Manly person powered done Canterbury successful the 2nd fractional to clinch a 36-18 win and determination into 4th connected the ladder, but the triumph was soured by controversy.
After heading into the half-time interruption trailing the Bulldogs 12-10, the Sea Eagles took the pb done a Tom Trbojevic effort successful the 44th infinitesimal of the Brisbane clash.
But the superstar fullback appeared to neglect to crushed the shot cleanly arsenic helium wrestled with a tenacious Jack Hetherington successful the in-goal area.
Trbojevic didn't crushed the shot arsenic helium made a archetypal effort and, though the footy yet recovered the turf connected a 2nd attempt, the Manly flyer appeared to person bobbled it.
Despite that, bunker authoritative Chris Butler awarded Manly the try, leaving the rugby league satellite staggered.
"The Bulldogs fans close present are saying, 'You're kidding'. They are saying, 'The bottommost teams get the dud calls'," said Fox League commentator Andrew Voss.
Former Panthers skipper Greg Alexander took purpose astatine the inconsistency of decisions.
"How galore times person you heard that erstwhile the shot comes escaped of the manus of a player, if helium doesn't regrip that shot earlier getting it down it's nary try?" Alexander said.
Voss added: "The crushed doesn't represent power of the ball. And surely they're not saying Trbojevic got it down astatine archetypal attempt."
Alexander: "No, good helium didn't bash that."
The antheral down the celebrated telephone of "Queenslander" during the 1995 State of Origin series, Billy Moore, said Canterbury supporters had crushed to beryllium filthy.
"To maine there's a deficiency of power and ... Bulldogs fans person a close to consciousness robbed," Moore said.
The polarising effort triggered a plaything of momentum arsenic Manly ran successful 4 second-half tries to Canterbury's one, racing distant to contradict the Bulldogs a monumental upset win.
Manly were buoyed by the 4th hat-trick of Trbojevic's scintillating 2021 campaign.