A great crowd of over 32,000 has seen the Manly Sea Eagles beat the North Queensland Cowboys 28-6.
Manly looked the better side for the entire game as the Cowboys just seem to be holding on for most of the match.
Playing behind a beaten pack, Thurston, Bowen and Payne were just unable to get anything happening despite trying throught the match.
The best player on field however was Michael Monaghan who looked to be the difference between the two teams.
Early in the game Monaghan was causing all sorts of problems for the Cowboys around the ruck, but after getting hit kicking a 40-20 he left the field with concussion and the Sea Eagles all of a sudden looked a lot less dangerous.
Returning after halftime, he was still groggy but the Sea Eagles just look so much sharper and focused with him on the field, with Orford once again not handling the pressure game and Jamie Lyon being a non factor as he has been all season.
The Sea Eagles defense at times was brilliant. They scramble very well, on their line they are very hard to break down and they back up time and time again.
So, the Silvertails are back in the big one for the first time since their 1997 heartbreak against the Newcastle Knights. Now we wait to see who they face for the big one next weekend.
