Round 7 Men’s Premier Division Match Review: Manly Warringah Wolves vs St George Dragons

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Written by Lachlan Scott

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First Quarter

Manly Warringah and St George truly played in the spirit of Sir Doug Nicholls Round in this titanic struggle at Weldon Oval. Fans were treated to a beautiful Sydney afternoon down on the beaches, and an absolute torrent of goals to go with it.

The Wolves wasted no time starting the scoring, Gabila earning a free kick next to the sticks, snapping around from the corner and putting Manly up in the first 60 seconds. Feeling the momentum in their favour they drive forward again through Behagg and Gabila who finds Jacobs in the goal square. He plays on like the sirens about to sound and kicks the second straight for Manly.

St George drive forward from the centre bounce but can’t lock the ball forward. Sheldrick gets behind the ball and turns an intercept mark into a forward entry for Manly. Gabila must have magnets in his hands because the ball can’t get away from him. He collects 30m out directly in front from a spilled marking contest and kicks truly for his second. Manly are really piling on the pressure early, St George looking to respond.

 And respond they do, the dragons sending the ball deep forward towards Maher in a desperate contest. He takes a spectacular contested mark that would make Barry Hall proud, but the kick drifts right off the boot, St George on the board 7 minutes in. Manly kick out of their defensive 50 but run into Pearson who intercepts a handball heading inside 50 and lays a bone crunching tackle moments later in a desperate defensive effort. The Dragons go coast to coast thanks to similar efforts and find Tegg streaming off his man over the back. The kick flies just past him, bounces directly upwards and he converts at full speed on the run, nonchalant as you like.

Both sides are cutting through the midfield like butter but tripping on the final hurdle as they exchange behinds back and forth. A beautiful tackle by McKellar on the boundary exemplifies the crushing pressure both defences are throwing into the mix in reaction to the quick ball movement. Behagg breaks the stalemate with a strong over the shoulder mark deep in the pocket. He curls the ball with silky smooth skills for a big man and goals as the roar goes up for the fan favourite.

St George navigate forward from the centre bounce and a roving maul develops as Manly floods back to block up the defence. Tegg powers out from the contest towards the boundary line, breaks one tackle, breaks a second, kicks check side from the boundary line and scores a miracle goal! The Dragons immediately keep up the pressure from the bounce, Nicholls drawing a free kick on the 50 arc. He plays on to Hodgson who launches the Sherrin with abandon and wills it through the big sticks, St George closing the gap quickly.

And suddenly they’re within one! Warton flies through the contest with no pressure on him, slams the ball across his body and it sails truly bringing the Dragons right back into the contest.

Manly respond swiftly from the centre as the shootout continues. Stubbs sends it long to a contest deep in the Wolves forward pocket. It’s fisted down by the defence but not out of bounds as Wearne snaffles it off the deck and snaps to perfection.

Markos keeps the Dragons within a point with a mammoth kick from outside 50 on the siren to bring an end to one of the most evenly contested quarters of footy this year.

Quarter Time: Manly Warringah Wolves 5.5.35 – St George Dragons 5.4.34

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Second Quarter

Manly look to continue the shootout in the second, with Wright earning a free kick in their first foray forward, 30m out slightly left. Wright makes it look easy with an arrow straight kicking motion and lands a textbook goal to push the Wolves’ lead early. 

It looks like the coaches have spoken to the defenders and midfielders in the break as movement through the midfield is choked and pressured heavily compared to the first. Defensive intercept marks abound as both defences take a more proactive approach, breaking of their opponents and finding the ball. Ritchie finds an avenue to goal with a free kick up forward for St George. He kicks laces out and the ball doesn’t deviate an inch as he levels the scores.

Manly earn a chance to take the lead back through an unyielding tackle by Youlten up forward. He makes the difficult angle look easy as he takes his time and kicks plumb over the goal umpires head, Manly by 5. Scoring dries up as Marsh mans the last line of defence for Manly down back stopping several kicks for goal dead in their tracks. Down the other end Youlten and Wearne try extending Manly’s lead but can’t line up the sights against overwhelming Dragons defence.

Avenues to goal dried up in the second as both defensive outfits clamped down on forward movement. Greater pressure in the midfield eliminated a lot of opportunities for quick forward 50 entries and tied down players looking to run through for a handball receive. Still an incredibly close contest with neither side having a clear upper hand anywhere on the field.

Half Time: Manly Warringah Wolves 7.8.50 – St George Dragons 6.7.43

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Third Quarter

The Dragons and the Wolves came out firing after the half time break with aggressive kicks throughout the midfield looking to find a break and escape forward. St George strike first through Jones who finds Nicholls streaming out of the goal square. His kick slides right in the air for a minor but gives the midfield time to work hard forward and lock the ball forward. Manly’s defence looks calm and collected whilst under siege here as St George goes forward again and again.

Finally Manly breaks out through transitioning across the field then driving forward with long kicks finding one-on-ones.  They hold the ball forward long enough for Wearne to dive into the contest and earn himself a free kick putting his head over the ball. He kicks truly from 20m out at a slight angle showing he doesn’t have to just kick impossible goals.

The Dragons grind forward from the centre bounce, repeat ball ups slowing their progress. Finally, they break out through Jones who loops a long handball out to Ayres who’s floated forward past the contest, unmarked. He breaks into a sprint away from the nearest defenders and sends a long kick straight through the uprights to reap some reward for St George’s forward ascendancy this quarter.

Again, the midfield battle rages as both sides find their avenues to goal well covered by the defence. Manly execute a switch and transition swiftly down the far side of the ground, the final kick finding its mark in the hands of Washington. He takes his time with the run up, goals in a game this close are worth their weight in gold. And the wait was worth it, the goal umpire does not move as the pinpoint accurate kick hits dead centre, Manly by 11.

The quarter finishes in frantic fashion as St George go forward with less than a minute left. Nathan Kenny waits behind the marking contest and looks to collect the tap down. The ball does him no favours as it bobbles erratically towards the boundary line. He stoops down and collects at a full sprint and snaps across his body in sublime fashion to bring the margin back to 5 with a quarter left to play.

Three Quarter Time: Manly Warringah Wolves 9.8.62 – St George Dragons 8.9.57

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Fourth Quarter

Scoring slows right down to open the fourth as both defences stand tall and pick their kicks carefully, not wasting hard earned intercept marks. The Dragons midfield flick a switch with a burst of speed catching their opposition flat footed as they blast down the far side of the ground. Nicholls sprints away from the contest at halfway, takes a bounce, kicks long towards Kenny who puts his body between his opponent and the ball. He picks up the bouncing ball as it roars past him, spins 180 degrees and kicks lighting quick, dibbling through the first for St George in the blink of an eye. Scores are level again!

Both sides hold their composure under pressure as the seconds tick down, but someone’s taken away the forward’s kicking boots as both sides kick multiple behinds when kicking a goal here would win it. Jacobs is in everything down back for Manly, spoiling every Dragons forward entry with intercept marks, manhandling opponents in the contest and just being a constant nuisance to his opponents.

The Wolves’ efforts down back finally get the ball out and down the other end after some nail-biting minutes for fans. Manly break through the middle with quick handball chains and gut running on some very tired legs. The kick forward targets Behagg but the defence is all over him and the umpire calls for a ball up. Gabila knocks back a St George handball forcing a contest 30m out from goal, He stalks the outside of it as the rovers fight for the ball. After what seems like an eternity finally one can spear a handball to him and in a single step and the blink of an eye he seals the goal and seals the game. Manly by 7.

The Dragons earn a 50m penalty to get them within sight of the goals. The kick is long to the goal square, but the Wolves defence continues to hold strong at the most important moments, tapping it through. They race down the field knowing they need to put as much distance between the ball and their defensive goal in order to hold off this tenacious St George outfit. Haynes takes a mark forward for Manly and chews the remaining time on the clock to secure the victory for Manly.

A classic contest here between two very evenly matched sides as St George is unable to secure 3 wins in a row and Manly manage to break their 4 game losing streak. Fans will be looking forward to the next time this match up occurs, bring your popcorn!

Full Time: Manly Warringah Wolves 10.13.73 – St George Dragons 9.12.66

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Final Scores:

Manly Warringah Wolves: 10.13.73

Goal Kickers: R. Wearne 2, L. Behagg, J. Field, K. Gabila, A. Jacobs, K. Martin, H. Washington, T. Wright, Z. Youlten

Best: Taine Wright, Kale Gabila, Tom Sheldrick, Alexander Jacobs, Kieran Le Jeune, Damien Haynes

St George Dragons: 9.12.66

Goal Kickers: N. Kenny 2, P. Tegg 2, K. Ayres, B. Hodgson, A. Markos, F. Ritchie, B. Wharton

Best: Ben Jones, Ben Hodgson, Nelson Carey, Timothy Coenen, Ethan Maher, Nathaniel Mckenzie-Hicks