Turbo blunder duds Manly as field goal snatches victory for Warriors
Penrith only needs to beat Wests Tigers by more than two points on Sunday afternoon to claim the minor premiership, after the Warriors escaped with a 31-30 victory over a plucky Sea Eagles side in Auckland.
Manly superstar Tom Trbojevic will be kicking himself on the plane back to Sydney after a brain fade in the 67th minute on Saturday afternoon prevented the Sea Eagles from going up by two converted tries.
Tom Trbojevic holding back Jacob Laban. Fox League
Warriors fullback Taine Tuaupiki completed a hat-trick only moments later as the hosts levelled the scores at 30-30, before Chanel Harris-Tavita slotted a field goal in the 78th minute to snatch a 31-30 win for the Kiwi outfit.
Had Trbojevic not held back Jacob Laban after putting his brother Ben through a gap, Clayton Faulalo would have been awarded a try and the Sea Eagles would have extended their lead to 36-24.
Instead, the Warriors remained only one converted try behind – and they then ran down Kieran Foran’s team to end their regular-season campaign on a winning note.
“That’s a big moment in the game – he knows it as well,” Kevin Walters said of the Trbojevic blunder on Fox League.
“He didn’t need to do it.”
Foran was asked about the Trbojevic brain snap in his post-game press conference. He couldn’t hide his disappointment.
“Yeah, that was huge,” the rookie coach said.
“We get that try, we’d probably kick on and win the game of footy, and we’re talking about what a mighty effort it is to come out on top.”
Four lead changes and several scintillating tries, including tries scored by the Sea Eagles from their half of the field, made for a highly entertaining game.
Trbojevic pulled the Warriors’ pants down with a piece of individual magic when the Sea Eagles were trailing 24-12 in the 49th minute.
The 2021 Dally M Medallist stepped off his left to beat Ali Leiataua, jinked off his right to get around Te Maire Martin, accelerated into space, and threaded a grubber past Tuaupiki and into the path of Josh Feledy, who pounced and scored.
The Warriors temporarily sit two points ahead of the Panthers on the ladder with a differential of +310, compared to Penrith’s +308.
The Panthers will collect their first minor premiership since 2023 if they win by more than two points against the Tigers at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.
