Roosters all smiles despite DCE booing, Siebold pressure grows

Anthony Seibold's position at Manly is under fresh scrutiny after the Sea Eagles went down at Brookvale on Thursday night, defending a remarkable 53 sets of six in a performance that was equal parts brave and heartbreaking.

Conditions were wild from the jump.

A torrential downpour swept through the Northern Beaches before kick off, turning Pittwater Road into a river and leaving fans questioning whether the game would go ahead at all. It did - and what followed was one of the more extraordinary matches of the season so far.

Manly led 10-6 at halftime with 40 per cent of the ball. By the end, the penalty count read 9-3 in the Roosters' favour, and Seibold had seen enough.

"We didn't get a penalty for the game... I think it was 9-3 for the game, we didn't get a six again for an inside 10 for the game," he said. "Pretty much the Roosters played the perfect game. That was why we suffocated."

The elephant in the room was Daly Cherry-Evans, who was loudly booed every time he touched the ball on his return to the Hill. Trent Robinson was relaxed about it. "I thought the boos were a little bit of fun - you could see people were having fun with it," he said. Seibold didn't flinch either. "We've moved on as a club and he has as well," he said. "It didn't really factor at all."

Tom Trbojevic pointed to the sheer volume of defending as evidence his side hadn't thrown it in. "If we didn't have any fighters, we would have got done by 60 points with those stats," he said.

"I haven't actually seen a team have 53 sets of footy in a game that I've coached in anyway," Seibold added.

Questions about Seibold's future were unavoidable post-match. He's three games into a two-year extension and the mood around the club is uneasy. When fans at the ground made their feelings known, Seibold didn't hide from it.

"I mean, I didn't hear the fans - what do you want me to do?" he said. "[I] turn up, work hard for the group. I feel like we've got a group there that can win games of footy and they fight hard."

He kept the same energy when pressed on his future. "I can't control that decision - only Scott and the ownership group can control that. There's no point me wasting any energy or time on that," he said. "I've invested a lot of time in the club over the last three and a bit years and made a lot of sacrifice. But if I'm not the right person, I'm sure Scott will tell me."

Robinson had plenty to like despite the chaos. Reece Walsh and Connor Watson were never coming off once injuries disrupted the bench plan, and both thrived on the extended minutes. "They didn't just get through it, they actually attacked the game," Robinson said. He also reserved special praise for Siua Wong, who he described as outstanding on the night.

The Roosters move to 3-1. For Manly, the questions keep mounting.