A sensational hattrick to centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall was the highlight of a memorable comeback by the Sydney Roosters who downed Manly 30-14 at the Sydney Football Stadium tonight.
The Roosters rallied from 14-0 down late in the first half to score 30 unanswered points and keep their hopes of ahome final alive, while Manly slip to seventh on the ladder and could potentially miss the finals.
Kenny-Dowall's first two tries, on either side of the half-time break, included an 85-metre intercept off a Chris Bailey error and a magnificent one-handed put down.
The Roosters suffered a blow before kick-off with star fullback Anthony Minichiello ruled out with a hamstring injury but his replacement, Johnathan Ford, looked right at home in just his second NRL start.
Manly's left-hand side attack contributed two tries in the first half, with Ben Farrar, Steve Matai and Michael Robertson running rings around their opponents, giving Manly a 14-0 lead before the SKD show started.
With two seconds left in the first half Kenny-Dowall scored one of the tries of the season when he finished off a spectacular series of passes, kicked for himself and regathered before dotting down.
Outstanding five-eighth Todd Carney was also instrumental in the victory, scoring a try of his own while setting up Kenny-Dowall's third of the afternoon and making Manly's defence look amateurish at times.
The 18,962 strong crowd erupted when Carney strolled through some very ordinary Manly defence to give the Roosters the lead in the 49th minute.
Carney and Kenny-Dowall combined again in the 61st minute for a 95 metre effort which resulted in Sam Perrett's four-pointer.
The match threatened to explode with Manly's Glenn Stewart and Rooster Daniel Conn both put on report for high tackles on Braith Anasta and Brent Kite respectively.
Sea Eagles co-captain Jamie Lyon was also put on report when he gave away an eight-point try for making contact with Kenny-Dowall after his second try.
SYDNEY ROOSTERS 30 (S Kenny-Dowall 3 T Carney S Perrett tries T Carney 5 goals) bt MANLY 14 (S Matai M Robertson tries J Lyon 3 goals) at Sydney Football Stadium. Referee: Tony Archer, Matt Cecchin. Crowd: 18,962
