By Adam Lucius

The lure of becoming just the second Manly side to win a Shute Shield title in 27 years is providing the motivation for the Marlins to overcome every obstacle thrown in their path.

Following Manly's 24-20 win in the Bayfield Club clash with Warringah on Saturday – a victory that puts the men in blue on top of the comp - tough-as-buggery hooker Elvis Taione revealed the pact his team has made to each other.

"We're a very tight unit who are willing to do whatever it takes," he said.

"We're peaking at the right time. This time last year is when we started falling apart but no-one wants to let this opportunity slip.

"We know we've got a chance to do something special this year and win a comp."

Coach Phil Blake says the players have taken ownership of the campaign

"Their work ethic and their willingness to learn and improve is tremendous," he said.

"They see the opportunity in front of them as far as playing semi-final football and playing deep into the finals.

"They haven't been part of that before and they want to create their own bit of history."

Manly's resolve and courage was never more evident than at Rat Park on Saturday.

Playing at a ground where they haven’t won in several years against an opposition desperate to secure peninsula bragging rights and keep their own season afloat, the Marlins overcame an horrific injury toll to record a tremendous win.

Tevita Metuisela (knee), Brian Sefanaia (knee) and Kurt Mulchay (broken wrist) were all forced from the field while Taione soldiered on with a chronic ankle problem.

Nemani Nadolo and Adam D'Arcy crossed for first half tries as Manly built a 14-10 lead before replacement No.8 Neil Meyer increased the lead early in the second half with his first five-pointer for the club.

A Sam Harris penalty reduced the gap to six before Taione put the game to bed, powering over from close range with eight minutes left.

The Rats scored a consolation try on fulltime after being subdued for the best part of an hour, the scoreboard not truly reflecting Manly's hold on the game.   

"It's a credit to the boys. How they came out was exactly as we thought they'd come out and I thought for the last 60 minutes we totally dominated," said Blake, celebrating his first triumph at Rat Park.

"It's a shame the scoreboard didn’t indicate that.

"If we'd capatilised on our opportunities in the second half we could have rattled up a fair score."

Warringah targetted Manly's under-rated forwards but quickly ran out of answers as so many side have this year, prompting Blake to declare: "There's not a better forward pack in the competition.

"They withstood what Warringah served up and came back and dished it out.

"Matt McGoldrick last year and Daniel Manu this year have done a great job with the forwards. Our guys just refused to beaten up front."

Taione added: "It was a great win. We came here with a goal to take them on in the forwards and match them there.

"We knew if we stayed with them they wouldn’t stay with us.

"We haven’t won here for a while so it's good to tick that box. Sometime we win ugly but we still win."
       
Blake will have a few headaches at the selection table this week as he sifts through the injury toll ahead of Saturday's meeting with mid-table Norths at Manly Oval.
 
Sefaina looks to have re-damaged the knee that he had reconstructed at the start of the year and is unlikely to play again this year.

Mulchay has had a pin inserted and will be out for four to six weeks while Metuisela's tear is a grade one or two and he could be back in a fortnight.