Doing the 'Eagle Rock'

Round 7 - Sea Eagles VS Panthers

Sea Eagles win three games in a row!

The Manly Sea Eagles have kept Fortress alive with a win against the Penrith Panthers at Brookvale Oval, 22-16.

With Brett Stewart ruled out again, Will Hopoate was moved to Fullback with Michael Oldfield again taking residence on the wing. It proved to be a successful night for Oldfield as he scored another try.

The Sea Eagles defence proved to be the one of the best parts of the match as they held the Panthers to four points for 70 minutes of the match. The Panthers looked to be in as Sandor Earl crossed but the video referee disallowed the try.

Michael Oldfield scored his fifth try this season and the first for the match. Daly Cherry-Evans’s kick went unconverted as the Sea Eagles took the lead. Steve Matai scored his first try of the season off a nice inside ball from Kieran Foran. The conversion took them to 10-0.

The Panthers’ David Simmons scored a try in the corner which was not converted to take the game into half time at 10-4.

Steve Matai and Michael Robertson bagged second half tries and with a penalty goal to the Sea Eagles, they held a lead of 22-4 over the Panthers. Michael Gordon converted both these tries, the Panthers not strong enough to take the game. The Sea Eagles won 22-16.

Next week they face the North Queensland Cowboys at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

What a mighty and unexpected win from the Eels!

It was just another Sunday afternoon game for the Eels at Parramatta Stadium, with the Gold Coast Titans leading the game all the way through till the 79th minute. The score with a minute to go was Titans 18, Eels 16.

However, a bit of Mortimer brilliance and Shackleton luck gave Parramatta the try they were looking for, and a victory which showed the reward of playing the full 80 minutes of the game. The Eels converted the try, and the final score was 22-18, Eels way.

Shackleton was in the right place at the right time. The forward missed all bar 22 minutes of last season after tearing his hamstring against St George Illawarra in the opening round.

"Just being on the field is a reward in itself," Shackleton said.

Hindmarsh said of Shackleton's recovery: "It's the hardest I have seen someone come back from an injury like that -- day in, day out doing what he needed to do to get on the field.

"I haven't seen someone that dedicated for a long, long time."

A great day for Shackleton, and an even greater day for Parramatta! GO THE EELS!