The MRU F.R.C made their National TV debut last Wenesday on Fox Sports 2, see how they got on by clicking the link below.

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The innaugural Manly Front Rowers club make their National TV debut tonight on The Rugby Club - Fox Sports 2, 8.30pm.

First grade prop Tim Fairborther puts the boys through their paces at Kierle Park in one of the funnier pieces of TV this year, don't miss it!

By Adam Lucius

Manly coach Phil Blake called his team into a huddle minutes after they dipped out to Sydney Uni 20-17 on Saturday night, recapping on a winless August.

 "The last three weeks you have been second and deserved to lose – tonight you weren't second and you deserved to win," he told his players.

"Be disappointed you didn’t win the match but take heart from the performance.

"The better side lost."

Later elaborating on his thoughts after yet another close call against the Students, Blake lamented: "I loved the energy, loved our attitude but at vital stages we are letting ourselves down.

"We weren't the better side the last couple of weeks but tonight we were and deserved to win.

"It's a lot better performance moving into next week than the three previous weeks.

"If we can build on that and get through the next two weeks, it will hold us in good stead for the finals."

Manly's last win was on July 31 but they did just about everything right to stop the rot under the Uni Oval lights.

First half tries to impressive young winger Chris Yarrington and skipper Wil Brame had the Marlins seemingly headed to the sheds 12-3 up.

But the sort of lapse in concentration Blake commented on saw the Students strike with 23 seconds left on the clock.

Two Manly players converged on a grubber kick and simply had to bat the ball to safety, but instead it somehow ended up in Uni hands for a kick-in-the-guts try.

To make matters worse, the try was converted and Uni five-eighth Dan Kelly added a drop goal early in the second half for the Students to sneak ahead 13-12.

When Uni scored on 54 minutes to go further ahead 20-12, the visitors looked shaky.

But to Manly's credit, they finished far the stronger team.

The men in blue pounded the Students' line over the final 10 minutes but couldn’t find a way through or over.

The game was lost when Yarrington scooted over for a try after the bell but at least it salvaged a bonus point for his team.

The narrow loss leaves Manly (73 pts) fourth behind Eastwood (79), Easts (73) and Souths (73) and ahead of Uni (65) and Randwick (57) heading into an enthralling final fortnight of the regular season.

The Marlins can finish anywhere between second and sixth depending on how results unfold.

They play Penrith (home) and Randwick (away) to complete commitments.

"We can finish top two if we win our next two matches and that's obviously the goal," second-rower Dylan Sigg said.

"We have switched off the last month but I think we turned the corner against Uni.

"We can take some confidence out of that. Just a few little errors we made kept them in the game.

"This team never says die. We are still right on this competition."

Manly's destiny for 2010 remains in their own hands despite three consecutive losses - thanks to favourable results going their way over round 19.

While the Marlins faithful were mourning the 24-20 loss to Eastern Suburbs on Saturday, our old friends the Rats were holding Southern Districts to a 12-all draw.

That proved a two-fold benefit for Manly fans – the draw almost certainly ending Warringah's finals hopes and keeping Souths subdued in fourth spot, West Harbour's upset 43-18 win over Randwick further helped Manly's cause

The top six with three rounds remaining reads: Eastwood (74), Manly (72), Easts (68), Souths (68), Uni (61) and Randwick (57).

Manly play Uni, Penrith and the Wicks in the run home, two victories enough to secure a top-two finish.

But that is far from being guaranteed following the slump Phil Blake's men have fallen into.

They trailed the Beasts for the majority of the afternoon at Manly Oval, allowing the visitors to strike early against the run of play for a 7-0 advantage before Manly responded through debutant Chris Yarrington to level.

A penalty apiece made it 10-all approaching half-time, the Beasties striking just on the interval.

Easts hooker Huia Edmonds opted for a short lineout and backed up for the return pass to score in the corner seconds before the break.

The Beasts added a try in the 50^{th minute – winger Anton Lavin latching onto a perfect grubber kick in behind the Manly line – to clear out to a 24-10 lead.}

That's the way it stayed until the Marlins, with a big Back to Manly Day crowd roaring them home, came to life with six minutes left.

Tevita Metuisela capped a great game with a try in the scoreboard corner; centre Luke Johnson narrowing the gap further with a five-pointer with three minutes to go.

Yarrington missed both sideline conversions, leaving Manly throwing everything at Easts in the final stages but failing to come up with the try they craved.

"We had a late charge but the middle third of each game we've played the last three weeks have been disappointing," half-back Chris Cottee lamented.

"Mistakes are killing us. It's us shooting ourselves in the foot, that's the bottom line.

"It's disappointing at this time of the year.

"The intent's good but we're not executing. We are turning over far too much ball."

Assistant coach Daniel Manu sung a similar tune.

"We kept turning the ball over and weren't able to build pressure," he said.

"We used the wrong tactics in our 22 and need to cut down our mistake rate.

"The last 10 minutes we picked it up and played some football and had a go.

"There's a good team spirit. They never give up.

"There is no chance of it falling apart this season."

Reassuring words as the Marlins prepare to cross the bridge for the clash with five-time premiers Sydney Uni under the Uni Oval lights 7pm (kick off) on Saturday.