The Tahs went down 38-33 to Maitland – their first loss to the Blacks in nine encounters – on Saturday to continue a slide in form.

They trailed 24-0 in the first half, before a late rally to earn a bonus point.

The Tahs, after a strong start to the campaign, have lost five of the last seven and two of the past three to slip to eighth on 26 points, nine outside the five.

“We have to keep slugging away,” Manu said. “The boys have got a bit of heart. We may need a couple of miracles. Every team has injuries at this time of the year. Ours are to key players. Hopefully we get a few players back. We have had similar issues in the past and managed to wiggle ourselves into the semis. You never know.”

The Blacks, who had lost five straight, started on the front foot and were never headed. Michael Howell and Junior Poloai scored two tries each. 

”We didn’t hold on to the ball early and made a few defensive errors as well,” Manu said.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Tim Marsh scored two of Wanderers’ eight tries in a 50-0 rout over University at Bernie Curran Oval.

Jay Strachan marked his return to the starting side with a try to help steer Merewether to a 36-7 triumph over Singleton at Rugby Park.

Leaders Hamilton held off a dogged second-half come back to beat Nelson Bay 36-15 at Strong Oval. The Hawks led 21-0 at half-time.