Sanders stars as Canberra beat Manly in NRL thriller
Alex Mitchell |
Canberra’s life without Jamal Fogarty has started in astonishing fashion, with new No.7 Ethan Sanders scoring a field goal to win a golden point thriller against Manly.
After a late Sea Eagles flurry forced the contest at Brookvale Oval to extra time, 22-year-old Sanders needed just one attempt to seal the 29-28 round one win.
Fogarty, in his Manly debut against his former team, had forced golden point with the last kick of normal time after Canberra players were ruled offside on his two-point field goal attempt.
He slotted the penalty goal after the fulltime siren, before his Canberra replacement got the last laugh with his first chance in the extra period.
In an extraordinary game, Manly led 14-0 inside 20 minutes before five unanswered tries flipped the script for a Raiders’ 28-14 advantage.
Late tries for Tolutau Koula and Fogarty brought the Sea Eagles within two, before the half’s penalty goal forced extra time.
Two tries each for emerging second-rower Noah Martin and pacey winger Xavier Savage, along with a bursting run from Sanders, had helped Canberra overcome their poor opening 20 minutes where ill discipline put them into their 14-0 hole.
In the Raiders’ first start without halfback Fogarty, who swapped Canberra green for Manly maroon in the off-season, Sanders and five-eighth Ethan Strange hardly put a foot wrong and created a try each in the comeback win.
A cross-field kick from Fogarty created a try for second-rower Haumole Olakau’atu for Manly’s 14-0 lead.
Martin, in just his second NRL start, got Canberra going after their lamentable start when they did not touch the football for the first 12 minutes.
They gave away three penalties, six set restarts and tries to Tom Trbojevic and Olakau’atu, before Martin beat two tacklers for his side’s first points.
Three tries in seven minutes, including Martin’s second from a delightful Kaeo Weekes ball, put Canberra in the box seat.
Savage scored two in four minutes, his second courtesy of a deft kick from second-rower Hudson Young.
Sanders’ try, after a slicing run from close range, looked to have punctuated the victory, before his one-pointer showed Canberra fans the quality he could bring for the next decade.
AAP