Marshall Magic Stuns Sea Eagles | Thebigtip

The Manly Sea Eagles held a 12 nil lead against the Wests Tigers at halftime and provided every indication as to why they are expected to do so well in the upcoming NRL finals series.

During the opening 40 minutes, Des Hasler’s men were doing what they do best. Manly tackled hard (and in numbers), ran hard and were also clinical in their set plays close to the Tigers line.

Such an approach to their game allowed the Sea Eagles to go into the break 12 nil up against a Tigers side who was finding it difficult to match the finals like intensity of their opponents.

A 12 nil lead against the Tigers however is nothing to gloat about. The Sea Eagles received a cruel reminder of how such an advantage on the scoreboard can be eclipsed in mere minutes by Tim Sheens’ men.

Of course, much of the Tigers ability to produce points in a hurry relates to the genius within superstar Benji Marshall.

The Kiwi captain was once again instrumental in his side’s comeback victory against a Sea Eagles team which has made a habit of fanning the firepower of other NRL sides.

There was no putting out Marshall’s flame however, as the superstar sparked a three-try Tigers onslaught in the space of seven minutes.

Robert Lui grabbed a clever Marshall pass in the 56th minute and touched down and the Tigers almost scored another try three minutes later.

Tigers centre Chris Lawrence however was ruled not to have grounded the ball by video referee Sean Hampstead.

Lawrence eventually found himself on the scoresheet thanks to a wonderful ball from Marshall. The superstar five-eighth produced some trademark magic in the 63rd minute, making a bust and delivering a no-look pass for Lawrence to complete a 50m effort and make it 14-12 in favour of the Tigers.

With this victory, the Tigers consolidate their position in the top eight ahead of their massive clash against the St George Illawarra Dragons next week.

Having conjured a come from behind victory against the Sea Eagles, the Tigers are presumably a safe bet to test a Dragons side which has been the benchmark in defence over the past three seasons.

With a player like Marshall in the Tigers corner however, no defence is impenetrable. Just ask the Sea Eagles.