'Beyond heartbreaking': Barrett left speechless after dramatic late implosion

A speechless Trent Barrett could barely muster a description for Manly's spectacular implosion against Penrith that leaves them in danger of collecting the first wooden spoon in 71 years.

Barrett and his side were a sight to behold after the Sea Eagles coughed up four tries in seven minutes against the Panthers, watching a 24-6 lead disintegrate into a 28-24 loss in front of their fans at Lottoland.

A week after conceding 56 points to the Roosters and being booed by the maroon and white faithful, Barrett was at a loss in his post-match press conference.

Taking the best part of a minute to respond to his first question, the Sea Eagles coach declared rugby league "a cruel game" with Manly not deserving to lose after dominating the Panthers for over an hour.

"They worked that hard to get themselves in that position off the back of last week," Barrett said.

“Then we let in four tries in four sets, a ricochet off the post. That was it, we didn’t get the ball back.

“We are down on confidence but they did really, really well to get into position to win the game.

“And to just throw it away like we did, heartbreaking is not a word I could use for what’s sitting in (the dressing sheds), for all of us.”

Manly's loss leaves them sitting on 12 competition points, equal with Canterbury and North Queensland and ahead of last-placed Parramatta by one win.

Having dragged themselves off the canvas following the Roosters demolition, Barrett lamented that the Sea Eagles must simply do the same again in a week's time against Cronulla to avoid capping a horror season with the unwanted cutlery.

“It will be hard but that’s our job," Barrett said.

"I thought we did well to bounce back from last week. Different circumstances again this week.

“That one will be hard to cop. But, we’ve got to keep going.

“We’re in a dogfight at the bottom of the table and it’s a position we don’t want to end up in in a month’s time.”