Manly’s faint finals hopes are still alive after Clayton Faulalo starred again at five-eighth to lead the Sea Eagles to a 44-10 thumping of St George Illawarra.
On a dominant Friday night at Brookvale, Manly claimed their biggest win since April as they officially locked the Dragons into their first ever wooden spoon.
Faulalo was in it all with a try and three assists, before his night ended following a head knock that prompted teenager Onitoni Large’s debut off the bench.
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For Manly to play finals, they need to beat the Warriors in Auckland next week and hope North Queensland or South Sydney lose their last two games.
But in all likelihood, this will prove a season of what-ifs for the Sea Eagles.
What if they hadn’t thrown away the first month, when three straight losses at home resulted in Anthony Seibold’s axing as coach?
What if they hadn’t blown a late lead against North Queensland, or thrown away good starts against Canterbury, Gold Coast and Melbourne?
What if Tom Trbojevic hadn’t gone down against the Titans, or the club’s depth wasn’t such an issue?
Since Trbojevic’s return last week against Newcastle, Manly have put on 44 points in each of their two games.
Trbojevic scored himself when he slid over off Faulalo, before putting Jason Saab into space on the next set in the lead-up to a Reuben Garrick try.
Faulalo showed why he has been one of Manly’s best finds this year, with the fill-in five-eighth putting on a bullet cut-out ball for Lehi Hopoate to score their first.
He helped lay on another for Josh Feledy in the second half when he picked up a loose ball, before going 70 metres himself when a Dragons pass hit the ground.
The biggest question around the 26-year-old is what position he eventually settles in, after impressive runs at No.1 and No.6 this year.
Large, who is viewed as a long-term prospect at No.6, also looked dangerous in his 21 minutes, while Haumole Olakau’atu was again damaging.
And halfback Jamal Fogarty had a night out, terrorising Dan Atkinson with his bombs and twice kicking for an unmarked Saab to score.
In reality, Manly would likely have taken 11 wins this season after the start they had under Seibold.
But at the same time, they sat third at the halfway point of the season and the top four looked a chance.
For the Dragons, this was their worst outing since Anzac Day after a run of gutsy performances.
In the opening half-hour of the game they completed just four sets, made five errors, conceded five tries and at one stage went 14 minutes without having the ball.
And while Tyrell Sloan and Moses Suli scored late, every other Dragons attacking raid ended with an error, intercept or being bundled into touch.