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Last gasp Manly sneak past hapless Eels

An 80th minute Steve Matai try cruelly denied Parramatta a breakthrough NRL win at Brookvale Oval on Sunday.

Manly were victorious 22-18 after Parramatta had taken the lead 18-16 with six minutes remaining.

But Matai grabbed a Daly Cherry-Evans kick in the final minute to deny the Eels their first away win in 21 games.

Joseph Paulo converted a Nathan Peats try to put the Eels ahead 18-16 before 14,135 fans but Manly pressed late in the game and showed again why they have been one of the NRL’s dominant teams of the last 10 years.

Parramatta illustrated that losing remains a habit.

Semi Radradra starred for the visitors, scoring a double.

He beat four defenders for his second in the 67th minute after a 48th minute touchdown.

Five-eighth Kieran Foran’s late withdrawal with a calf injury didn’t affect the home side early with Steve Matai crossing after eight minutes when Parramatta failed to number up on their short right side after being penalised twice in a row.

The Sea Eagles looked set to put on a cricket score when David Williams pounced on a Cherry-Evans kick in the 11th minute but the Manly winger was ruled to have dropped the ball by the video referee.

Parramatta largely failed to click in attack in the first half and did well to hold Manly back from a bigger lead on the back of indiscipline that saw a 5-1 penalty count against them after just 30 minutes.

Fullback Peta Hiku extended Manly’s lead in the 31st minute when he cleverly darted over from dummy half from 11m out.

Jamie Lyon’s successful conversion put Manly out 10-0 for the halftime score.

Jarryd Hayne struggled throughout the match with an ankle complaint, while Ben Smith is another injury worry for the Eels. He left the field with a fractured finger in the 33rd minute and didn’t return.

Glenn Stewart was put on report for a second half high tackle on Fuifui Moimoi.

Radradra was also on report for a high hit on Cherry-Evans late in the game.

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