'We got what we deserved': Victory slips through Sea Eagles' grasp on wet night

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Manly have struggled to compete for a full 80 minutes all year, and on Friday night it cost them against the Raiders.

The Sea Eagles scored four tries in the opening 30 minutes, only for Canberra to come back from a 20-point deficit and claim a 26-24 victory on a slippery night at 4 Pines Park. Manly coach Anthony Seibold was blunt in his assessment of his team.

"We got what we deserved," he said. "We were up 20-0, and we just didn't have the hard enough edge to finish the job, and you've got to give the Raiders credit - they got beaten 40-0 five days ago.

"I thought they [Canberra] played really tough, they got what they deserved because they kept playing tough, and they were full of effort, and we got what we deserved."

Seibold said there were moments to like about the Sea Eagles' football, but it was disappointing they couldn't get the job done from such a big lead.

"When we're leading 20-0, you should put the game away, unfortunately we weren't able to do that," he said. "I keep talking about we're in this cluster of teams that on any given day can beat anybody else, and we're trying to be in that cluster.

Ethan Strange tries to evade a tackle.Credit: Getty

"So for us to get to the next level that we want to do as a team, then we need to make sure that we finish games off like that ... That's our area for growth. We need to make sure we finish the job off. At the moment, we allowed them to come back into the game, and they were good enough to take it."

The Raiders were poor in the opening 20 minutes, with set restarts and penalties gifting Manly field position and resulting in a sin bin for Albert Hopoate.

But young half Kaeo Weekes and veteran Elliott Whitehead dragged Canberra back into the contest, and gave them a fighting chance at victory.

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart said the team's grit represented how the Raiders want to play their football.

"That's the Raiders' DNA. How we performed last week [a 40-0 loss to the Sharks] wasn't us, and we had a choice to make this week to show what our real DNA is, and that was one hell of a win," Stuart said. "When I walked out of that shed at half-time, I knew we were still a chance to be in this game at the back end."

The Raiders' halves pairing of Weekes and Ethan Strange is one of the most inexperienced in the competition, but Stuart said he had faith that they could bounce back from last week. "I know these kids can play," he said.