Foran & Manly put depleted Titans to the sword

The Manly Sea Eagles have put the NRL on notice that they're a genuine threat to make the top eight after dispatching of the Gold Coast Titans 38-6 at Cbus Super Stadium on Monday night.

The small home crowd of 9632 were up as one to make sure Daly Cherry-Evans was noticeably booed when he ran onto the field and had possession throughout the game.

However, a clinical team performance heavily influenced by Cherry-Evans brought silence around the stadium for the majority of the match.

Most noticeably the Gold Coast were poor with their completion rate and as a result they never looked promising to score points.

While the Sea Eagles were running tries in with precision work from their halves, it highlighted how much the Titans missed theirs.

Both Aidan Sezer and Kane Elgy both were unavailable due to injury which meant Daniel Mortimer struggled with the responsibility to force pressure on Manly when in good field position.

In the first half Foran combined in a right side shift with Cherry-Evans and he lobbed a steady pass for Tom Trbojevic to get the Sea Eagles a 4-0 lead in the 11th minute.

From halfway Foran again started a play for Brett Stewart who with a burst of speed on halfway found himself in the clear and got a ball away to Jorge Taufua near the try line for him to score his second and lead 20-0 in the 33rd minute.

That was one of five first half line breaks for the Sea Eagles who scored most of their points with long range tries.

Out of half time they increased their buffer to 26-0 just four minutes into the second period when Jamie Lyon in his 200th game ran around Nene McDonald to find himself in the clear.

Towards the end of the game Dave Taylor started to look at his damaging best, busting tackles and creating offloads.

It was one of his busts through the line and the delivery of the ball to the Gold Coast's debutant front rower Nathaniel Peteru that got the Titan's sole try in the 79th minute.

James Roberts also looked special with the ball in hand as he returned to playing in the centres this week, the Titans needed to get him the ball more to get the Manly defence nervous.

Jamie Lyon had a shaky start as he missed his first two conversion attempts, He went on to make five from five.

Next week the Sea Eagles will look to win three in a row when the match up with the North Queensland Cowboys on Monday night at Brookvale Oval.

The Gold Coast Titans will travel to Hunter Stadium where they'll play the Newcastle Knights on Saturday night.

Match Details

Gold Coast Titans 6 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 38
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium
Crowd: 9632
Halftime Score: Gold Coast Titans 0 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 20

GOLD COAST TITANS (6)
Tries: Nathaniel Peteru
Conversions: Kevin Gordon (1/1)

MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES (38)
Tries: Tom Trbojevic (2), Jorge Taufua (2), Brett Stewart, Kieran Foran, Willie Mason
Conversions: Jamie Lyon (5/7)

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:

3 points - Kieran Foran
2 points - Jorge Taufua
1 point - Daly Cherry-Evans

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary

Welcome to the final game of Round 18 tonight at Cbus Super Stadium between the Gold Coast Titans and the Manly Sea Eagles. This will be the first opportunity Gold Coast crowd will get to see Daly Cherry-Evans play at Cbus after he backflipped on his multi-million dollar contract with the Titans on June third. A hostile reception awaits him and the Sea Eagles who have two changes to their team list. Dunami Lui is out injured and replaced by Ligi Sao in the starting line up; Jayden Hodges in jersey No.19 is added to the bench. For the Gold Coast they are 1-13 but have omitted bench forwards Matt White and Matt Robinson, they will be replaced by Beau Falloon and Nathaniel Peteru who will make his NRL debut tonight. Manly are clear favourites but the Titans have more of their starters healthy this week after a bye last round, they'll also want to play well to show up DCE. Stay tuned for kick off at approximately 7:05pm.

Manly are running out and the boos are rife for DCE from the small Monday night crowd.

The Titans are on the field and Manly are kicking off!

A strong defensive set from the Sea Eagles stops the Titans on their 30m line by 5th tackle. Hoffman kicks long for Brett Stewart.

2: Manly entered the Titans half on third tackle and DCE's first possession is heavily booed. Foran bombs for Anthony Don and he takes the catch well. When he went to ground the ball came loose and a scrum is awarded for Manly 10m from the Titans line.

3: Manly are using their first set on the Titans line trying to put a forward over the line through the middle of the field. On fifth Foran kicks too far into the in goal, Gordon takes an uncontested catch and will run to the 20m for a seven tackle set.

4: It's a 62m set from the Titans and a bomb for Don comes down in his hands 10m, Manly wrap him and gain possession from Don.

5: Daniel Mortimer is penalised as he held down the Manly player too long in the tackle. The Sea Eagles get to halfway to start another set.

6: Foran has the ball on fifth tackle and from 15m out he kicks across field, Roberts cleans up the ball in a contested situation and stays in the field of play.

7: UNFORCED ERROR GOLD COAST TITANS
David Mead makes an unforced error.
On tackle two he drops the ball and pressure will be back on the Titans.

8: UNFORCED ERROR MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Steve Matai makes an unforced error.
On the pass away from the scrum Matai drops the ball cold. Very uncharacteristic but the Titans will be lucky to gain possession again.

9: The Titans make it 35m from the Manly line on fifth tackle. Stewart has one foot inches from his try line when he takes the ball and is told to play on, ruling out a 20m restart.

9: A costly penalty given from the Titans. Luke Douglas rakes the ball with on 4th tackle when Manly were 60m away from the line. DCE gains 35m on the resulting kick to touch.

10: Ballin ducks from dummy half and lunges for the line. He was inches short but Nate Myles is penalised for a strip.

11: TRY MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Scored by Tom Trbojevic. Kick to come.
The havles combination was working beautifully there. Foran at second receiver passes to his right for Cherry-Evans, he delays a pass for the Titans to run out of position and lobs a ball to the winger Trbojevic to score along the sideline.

12: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Conversion attempt by Jamie Lyon unsuccessful.
The kick fades right of the goal posts from the right touchline.

13: On the first set after points Foran kicks high from 40m out of the Titans line. Don catches the ball this time and makes no mistake at the play the ball.

14: Jake Trbojevic gets his hand in the way of a Titans pass, Myles is the first to regather the ball and it's six to go.

14: Hoffman makes a half break and gains 20m past the Manly line. Metres are coming fast after that, the break has changed the momentum.

15: Mortimer on fifth smartly kicks a grubber into space at the in goal and Stewart in cover picks up the ball, but is tackled instantly. Line drop out coming up.

16: Penalty Manly. Ballin is charged on the 10m line and the Titans take the tap.

17: Penalty Manly. Mason has his hands on the ball, the Gold Coast really need points from this excellent field position.

18: Overall the Titans didn't look damaging except when they put Paasi through the line on a short pass. Fifth tackle is an absolute mess as the ball is shifted around too much and front rower Luke Douglas tried to grubber kick but knocked on instead.

19: Penalty Manly. All the presuure is now relieved as Mortimer strips the ball away from Sao. Manly will start their set on the Titans 40m line.

20: Feleti Mateo breaks two Titans and has Pettybourne hanging off him, Mateo attempts a long pass to Jorge Taufua but it's heavily forward. Titans will get a scrum from 15m out of their own line.

21: Mortimer comes up with a much better fifth tackle option. From 30m out he was able to get Taufua under immense pressure to cleanly catch a bomb, the winger does well though and Manly are deep inside their own half.

21: DCE was forced to kick inside his 30m line on fifth and his kick goes very long as Hoffman fields the ball on their own 25m line.

22: Metres are coming easily for the Titans again. 67m gained this set but Mortimer wasn't able to create points or a repeat set as a Titans knock on stops play.

23: On fifth tackle Anthony Don is tested under the high ball again. He looked much more comfortable there with less pressure on his 10m line.

24: Mortimer has all the kicking responsibility by the looks of it. His fifth tackle option goes long and sits deep in the Manly in goal. Taufua slowly gets back to return the football.

25: TRY MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Scored by Jorge Taufua. Kick to come.
Quick short passing and two offloads from Manly in one play gets them 40m up field and almost a break for a try. In the following couple of plays they run short side, the left edge and catch the Titans winger Don out of position. Taufua barges his way over in his corner of the field.

27: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Conversion attempt by Jamie Lyon unsuccessful.
Lyon struggles again with the sideline conversion, this time from left field.

28: A smart, safe set gets Manly to the Titans 40m line and Mead takes a bomb comfortably at fullback.

29: Hoffman places a cross field kick after an average Titans set. It's comfortably taken by Taufua on his 25m line.

30: DCE throws a dummy near the right touch line and the Gold Coast players attempt to push him over the sideline. The referee penalises the Titans for dragging him too far after calling held.

30: Now entrenched on the Titans try line Manly look to have scored a try on fifth tackle. The play is being reviewed by the video referee after the on field call was try.

30: TRY MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Scored by Brett Stewart. Kick to come.
DCE from first receiver passes to Jamie Lyon and it's Lyon feeding an inside ball to Stewart who barges over the top of Josh Hoffman and three other scrambling Titans defenders to just get the ball down on the grass for a try.

32: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Conversion attempt by Jamie Lyon successful.
Slightly closer to the posts this time, approximately 10m in from the sideline and he nails the conversion.

33: Big meters from Manly here and it looks like they are running down hill.

33: TRY MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Scored by Jorge Taufua. Kick to come.
On the halfway line Foran passes behind his front rower to Stewart who breaks the line with great speed. His run to the corner is ended by Mead but a pass was given earlier to Jordge Taufua who finishes the play on his left wing and knocks one defender away to score the try.

34: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Conversion attempt by Jamie Lyon successful.
He's got his radar on now. A sideline kick goes straight over the black dot.

35: UNFORCED ERROR MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Brett Stewart makes an unforced error.
Stewart again almost makes a break on halfway but he knocks the ball on. The Titans can take advantage of some good field position here.

36: UNFORCED ERROR MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Feleti Mateo makes an unforced error.
Nate Myles offloads the ball and Mateo is first to the footy but he's knocked the ball on. Scrum to Gold Coast from 45m out.

37: UNFORCED ERROR GOLD COAST TITANS
Nate Myles makes an unforced error.
Myles makes an awful mistake, once again his offload is intercepted and held by Jayden Hodges.

37: A break in play here as an accidental knee from Ryan James coming across in a cover tackle hurts Tom Symonds on fourth tackle.

37: He gets up and plays the ball to continue the game.

37: Foran fakes a kick to the corner and sends it low in field but there are no Manly chasers. Mead can gain some good metres from his line.

38: UNFORCED ERROR GOLD COAST TITANS
Beau Falloon makes an unforced error.
He looses control of the ball 30m out and Manly will set up an attack.

39: Penalty Manly. Foran was running across the Gold Coast defensive line but took too long and caused an obstruction.

39: The Titans get down field quickly but an awful Hoffman kick goes to Trbojevic, he and Manly get 50m but not close enough to threaten for a try.

40: That's half time. It's been a good display from Manly but the Titans have been ill disciplined with the ball and are being caught out of position on defence. The Titans could be better in the second half by lifting their low completion rate but we've already seen with their fifth tackle results they are struggling creating try scoring opportunities. Daly Cherry-Evans has been solid with the rest of his teammates but not a standout. The best of the first half has been Brett Stewart, Jorge Taufua and Kieran Foran. Second half not far away now.

40: The players are on the field and the second half is underway. The Sea Eagles will get first use of the ball.

40: Manly get 51m metres and from 40m out Foran kicks the ball deep into the corner of the field and trickles over the sideline.

43: A strong run from Nate Myles gets his side into the Manly half on fourth tackle. Mortimer bombs for Brett Stewart and a charging Dave Taylor makes strong contact immediately after Stewart catches the ball on his 10m line.

43: Don fields a Foran kick and makes it quickly back to his 30m line.

44: Coach Neil Henry must want more ariel pressure on Stewart as Hoffman bombs directly towards him. He takes it strongly though and Manly start to come away quickly.

44: TRY MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Scored by Kieran Foran. Kick to come.
Jamie Lyon from 60m out beats Nene McDonald one on one by running around him. He gets in the clear and passes back on his inside to a supporting Foran who steps one cover defender and beats the other to the try line.

46: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Conversion attempt by Jamie Lyon successful.
He makes a simple conversion from halfway between touch and midfield.

47: Big metres gained by Manly. They've got to the Titans 40m line again and Mead fields a low kick on the right wing.

48: Nene McDonald looked upset with his previous poor effort and has busted through the set Manly line. He makes a strong 50m before getting pulled down. On fifth tackle Mortimer fails to get the ball inside the in goal and can't set up a try or force a drop out.

49: Jamie Lyon ends a controlled Manly set and kicks along the ground to Don who is stuck in his corner of the field.

50: The Gold Coast are looking to make more metres along the edges and Roberts with McDonald have a couple of good runs. Mortimer kicks deep but Stewart easily takes a kick in goal which means a seven tackle set from the 20m is coming for Manly.

51: Penalty Titans. Lachlan Burr is charged with holding down on the tackled player too long on fourth tackle on the halfway line. Now the Sea Eagles are 20m and have a full set of six.

52: Mateo tries to get Stewart an offload but it goes behind him and Roberts fields the ball. Tom Symonds does well to bring him down and only letting Roberts get 10m.

53: Manly are on their line when fielding a Titans kick and DCE only gets to the 30m line on fifth tackle to kick long.

54: UNFORCED ERROR GOLD COAST TITANS
Lachlan Burr makes an unforced error.
The Titans try offloading on third tackle, three players were able to do so but Burr when he offloaded had it intercepted by Matt Ballin who was on the ground.

55: The Manly set ends with a grubber 10m out from the Gold Coast line, Mortimer makes a quick catch and breaks a tackle to be in the clear. He passes to the much faster Mead but he gets pulled down on halfway.

56: Taufua is forced down inside his in goal and a flying Titans chaser misses the chance to lock him down. Taufua escapes and Manly begin a set deep in their territory.

56: DCE kicks long on fourth tackle in an attempt to gain metres from a slightly out of position David Mead and Kevin Gordon. He gets the ball to within 15m of the Titans line.

56: Myles is on the bench with a hand injury. He doesn't look like returning to the field at this point.

58: The Titans finally get a good result from a set. Ryan James kicks high and Gordon can catch and offload to eventually get a kick chased over the sideline by Manly. Goal line dropout coming up.

58: Dave Taylor gets his first strong run of the game and needed a strong runner to get an offload to but he doesn't have anyone for it. Don bats a high ball back off his wing to Roberts but he instantly knocks and it's a changeover.

59: Myles has a right thumb injury that is severe but he will return.

60: Tom Trbojevic kicks on fifth and Gordon fields the ball 25m out on his wing. A covering Mateo tackled Gordon high and the Titans will benefit from a penalty.

62: The Titans got two plays on the Sea Eagles line but they do create pressure as Taufua catches a grubber kick over the dead ball line to give Gold Coast a line dropout.

62: Symonds is penalised for a slow release on the tackled player. The Gold Coast will get a full set on the Manly line.

64: Ryan James performs a forward pass on third tackle and spoils all the Titans efforts to get a try late in this second half.

65: Manly were attempt to break the line 40m away from the Titans line through Justin Horo but Dave Taylor knocks on the pass to prevent the action. Manly will get a scrum.

66: Stewart is set up successfully by Mateo this time and Stewart was one on one with the fullback. A covering Titan forced the ball loose and it's ruled an illegal strip. Penalty and six more ahead.

68: TRY MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Scored by Willie Mason. Kick to come.
A strong charge next to the left upright goes straight over the debutant Peteru and two other covering Titans players to score a soft try.

68: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Conversion attempt by Jamie Lyon successful.
Beside the uprights Lyon converts.

69: Easy metres for Manly they get inside the Titans red zone and DCE kicks to Mead on the left wing.

71: The Gold Coast make it just to the Sea Eagles 40m line and a bomb for Stewart and it's fielded comfortably.

71: TRY MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Scored by Tom Trbojevic. Kick to come.
Steve Matai easily breaks the line on midfield at halfway and a tackle from Mead forces the ball forward. Trbojevic got to the ball first and scores. The referee calls try but gets the video referee to check it. It's checked and to the disbelief of the Titans fans and players it's rewarded.

73: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Conversion attempt by Jamie Lyon successful.
Easy conversion again beside the posts.

73: Penalty Titans. A kick to the sideline afterward gets Manly to the Gold Coast 40m line for a new set.

74: Quickly the Sea Eagles get up to the Gold Coast line and a Brett Stewart grubber on fifth tackle scurries over the sideline, just too quick for Taufua to try and gather to score a hat trick.

77: Dave Taylor gets on the edge of the defence and provides an offload to James Roberts. His silky skills were on full display there, he gets to 20m away from the line. A pass to Mortimer is perfect but dropped by Mortimer.

78: DCE tries a chip kick on third tackle on the Gold Coast's side of half way but it comes to nothing as Mead fields it comfortably.

79: TRY GOLD COAST TITANS
Scored by Nathaniel Peteru. Kick to come.
Once again late in this game Taylor is able to break defenders and this time he broke the line. On debut the front rower Peteru supports Taylor and scores from the offload under the posts.

79: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION GOLD COAST TITANS
Conversion attempt by Kevin Gordon successful.
Doesn't get easier than that.

80: That is full time. Manly were clinical tonight and have kick started their charge to make the top 8 for the finals. They're healthy and combining well. The Titans will hope to get more players back from injury before they play next week as they were lacking quality NRL first graders against Manly tonight.

80: Stay tuned for a match report in about 45 minutes time. Other than that thank you for your company tonight, have a good night.