Nathan Brown says he may need to take responsibilty for loss to Manly

Brendan Bradford

Nathan Brown says he may need to take responsibilty for loss to Manly image

Warriors coach Nathan Brown says he may need to take some of the responsibility for his side's 38-32 defeat to Manly at Lottoland on Sunday.

After taking a 20-12 lead into halftime, the Warriors were blown off the park in the opening 23 minutes of the second half. 

Inspired by Tom Trbojevic having one of the best games of his career, Manly scored five tries - including a hat-trick to Jason Saab - as the home side ran out to a 36-20 lead with 15 minutes to play. 

Chanel Harris-Tavita and Reece Walsh each scored converted tries either side of a Reuben Garrick penalty to narrow the gap to six, and the Warriors had one last roll of the dice in the final minute but winger Ken Maumalo was bundled into touch. 

Walsh was named at five-eighth on Tuesday, but started on the bench as Harris-Tavita - who scored two tries - made his return from injury. 

One of the most exciting young talents in the game, Walsh came on for the final 27 minutes, scoring a try, making a linebreak and throwing the final pass in Maumalo's desperate last play. 

After making his debut at fullback, Walsh played five-eighth against the Cowboys last week, and Brown says he still hasn't decided how the 18-year-old is best utilised. 

"I don't know if I'm using Reece properly - obviously he's only been with us for three weeks," he said. 

"Manly had a plan for him when he was on the field today, and they're the things that will be great to learn for Reece. They obviously didn't go there by fluke.

"From fullback to where we put him last week, the Cowboys didn't know where he was going to be. This week, Manly probably had a fair idea and that's a part of learning how to play first grade."

Switching Harris-Tavita and Walsh was one of a couple of pre-match changes Brown made, with Eliesa Katoa being replaced by Bayley Sironen in the second row. 

Brown admitted may need to put his hand up and take responsibility for some selections that didn't work out as planned. 

"Did I use our personnel best today? One would suggest I've probably gotta take some responsibility as well," Brown said. 

"We came up against a smart coach with some blokes who can think on their feet. 

"Cherry and Tommy don't need the coach to wait till next week to tell them what to do - they can think on the run. They're like touch footballers. 

"Sometimes the coach needs to look at what he did as well. Did I get it all right today? That's something I've gotta look at too with our personnel.

"I'm not sure if I'm using them well. All I know is we've got some good young players there and trying to get your best players on the field is what the coach has gotta do. 

"Did I get it right today? I'm not sure if I did or didn't." 

Rather than pointing out any specific mistakes that led to the loss, Brown said his team doesn't respond to changes in momentum across 80 minutes. 

It's a topic he has spoken about several times this season, and one he elaborated on in his post match press conference.

"It probably suggests where both our teams are at," Brown said of the tight finish. 

"There's elite play at the moment, and then there's all of us trying to catch them. 

"When the game gets really frantic, a lot of us other sides - Manly included - we leak points and struggle to stay in the contest.

"That's where the Roosters and Penriths, they find a way to stop tries. That's where we have to get to.

"That's the reality of it." 

It doesn't get any easier for the Warriors during Magic Round next weekend, taking on the second placed Eels on Sunday afternoon. 

 

Brendan Bradford