[Source: NRL]

The Manly Sea Eagles mauled the Bulldogs 34-22 to make a statement of intent just two weeks out from the finals but a shoulder injury to star fullback Tom Trbojevic took some of the gloss off the victory.

In front of 35,502 fans at Accor Stadium, the Sea Eagles continued their recent dominance of the Bulldogs as their forwards laid a platform for their speed men to run riot.

The Bulldogs made a stunning opening when they shifted left from a tap restart and Matt Burton, Connor Tracey and Bronson Xerri combined before Josh Addo-Carr shrugged off two defenders and found Reed Mahoney backing up for a try in just the second minute.

On the back of a high tackle penalty against Viliame Kikau the Sea Eagles looked to have answered back in the ninth minute when Haumole Olakau’atu flew high to drag down a bomb but replays showed he had knocked the ball on in the contest.

Straight from the scrum play the Sea Eagles came up with a trick play and Olakau’atu combined with Reuben Garrick to send Jason Saab over in the corner and the scores were locked at 6-6.

Four minutes later the Sea Eagles had another when Olakau’atu got an offload away that went to ground but Luke Brooks toed the ball ahead and regathered before finding Tom Trbojevic in support for a 12-6 lead with Garrick’s conversion.

Slick lead-up by Brooks, Tom Trbojevic and Tommy Talau in the 19th minute set Lehi Hopoate up for a try before Addo-Carr hit back for the Bulldogs as both sides showed off their array of attacking skills.

A mistake by Xerri coming out of his own end in the 31st minute handed Manly field position and Brooks came up with a peach of a pass to put Karl Lawton into space and the visitors took a 24-12 lead to the break.

Four minutes into the second half the Bulldogs got across the line through Kikau but the bunker ruled Xerri had obstructed Olakau’atu and the try was ruled out.

A 40-20 kick by Daly Cherry-Evans in the 47th minute put Manly in the red zone but the Dogs held on before Brooks got the ball back with a one-on-one steal and Hopoate crossed for his second to put the Sea Eagles out by 18 points.

A sensational solo try by Garrick in the 52nd minute made it 34-12 as the Sea Eagles made a serious statement just two weeks out from the finals.

The Sea Eagles lost Tom Trbojevic to a head cut in the 64th minute and the Bulldogs struck back when back-rower Jacob Preston poured into a hole to dot down and get the score back to 34-16.

The Bulldogs finished the night with a second try for Mahoney courtesy of a chip over the top from Addo-Carr after a dozen other players had been involved in the movement.