Just one month ago, Manly Sea Eagles supporters booed their team off the home pitch at 4 Pines Park, calling for immediate leadership change after a third consecutive defeat that saw former head coach Anthony Seibold lose his job. Ironically, that loss came at the hands of the Sydney Roosters, led by ex-Sea Eagles star Daly Cherry-Evans, leaving fans fearing the club would spend the 2026 NRL season fighting to avoid the wooden spoon. Today, that narrative has flipped entirely: a dominant 33-18 second-half victory over the Parramatta Eels has pushed Manly to four straight wins, and club legend-turned-interim coach Kieran Foran has turned early-season despair into legitimate finals contention.
Foran’s incredible turnaround since taking the top job has been nothing short of miraculous. The undefeated 4-0 start under his guidance has erased all talk of a last-place finish, with fans and analysts now openly debating whether the Sea Eagles can sustain their red-hot form to climb all the way into the top four. This win against the Eels was Foran’s biggest test to date, with star fullback Tom Trbojevic sidelined by injury – but Tom’s brothers stepped up to fill the gap seamlessly. Within the opening minutes of the match, Jake Trbojevic crashed over the try line off a well-placed kick to put Manly on the board early.
Midway through the second half, Ben Trbojevic delivered a pinpoint offload to halfback Jamal Fogarty, who sprinted 50 metres to score a breakaway try that blew the game wide open and cemented Manly’s lead. While the win was a massive boost for the club’s finals hopes, it did come with fresh injury concerns: Fogarty was taken off the field late in the match, and forward Corey Waddell was forced to exit early with a pectoral injury. The Sea Eagles’ credentials will face their toughest test this coming Sunday night, when they take on defending premiers Penrith in a clash that will prove just how far this revitalized side has come.
For the Parramatta Eels, the result extends a devastating run of poor form and crippling injury woes that have left them sitting 15th on the ladder ahead of the round 12 bye. The club’s injury crisis deepened during the match, when center Dylan Walker suffered an arm injury that saw him return for the second half with his left arm strapped in a sling. Walker is the latest key player sidelined for Parramatta, joining a long list of starters including Jonah Pezet, Isaiah Iongi, J’maine Hopgood and Bailey Simonsson who are already out long-term. Walker had been one of the Eels’ most consistent playmakers through the early rounds, and his absence will be a major blow for the side moving forward. The Eels also face potential further disruption, with dummy-half Tallyn Da Silva facing possible suspension after being sin-binned for a dangerous lifting tackle on Jake Simpkin. While Parramatta put up a solid defensive fight in the first half, they collapsed in the second, as Manly carved through their edges repeatedly – winger Brian Kelly had a particularly tough day, committing five costly errors. The Eels will face tough matches against the New Zealand Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys and Melbourne Storm before their bye, leaving them with little room to claw their way back up the ladder in the coming weeks.
One of the standout individual performances of the match came from Manly back-rower Haumole Olakau’atu, whose barnstorming display dragged the side through an otherwise unremarkable first half and pushed him into contention for a call-up to the NSW Blues State of Origin side. The powerful forward ran 201 metres from 21 carries, notched four offloads, broke seven tackles and delivered a brutal hit on Dylan Walker just before halftime that set up a field goal to give Manly a 7-6 halftime lead. Olakau’atu, who came off the bench in two Origins for the Blues in 2024, is now firmly on NSW coach Laurie Daley’s radar after a string of dominant displays showcasing his explosive running and elite aerial skills.
Speed winger Jason Saab also delivered a memorable moment for the Sea Eagles, showcasing unexpected soccer skills to score one of the match’s most talked-about tries. After Fogarty put up a high kick into the in-goal area, Saab out-jumped the Eels defence to notch a perfect header that set him up for a clear run to the line, capping off a stunning day for the revitalized Manly side.