NRL: Des Hasler bemoans Manly’s lack of quality in defeat by Penrith

Manly coach Des Hasler lamented his side’s lack of cutting edge as the Sea Eagles’ Round 1 woes continued after being drubbed by the Panthers on Thursday night.

Despite missing playmaker Nathan Cleary, the Premiers dominated in front of 16,901 fans at the BlueBet Stadium with Viliame Kikau and Jarome Luai shutting down Tom Trbojevic for the duration of the contest. 

Manly debutant Ethan Bullemor scored against the run of play with a try late in the first half, but the Sea Eagles were unable to conjure up a second half comeback as Penrith cruised to a 28-6 victory.

The Sea Eagles were dominated by the reigning champions to lose 28-6 on the opening day

Now, coach Hasler says his side ‘just weren’t clinical enough’ to combat the Panthers and called on his group to ‘compete better’ moving forwards.

‘I know it’s the first game of the season but we just weren’t clinical enough and didn’t give ourselves a chance with field position,’ he said.

‘I thought we did pretty well at 12-6 (at half time) but the second half we had to compete better. That’s what we’ll take away from tonight.’ 

The Sea Eagles were hoping to shake off an unwanted record at the BlueBet Stadium, having failed to win a Round 1 game since 2013.

Manly’s torrid run of Round 1 results has extended to a ninth year without an opening day win

Manly fans acknowledged that terrible record, joking that the first round does not count

In fact, last year saw Manly endure their worst start to a campaign ever, losing their first four games by an aggregate score of 156-34.

Supporters, though, remain optimistic. On social media, one fan tweeted: ‘Round 1 is not our friend’.

‘Round 1 don’t count we weren’t ready,’ another fan posted, while another joked: ‘Not a real game in my book round one is just a trial.’  

Things don’t get easier for Manly next week either, with Hasler’s team travelling to leading Premiership contenders the Roosters in Round 2.