Eternal optimists,
It was as if it was the game that they had been waiting to play all year.
And it only took them until round 21.
Only.
But who can blame them?
With the Sick Bay full of casualties in the first third of the season, they're now back to more or less full strength [minus Tuqiri and Daniela, who've been disregarded in the game plan for weeks now anyway].
The mid-season ructions, what with forced transfers and others taking the tap on the shoulder and being told a better option would be elsewhere appears to have settled down.
Apart from That Pom Ellis [Man of the Match for the second week in a row] and the Farah/Marshall Show, the best players were those who will be at other clubs next year.
No doubt SC Sheens reminded them that their cheques are still being signed by the Balmain club secretary, and there's a job at hand to be gotten on with.
If the they play poorly in the pointy end, they'll arrive at their new club with the powers that be whingeing and whining about paying too much for them and they will never hear the end of it.
Money as motivation tends to work, generally.
SC Sheens was not much worried about being down to nil at half-time, saying on interview after the game "I thought we would roll over them in the second half and we'd have points in us "; what he didn't say was that the other half of the equation was to keep Manly scoreless in the second-half with granite-like defence.
Although, to win the match with three tries in six minutes - even though Benji had left his kicking boots at his Mum's place - was a bit cheeky.
It was then a simple case of hanging onto possession for dear life and strangling the game to death from a territorial point of view; even with just a two point margin, a field goal wasn't required, nor attempted.
Spies at the ground suggest the try put on by That Try Scoring Freak Lawrence was well worth the price of admission alone.
The Great Benji on the burst, the trademark jink, the weave; looks over his shoulder and sees that Lawrence is with him at full pace on the blindside, gives him a wink and a nod; another jink and another weave the other way, busts a couple of tackles, chucks an outlandish gimmee dummy, and then throws the miracle "no-look" pass.
Of course Lawrence - who knew precisely what was going - accepts the ball neatly on his chest as he goes like the clappers, and runs 35 metres to the try line and plants it underneath the black dot without so much as a finger being laid on him.
Said it before, says it again...running rugby league...no finer sight in world sport, for mine.
High fives all round, indeed.
And it's all the sweeter to beat the Evil Silvertails - a team that's even more universally hated than Collingwood is down Mexico way.
That's one litmus test passed, with another one this weekend against a St George side that's paradoxically lost its last two against lowly ranked opposition after having a season that was up to that point surrounded by an aura of invincibility.
SC Bennett has whipped the Dragons on the training track after telling them they'd "lost their hunger".
Oops, they'll be a tough ask for the Tigers after that.
Wandered into the Front Bar at The Local on Monday morning and found The Philosopher, as usual, in his place, nursing this week's favoured tipple, a Harvey Wallbanger, no less for gawd's sake.
He was more talkative than usual.
Mumbled something about it being the horses birthday and that he'd had a reasonably good day on the punt on Saturday, although he did dismiss the quality of winter racing as "rubbish".
Asked his opinion on the Tigers win, he just said that "Manly were due to be shown up. Frauds."
A couple of Brown Brothers at the other end of the bar who were enjoying some sneaky schooners of Toohey's Old on a quick break from their jobs on the local roads and were waxing lyrical about the recent form of the NZ Worriers, piped up and asked The Philospher how he rated Balmain's chances of making the top eight.
"Well, that's up to the abacus, of course", he said, looking at them quizzically, before vehmently venturing "but by Jesus, Joseph, and bloody Mother Mary, they will cause some big trouble if they're there in September".
MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 12. Tries: Ballin, B.Stewart. Goals: Lyon (2).
WESTS TIGERS 14. Tries: Ayshford, Lawrence, Lui. Goals: Marshall (1).
At Central Coast Stadium, Gosford.
Crowd: 20,059.
SYDNEY: Bye.
