Three star players in the injury ward? No worries for Des Hasler, who continued his mad science over Ricky Stuart and posted his 17th win over the Canberra Raiders coach.
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The Green Machine was stunned by a case of a Hasler hoodoo, as an injury-ridden Manly-Warringah outfit clinched a gusty 14-6 win at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday.
Canberra has only defeated the Sea Eagles once in the past four seasons, while Hasler now holds a 17-4 winning record over Stuart.
The last time Stuart beat Hasler was round 12 in 2016, when the Raiders toppled the Canterbury Bulldogs 32-20.
"It was really disappointing in regards to the adversity Manly played under," Stuart said.
"We made our job a lot harder than it should have been but that's not taking away from the heart and courage Manly displayed in the tough scenario they faced."
GONE IN 60 SECONDS
Manly defied the odds to overcome the Green Machine after suffering a double injury setback in the opening four minutes.
Star five-eighth Dylan Walker was the first to go down when he collapsed awkwardly mid-tackle, twisting his ankle underneath Elliott Whitehead.
The English second-rower immediately shot up his hand to indicate something was amiss, before Walker eventually hobbled off the field and was replaced by former Raider Lachlan Croker.
Manly's horror start went from bad to worse only seconds after Walker's exit, when teammate Brad Parker went crashing into the ground.
The centre slipped into a tackle with Sia Soliola and hit his head on the cold Campbelltown turf, ruling him out of the match.
A hamstring injury to Tom Trbojevic in the second half left Manly with only one man on their bench, fuelling the fire for a Sea Eagles return.
It was the same hamstring Trbojevic injured twice last season and the early diagnosis is he'll be set back for another six weeks.
CARPARK KICK-OUTS
The coronavirus, closed stadiums and a new home ground couldn't keep some diehard Raiders fans watching the Green Machine from a five-storey car park.
But security did.
A few green-eyed fans found a neat little vantage point to watch the Raiders play at Campbelltown Stadium over the past few weeks.
They were asked to leave mid-way through the Raiders' loss to Manly, but they may only have to wait a few extra weeks before returning to Canberra Stadium.
THE STATS DON'T LIE
The stats aren't lying.
That was the resounding message from a defeated Stuart after an error-ridden performance which saw them struggle offensively.
Canberra only held 41 per cent of possession and completed 12 less sets than the Sea Eagles.
They had 15 errors to Manly's seven, complete with missed catches, dropped balls, slips and strips.
The Sea Eagles scored two of their tries off Canberra's conceded penalties, plus a penalty goal to extend their lead to eight points with 24 minutes to play.
The defeat ensured the Green Machine lost their chance to be equal on points with the ladder-leading Parramatta Eels, who they'll meet at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday.