Manly coach Anthony Seibold has refused to comment on a dramatic post-siren penalty that helped the Warriors escape with a 22-22 golden points draw in Auckland.
With Manly leading 22-14 and 55 seconds remaining in regulation, Dallin Waetene-Zelezniak scored and Shaun Johnson converted from the wing to reduce the gap to two.
Then, with three seconds left, Manly prop Josh Aloiai collected Johnson’s outstretched leg after the Warriors attempted a two-point field goal.
The shot fell short, but referee Chris Butler sent the play up before the bunker ruled that Aloiai had made dangerous contact with Johnson while running down the sideline.
With three seconds left in the game, the Warriors received a controversial penalty
Referee Chris Butler (pictured) sent the play up before the bunker declared that Josh Aloiai had made dangerous contact with Shaun Johnson while running in from the sideline.
The subsequent penalty goal brought the game to a golden point, and the Warriors wasted two great chances to win.
The tie is only the sixth in the last decade and left both teams with three wins and two losses.
“It’s probably something I don’t want to comment on,” Seibold said afterward.
“Because if I say it shouldn’t have been a penalty, they’ll call me a whiner.
“If I say it should have been a penalty, then I’m potentially not looking after the players in my group.
“A penalty was awarded and we moved on.”
Daly Cherry-Evans indicated he could understand the call given kicker protection, while Warriors coach Andrew Webster suggested it was an obvious penalty.
“It’s definitely the right decision,” Webster said.
The penalty goal took the match to the golden point, which ended in a tie.
Many football fans were furious that the Warriors were allowed to return to the game.
‘It’s unfortunate. I don’t think Josh meant it. He is trying to carry the ball down.
‘He goes for a field goal and Josh has to do it. He has to go after the ball.
“It’s unfortunate what happened, but it’s lucky for us.”
The controversial late penalty angered many football fans, who took to social media to express their feelings.
‘Pathetic call to award a penalty at full time to the Warriors. Since when can’t you pressure a kicker? wrote a fan on X.
“That penalty was absolutely ridiculous,” said another.
‘Is there no mention of the pathetic penalty imposed on the Warriors to lock them up? What a joke your organization has become!’ complained a third.
Either way, both sides will feel they should have taken all the points in an exciting, high-paced encounter.
After Manly led 16-0 in 27 minutes, the Warriors scored twice shortly before halftime to go into the break trailing 16-10.
The hosts dominated field position in the second half as their centre-backs went crazy and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad totaled 337 linear meters behind.
But the Warriors couldn’t tie it at the death, and then blew two chances to win the golden point with the best field position.
The first came when Tohu Harris dropped a ball on offense, before Johnson’s 30-meter field goal went wide in the second half of extra time.
Cherry-Evans also had two long-range chances for Manly that fell short, as Manly struggled to get out of their own end.
The Warriors’ controversial late penalty was the biggest talking point of the game.
The draw came at a cost, with Manly losing Toff Sipley (knee) and Ben Trbojevic (hamstring), while Warriors prop Jazz Tevaga (hamstring) ended up on crutches.
Some 13 years after they met in a grand final as rookies, Cherry-Evans looked likely to outplay his old rival Johnson for the first 79 minutes of the match.
He scored the first two tries, getting in the right place after a Tom Trbojevic offload went to ground and receiving a kick from Tommy Talau after a break.
The Warriors got back to 16-12 thanks to two tries in four minutes before halftime.
Then it was Cherry-Evans who put Manly back into the lead, sending in Ben Trbojevic after half-time to make it 22-12.
But a piece of magic from Johnson kept the Warriors in touch, as he fed Tom Trbojevic from 40 yards to score and make the score 22-14 before the final drama.
He then stood on a tackle and threw the final pass for Waetene-Zelezniak’s final attempt to set up the end of the stand.