Sea Eagles 26 Rabbitohs 25
SYDNEY - Two late field goals from Trent Hodkinson has sealed a 26-25 NRL win for a patched-up Manly over South Sydney in an absorbing clash at Brookvale Oval on Saturday.
Trailing 25-24 with three minutes remaining, the Canterbury-bound Hodkinson booted two field goals to give the Sea Eagles a first home win since round nine.
Chris Sandow's field goal on the stroke of halftime looked to be the difference, as Souths clawed back an 11-point second-half deficit to take the lead, only to come up short as the Manly forwards drove their side into good field position.
Both sides scored four tries apiece, with Issac Luke crossing twice for Souths and Rhys Wesser and Sandow also going over for four-pointers.
Steve Matai, who played the entire second half with the use of only one arm after injuring his problematic shoulder, scored twice for Manly with Matt Ballin and Tony Williams also crossing in the second half.
Manly coach Des Hasler was forced to keep Matai, who was making his return to action following a three-game suspension, on the field after fellow centre Jamie Lyon had earlier limped off with an ankle injury in the first half.
The NSW star is now out of next month's third State of Origin clash after re-injuring his right ankle on his return to action after a three-match lay-off, when giant Souths prop David Taylor accidentally stamped on him.
Sandow's kick just before the interval gave his side a one-point advantage at halftime, but Manly came racing out of the blocks after the break and scored from their opening set when Ballin burrowed over from dummy-half after Anthony Watmough brought the ball deep into Souths territory following Shane Rodney's short kick off.
Williams extended the Sea Eagles' lead on 57 minutes with a typically powerful drive towards the line, only for the Rabbitohs to hit back almost immediately when Wesser darted past the injured Matai to score in the right corner two minutes later.
Wesser's try kick-started the visitors' revival and Sandow, who produced a strong performance at halfback, darted past the incapacitated Matai to restore the Rabbitohs' one-point advantage.
Nathan Merritt and Beau Champion both had chances to seal the win for John Lang's side, but with Watmough and Jason King leading the way for the home side, Hodkinson booted his first field goal with three minutes remaining to tie the scores, before sealing the win in the dying seconds with a monster kick from 35 metres.
- AAP
