Anthony Seibold was a dead man walking a fortnight ago.
Yet, following Manlyโs 30-12 shellacking of South Sydney, the Sea Eagles now find themselves back in the NRLโs top eight.
How quickly things can change in rugby league.
MATCH CENTRE: Manly Sea Eagles vs South Sydney Rabbitohs live scores, teams
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While it took a quarter of the game for them to make a dent on the scoreboard, the Sea Eagles more than made up for it soon after with a flurry of points.
The much-maligned personnel changes looked to click for Seibold, with now winger Reuben Garrick and makeshift centre Tom Trbojevic each scoring a double to help Manly race out to a 20-point lead soon after half-time.
The gun centre also paid tribute to Liverpool star Diogo Jota who tragically passed away alongside his brother in a car accident, making his jersey No.20 with his hands.
Sea Eagles skipper Daly Cherry-Evans extended the lead when he polished off a long-range effort, in a final blow to South Sydneyโs fortunes.
Two tries in quick succession for Souths centre Tallis Duncan and a four-pointer at the death for winger Isaah Taas proved nothing but consolations.
While the Sea Eagles will be disappointed with their efforts in the final 20 minutes, the real litmus test will come after their next-up bye with games to come against three top four outfits in Melbourne, Bulldogs and Canberra.
Of concern for the Sea Eagles is the immediate future of Jason Saab who was taking from the field with an ankle injury midway through the second half.
RETURN SOURED
A silver lining amidst the Rabbitohsโ ongoing woes was the club debut of mid-season signing Brandon Smith, who was thrown into the deep end from the get-go with a 20-minute stint at hooker.
There were plenty of emotions surrounding Smithโs return 10 months on from a knee reconstruction, but it soon turned sour in his second on-field stint.
Smith would require assistance in the shadows of full-time, leaving the field before Wayne Bennett confirmed heโd suffered a fresh MCL injury.
Smith will once again spend time on the sidelines, staring down the barrell of six to eight weeks of recovery.
Injuries have been the story of South Sydneyโs season, with their 18-point loss leaving them one rung off the bottom of the ladder.
While still a long way off from being determined, a wooden spoon would be an unwanted first for master coach Wayne Bennett who must be wondering what he did to deserve the Rabbitohsโ burgeoning casualty ward.
Both Cody Walker and Euan Aitken have suffered recent injuries, while Cameron Murray has been sidelined all year with an Achilles rupture.
Nightmare return! Smith cops new injury | 00:40
RABBITOHS DEFENSIVE WOES
As the old saying goes, defence wins games.
The Rabbitohs in Round 18 missed a staggering 23 tackles in the first half, which handed the Sea Eagles the ascendency.
Manly scored 14 unanswered points to go into the break with a strong lead, but from there one try early in the second half summed up their performance according to Nathan Hindmarsh.
โThe talking point of the day was having Cheese back, Brandon Smith. But 24 missed tackles in the first half,โ Hindmarsh said.
โYou canโt win footy games missing that many tackles. They were never in control Souths, Manly just chipped away.
โThis try here… Turbo can come this far back across field and no one gets near him and he scores. Just bits and pieces like that.โ
TURBO SWITCH PAYING DIVIDENDS
Tom Trbojevic had arguably his best game of the season in Round 18, two weeks after making the switch to the centres.
The 28-year-old scored a double and popped up on both sides of the field, breaking five tackles and the line twice to go with a try assist.
However, English legend Garry Schofield still believes Manly are better off with Trbojevic at fullback.
โI prefer him at fullback to be honest with you because I think heโs more effective,โ he said on the Matty Johns show.
โHeโs got more open space there, so I prefer him at fullback but heโs still not a bad centre is he?โ
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