rower Justin Horo took an intercept on his own line and floated the ball to Trbojevic who sprinted away to score in the right corner.
Meanwhile, a golden point try to Josh Hodgson has given Canberra a thrilling win over Parramatta.
The Eels looked headed for victory when halfback Luke Kelly slotted over a penalty from close range to give his side 24-18 with just two minutes remaining.
However an Edrick Lee try on the final play of the 80 minutes allowed Raiders skipper Jarrod Croker to send the game into overtime with a sideline conversion after the siren.
The Eels had first chance at field goal in the extra period but failed to get one away, before a Semi Radradra turnover gave the Raiders good field position to set up what looked to be a one-pointer for Croker.
However Hodgson dummied and scurried over untouched to ensure the Raiders finish the season on a positive note.
The Raiders' win spoiled Semi Radradra breaking Steve Ella's Parramatta record of 23 tries in a single season, with the winger bagging two dubious tries either side of halftime to notch up 24 four-pointers for the year. The Fijian talent looked to have fumbled his touchdown in the 37th minute to equal Ella's mark, before there were similar doubts on the record-breaking try just after halftime.
On the surface, the Warriors draw for the 2025 season is quite kind