James Graham captured in brutal moment as Manly break Bulldogs hearts in NRL finals thriller

James Graham embodied all Canterbury fans on Sunday after being captured in brutal scenes during commentary for the sudden-death defeat to Manly in the NRL finals. The Sea Eagles booked a date in next Saturday night's semi-final showdown against the Roosters after a stunning second half comeback snatched a 24-22 elimination-final win and broke the hearts of Bulldogs fans everywhere.

Sea Eagles superstar Tom Trbojevic returned from a shoulder injury to help inspire his side and despite looking far from 100%, it was Turbo's offload that led to Tolu Koula's match-clinching try. The Sea Eagles had been under siege all game from one of the most ferocious defensive displays all season, with Viliame Kikau a standout for the Dogs.

But with his side down four points in the final 10 minutes of the Accor Stadium arm wrestle, Turbo threw the offload that sparked Manly's match-winning raid down the left side. The superstar fullback burst down the middle before passing to Reuben Garrick, with Manly shifted the footy through hands and finding Koula in empty space.

The speedster sliced through some tired-looking Canterbury defence and stood up fullback Connor Tracey to score an extraordinary try to tie the game up. Garrick then showed his steel to nail the conversion from out wide before Manly withstood a late Bulldogs onslaught and a pair of missed two-point field goal attempts from Matt Burton to complete a superb finals comeback victory.

James Graham shattered in commentary for Triple M

It was a cruel way for Canterbury's Cinderella season to end and left the majority of the 50,000-strong fans in attendance absolutely shattered - perhaps none more so than Graham. The Bulldogs great played in two grand finals for the club and even purchased $10,000 worth of tickets to give to Bulldogs supporters before the game so his beloved club would have plenty of support.

And Graham wore his heart on his sleeve in commentary duties for Triple M, as seen in a clip that was shared on social media of Manly's match-winning try. Graham was standing next to Dan Ginnane as the commentator encapsulated the finals drama with a brilliant call of the decisive play from the Sea Eagles. It came to a crescendo when Koula planted the ball down for the try and Ginnane threw his arms in the air in triumph, with Graham seen punching the wall of the commentary booth next to him, before looking on with a shattered sense of disbelief.

Sea Eagles allay concerns over Tom Trbojevic fitness

Manly's victory gave Luke Brooks a 100% record in finals footy, with the five-eighth and former Wests Tigers star having never previously featured in the playoffs in 230 NRL appearances. However, there will surely be concerns over the fitness of Manly's star halfback before the six-day turnaround for their semi-final with the Roosters after Turbo required a needle before the game and at halftime for his troublesome shoulder.

Manly coach Anthony Seibold said that was always going to be the plan for Trbojevic but allayed concerns over his fitness, despite a particularly shaking first half showing. "He's fine. He'll be right to go again," Seibold said about the former Dally M Medallist after the game. "He had another needle at halftime, but that was always planned. He did land on it (the shoulder) in the first half... you probably saw that he got more involved in the second half...

"It was a real finals football game, the scoreboard was close, the Bulldogs were probably on top for the bulk of the game. "We just hung in and the longer the game went, the scoreboard didn't get away from us. I was really proud of the guys."

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Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans - who was booed by Canterbury fans in ugly post-match scenes - also praised the way his side never gave up and the key role Trbojevic played in their match-winning try. "They had one marker over-chased and then I thought the space was going to be up the middle and it closed pretty quickly," Cherry-Evans said after the game. "Tom was good enough to get the ball and then everything that happened beyond that was awesome."

with AAP