This article has been transcribed without permission from The Manly Daily, Wednesday, 10th May, 1995, page 40.
Bring on the Raiders... that was the call among the army of Manly supporters at Parramatta Stadium on Monday night after the Sea Eagles handed the Sydney Bulldogs a 26-0 rugby league lesson.
The Sea Eagles - six of them backing up from Friday's City v Country clash - scored five tries, four of them backline specials, and showed why they have the best defensive record in the league. Manly supporters could have chosen to watch the match in the comfort of their loungerooms, but they dominated the crowd of 18,000 and created an atmosphere that wouldn't be lost at Brookvale Oval. The only sour point was an ugly outbreak of fighting in the crowd.
``When we arrived at the ground there was hardly anyone there and we thought there'd be no atmosphere at all said Manly and now NSW winger Craig Hancock. ``But when we ran onto the field it was amazing. Our supporters always follow us around.''
And there was plenty to cheer about once the Sea Eagles repelled some threatening early play from the Bulldogs. Winger John Hopoate proved the hardest man on the field to put down and played a role in Manly's first three tries. Twenty minutes into the match, the Tongan-born 21-year-old pounced on a loose ball and took a power of stopping before he was finally grassed 10m out from the Bulldogs line. From the next ruck, second rower Steve Menzies broke the line and found Terry Hill in support for the try.
Another bullocking Hopoate run gave Manly the impetus for try No 2. The ball was spread quickly to a flying Danny Moore, who ran 40m before turning a clever inside pass to Cliff Lyons for the try.
Seven minutes from half time a long Lyons pass gave Hopoate a clear passage down the flank before Menzies was tackled 10m out from the Bulldogs line. Quick hands across the field saw Terry Hill go in for his second try, giving Manly a 14-0 half-time lead.
Five minutes into the second half, a Matthew Ridge bomb bounced off the Canterbury full-back and into the arms of Menzies, who scored his eighth try in nine rounds. Five minutes from full-time Terry Hill made a bust before sendinf replacement winger Jack Elsegood flying down the touchline for Manly's last try.
There was a host of Manly stars, not least prop Mark Carroll, who got through a huge workload that left him with two badly damaged teeth. Carroll's two front teeth broke inside the gum when his head clashed with a Bulldog shoulder. At a post-match gathering at Brookvale, Carroll's team-mates rang around to find him a dentist. From 11pm until 12.30am, Carroll had emergency braces fitted to his teeth tokeep them stable during State of Origin series. He faces more extensice dental work once the braces come off.
Manly's next matcg against Canberra at Bruce Stadium is set for the second week of the split round on Sunday, May 21.
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