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Manly off the mark with first win of the season

Manly has got on the board for 2016, with an eventful 22-12 win over Cronulla at Brookvale Oval.

On a drizzly night at Brookvale, the Sea Eagles and Sharks produced chances aplenty, and with a bit of luck the number of tries scored could have been triple the final actual tally.

Manly was coming off a loss to Wests Tigers, while the Sharks had humbled the Dragons in round two, and Cronulla started off in a similar vein on Monday night.

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The Sharks hit the front through Luke Lewis in the third minute, and Cronulla kept getting the ball back – by the time Manly finally saw possession in the 10th minute, the home side was already 8-0 down.

Manly began to get in the game, but a string of attacks ended in failure either through knock-ons close to the line or tries being disallowed.

Fittingly, it took a review to confirm it when the home side opened its account, ruling that Matt Parcell had cleanly grabbed the ball off Lewis before diving over for a Manly try.

Cronulla was 8-6 down at the break, but Brett Stewart brought the home crowd to its feet on his return for Manly, touching down a kick-ahead to make it 12-8 in the 48th minute.

Nine minutes later, a repeat set paid dividends when Feleti Mateo dummied before sending interchange Jake Trbojevic diving over next to the posts, putting Manly 18-8 up.

The Sharks kept themselves in the game with a try in the 65th minute, as James Maloney combined with half-back Chad Townsend to send Valentine Holmes over in the corner, but an intercept try to Tom Trbojevic sealed the win with eight minutes left.

Manly and Cronulla now both have one win from three rounds.

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