Shute Shield: Manly Serve Notice In Opening Day Try Fest
by Paul Cook -
It’s only round one but Manly have served the rest of the Shute Shield notice of their intentions in 2014 with a fairly comprehensive 43-28 victory over Southern Districts at Forshaw Park this afternoon.
The Marlins outscored their hosts by seven tries to three with a combination of raw power and aggression in the forwards and pace, precision and execution in the backs. They outmuscled and out-enthused Souths at the breakdown and had the finishing power to profit from their ascendancy.
Coach Phil Blake was understandably pleased to get off the mark in such a manner.
“To score seven tries is obviously a big bonus,” he told Rugby News afterwards, “We’ve just got to work on a few little things but I thought in the end, the scoreline probably flattered them a little bit. I thought our forwards were pretty dom