Manly dismantle Cowboys in early-season statement

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Manly dismantle Cowboys in early-season statement

Manly have sounded an early NRL premiership warning, blowing apart North Queensland with a 42-12 flogging at Brookvale.

Two days after Brisbane put the cleaners through the Sydney Roosters in an early title statement, Manly repeated the dose on Saturday night.

Where once Des Hasler wanted to fly under the radar at Brookvale, the Sea Eagles smashed it in the first 11 minutes of their season against the Cowboys.

They took a 16-0 lead in that opening *******, at one stage running in three straight tries without the Cowboys touching the ball.

Manly had been considered the dark horses of the pre-season, with enough attacking threats to challenge the NRL’s best teams.

And that was the clear case on Saturday, against a Cowboys side who also reached the second week of the finals last year.

Tom Trbojevic was at his damaging best while fit and firing, and Haumole Olakau’atu and Daly Cherry-Evans joined him in terrorising the Cowboys’ right edge.

Trbojevic finished the night with a hand in four tries, with the fullback twice breaking into space from inside his own half in the lead-up to Ethan Bullemor and Reuben Garrick four-pointers.

Olakau’atu set the tone when he charged on to a Cherry-Evans pass and beat Jaxon Purdue for the Sea Eagles’ first try, before busting five tackles for the night.

And while Manly’s middles also steamrolled the Cowboys, with Taniela Paseka particularly dominant, it was Lehi Hopoate who came up with the play of the night.

Leaping high to take a Cherry-Evans bomb from the clutches of Scott Drinkwater, the 20-year-old then flicked the ball out the back for Ben Trbojevic to score.

Hopoate has made a habit of pulling off similar feats since his debut last season, and while he is Manly’s future No.1 he looms as an X-factor on the wing for now.

Manly ran in seven tries for the night, with all coming in the first 57 minutes, before the Sea Eagles put the cue in the rack while 42-0 up.

In contrast, it was a nightmare start to the season for Todd Payten’s Cowboys, who looked shell-shocked from the start of Manly’s opening onslaught.

While their left edge was torn apart defensively, they spent the night playing catch-up football in attack during a tough debut for 21-year-old halfback Thomas Duffy.

After being forced to wait 32 minutes for an attacking set in good ball, too many chances either ended with passes going into touch or the hands of Manly players.

The Cowboys’ only points came in the final 10 minutes, when Drinkwater and Braidon Burns both put on long-range efforts to lower the margin.

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