History of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
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This article details the history of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league football club.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Getting Started
In Australia, before 1908, Rugby Union was the football code of choice and had been for nearly 40 years. Although Rugby League started its inaugural top flight competition started in 1908, it was mainly based on the immediate areas in and around Sydney.
Two factors prevented the initial inclusion of a Manly team into the competition. Firstly, with the Manly Rugby Union Club only recently gaining acceptance into the Sydney competition, many involved were not prepared to take a chance on the new code, which had yet to prove itself as a sustainable entity. Add to this a population base barely in the thousands, and well spread out among the many farms in the region, and sustainable support would have been difficult to envisage.
With a strong growth in local population through the 1920’s, the Manly-Warringah Junior Rugby Football League was founded 11 February 1932 with six clubs established for the local competition. Importantly, the formation of this League entitled Manly’s inclusion into the President’s Cup, a junior district competition run by the NSWRL.
Further attempts were made for a Manly club to join the NSWRL top grades in both 1937 and 1944, however both were unsuccessful. The backers of a Manly club were now adamant that nothing less than a President’s Cup premiership would give them an opportunity to successfully apply for the senior competition.
During 1946, two very different meetings involving the North Sydney club which would seal Manly's future. Their first important encounter was played out on 17 June 1946 when the two districts met in the final of the President’s Cup; played in front of 64,527 spectators as the curtain raiser for the First Test against the touring British Lions. Holding off a late surge by Norths, Manly maintained an early led to claim the match, 12-8.
The second meeting was between the senior NSWRL clubs on 04 November 1946, in which the North Sydney club supported the inclusion of Manly into the senior competition, despite knowing that many of its Manly players would no longer be eligible to play for North Sydney due to the district residential rule of the time.
With the Manly club being successful this time, a public meeting on 20 November 1946 saw the formation of the Manly-Warringah District Rugby League Football Club, adoption of maroon and white colours, and the establishment of Brookvale Oval as the home ground.
[edit] 1947-1969
12 April 1947 saw the Manly club taking on the Western Suburbs club in its first official game in the NSWRFL senior competition, but despite scoring three tries to one, the Manly side went down 15-13.
The clubs first win in the top league was a 15-7 victory against fellow newcomers Parramatta, at Brookvale Oval, 31 May 1947. By seasons end, Manly had racked up just four victories from 18 rounds, which was enough to avoid the wooden spoon, with Parramatta winning one less game for the season.
The 1948-1950 period saw the club languish at the bottom of the table, coming ninth, eighth and eighth out of ten, however the club did have Roy Bull selected for an Australian Test team which played against New Zealand in October 1949, thus becoming Manly-Warringah’s first International.
The 1951 team won 11 games, finishing second at the end of the regular season, and were in their first finals campaign. After accounting for both Wests and St George in the semi-finals, Manly were to met a South Sydney side which were the reigning Premiers and had won the minor premiership by 11 points. The resultant 42-14 loss to Manly still stands as the biggest Grand Final winning score.
1956 saw the first of 11 Premierships for the St George club, resulting in two more runners-up trophies for Manly in both 1957 (31-9) and 1959 (20-0). The 1957 season saw a young Ken Arthurson take the reins as the Manly coach, a position he held until the 1961 season.
From the 1960 to the 1969 seasons, Manly's form ranged from third place finishes in 1961 and 1966, to an eighth placing in 1964.
The combination of the return of Wally O'Connell to the club as coach in 1966, and the development of Ken Arthurson's skill as an administrator, saw the Manly club move toward levels of professionalism not commonly seen in the Australian game at that time. With the groundwork laid and a couple of years of development of the future Immortal Bob Fulton, the 1968 competition saw Manly finally compete strongly with the powerhouses of the period, St George and South Sydney.
At the end of the home and away season, Manly finished second, just one point behind reigning Premiers, South Sydney. The Major Semi-Final saw Manly convincingly beat Souths, 23-15, but the clubs soon met again in the Grand Final; however the Rabbitohs proved too strong and won the decider, 13-8.
[edit] 1970-1979
The 1970 season ended with Manly having yet another go at Premiership glory, and again they would have to get through a strong South Sydney side. Despite Manly beating the Rabbitohs earlier in the season, they were unable to repeat the result and lost, 23-12.
By the end of the regular 1971 season, the club had both the best defence and attack record, lost just three games and claimed their maiden Minor Premiership over their recent nemesis, the second placed Rabbitohs. However, two successive losses saw them bow out of the finals.
The Sea Eagles continued with the same form they showed in the 1971 regular season, finishing as 1972 Minor Premiers and heading into the finals series with 12 wins and 1 draw from the last 13 rounds.
The Major Semi saw Manly taking on Easts and comprehensively winning 32-8, before meeting again in the decider two weeks later. After 26 seasons, Manly-Warringah claimed their maiden Premiership, 19-14.
- 1972, September 16
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles: Graham Eadie, Ken Irvine, Ray Branighan, Bob Fulton, Max Brown, Ian Martin, Dennis Ward, Malcolm Reilly, Terry Randall, Allan Thomson, John O'Neill, Freddie Jones (c), Bill Hamilton
Coach: Ron Willey
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - 19 (Jones, Branighan tries; Branighan 6 goals; Fulton field goal) defeated Eastern Suburbs Roosters - 14 (Ballesty, Mullins tries; McKean 4 goals)
The 1973 finals were the first to feature five teams, allowing the Minor Premiers a week off during the first round of finals. The 14-4 win by Manly over Cronulla in the first week of the finals saw the club with a week off before again meeting Cronulla in the Grand Final.
The 1973 Grand Final is often quoted as one of the most brutal games of Rugby League. Led by a ferocious forward pack, the Cronulla side looked to unsettle the reigning Premiers with fights, late hits and illegal play. Key Manly playmaker Malcolm Reilly was taken out early when hit late and did not return after halftime. If not for the skills of Bob Fulton, the Sharks plan to unsettle the Sea Eagles may have worked. His two tries saw the Manly side win 10-7 and claim the Premiership for the second time.
- 1973, September 15
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles: Graham Eadie, Ken Irvine, Ray Branighan, Bob Fulton, Max Brown, Ian Martin, Johnny Mayes, Malcolm Reilly, Terry Randall, Peter Peters, John O'Neill, Freddie Jones (c), Bill Hamilton
Replacement: John Bucknall for Malcolm Reilly, injured
Coach: Ron Willey.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - 10 (Fulton 2 tries; Eadie 2 goals) defeated Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks - 7 (Bourke try; Rogers 2 goals)
The 1974 and 1975 seasons were dominated by an unstoppable Eastern Suburbs club, winning the Minor Premierships by 8 and 10 points. Against this juggernaut, the Manly club finished second on the table for both seasons but had little impact in the finals series, losing a total of four out the five finals game and failing to qualify for either Grand Final.
Manly held off the surprise packet of the 1976 season, Parramatta, to win the Minor Premiership. During their two meetings during the regular season, the Eels proved too strong on both occasions and followed that up with another win, this time in the Major Semi Final. Manly went on to beat Canterbury to set up a rematch against Parramatta in the Grand Final.
The most infamous moment came deep in the second half with Manly barely holding a lead. Wide ball movement by the Eels saw an overlap develop and unmarked Parramatta winger, Neville Glover, only needing to catch the final pass to cross for the match-winning try. The ball was spilled and Manly won their third Premiership in five years.
- 1976, September 18
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles: Graham Eadie, Tom Mooney, Russel Gartner, Bob Fulton (c), Rod Jackson, Alan Thompson, Gary Stephens, Ian Martin, Phil Lowe, Steve Norton, Terry Randall, Max Krilich, John Harvey
Replacements: Gary Thoroughgood for Ian Martin; Mark Willoughby for Phil Lowe
Coach: Frank Stanton
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - 13 (Lowe try; Eadie 5 goals) defeated Parramatta Eels - 10 (Porter, Gerard tries; Peard 2 goals)
Manly started the 1977 season with three solid wins, despite the loss of Bob Fulton to the Roosters, however, four losses in a row saw the club lose momentum with only a last round victory against the Balmain Tigers at Leichhardt Oval securing fifth spot from a fast-finishing Cronulla side. However, the Tigers reversed the result in the first week of the finals, to knock the Sea Eagles out of title contention.
Success for the club during the 1970s came to an end with the club scoring a fourth Premiership in another Grand Final against the Cronulla Sharks during the 1978 season. Unlike the three previous titles, the club did not win the Minor Premiership. It also was unique insofar as Manly were required to replay two drawn matches through the finals campaign. Week one of the finals saw Manly beaten by Cronulla 17-12; the boot of Steve Rogers proving the difference with both teams scoring three tries each. Facing Parramatta in the Minor Semi Final, 80 minutes could not split the teams and with no extra-time played, the teams met again three days later where Manly scored a come-from-behind victory, 17-11.
Another three days turnaround saw Manly play and account for the Minor Premiers, Western Suburbs, which allowed the team a full week off before the Grand Final. Like the decider of the previous year, the match was drawn and a replay required three days later. Facing their fifth finals game in sixteen days, Manly still managed to score a comprehensive 16-0 victory over the Sharks, claiming their fourth Premiership in seven years.
- 1978, September 19 (Grand Final Replay)
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles: Graham Eadie, Tom Mooney, Stephen Knight, Russel Gartner, Simon Booth, Alan Thompson, Steve Martin, Ian Martin, Terry Randall, Bruce Walker, John Harvey, Max Krilich (c), Ian Thomson
Replacements: Ray Branighan for Simon Booth; Wayne Springall for Ian Martin
Coach: Frank Stanton.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - 16 (Gartner 2, Eadie tries; Eadie 3 goals; field goal) defeated Cronulla Sharks - 0
After the 1978 Grand Final victory, Manly-Warringah struggled for consistency on the field and finished seventh in both the 1979 and 1980 seasons.
[edit] 1980-1989
Club officials lured three players from the Western Suburbs Magpies across to the peninsula. The signings of Kangaroo internationals Les Boyd, John Dorahy and Ray Brown for the 1980 season led to a deep acrimony between the two clubs, quickly developing on the field into the ‘Silvertails’ versus ‘Fibros’; the haves against the have-nots.
The 1981 season saw the club shake off the inconsistency of the previous two years and make the finals, holding of a challenge from Western Suburbs to claim fifth place. Beating Cronulla-Sutherland in the elimination final, the Sea Eagles were not able to reproduce that form and were beaten the following week by eventual Runners-Up, Newtown.
The 1982 premiership saw a tight battle for finals placing’s which eventually saw Manly take second position and back in the hunt for a title. Manly’s final campaign began strongly with a thrashing of North Sydney, followed by a shutout of the Parramatta team to move into the Grand Final. Parramatta had a strong win against Eastern Suburbs Preliminary Final, setting up another showdown against the Sea Eagles.
Including the Major-Semi final just two weeks earlier, Manly entered the contest having defeated the Eels in their two recent encounters. However a dominant Brett Kenny saw Parramatta take the game and successfully defend their crown, 21-8.
The 1983 season saw Fulton return, this time as the coach, guiding the team to a Minor Premiership by eight points. Manly looked to be well on it’s way to breaking through for a fifth premiership after exacting revenge for two losses during the season to Parramatta, claiming victory against the Eels in the Major Semi final, 19-10. But, in an almost carbon-copy of the 1982 decider, Parramatta bounced back strongly in their next game before again beating Manly to claim the title, 18-6.
After the disappointment of losing the 1983 Grand Final, the team were unable to make a strong claim for the title during the 1984 season. Just once did Manly enjoy a winning streak of more than two, but still managed to finish in fourth position. After beating Canberra in a mid-week play-off for fifth, South Sydney knocked the Sea Eagles out of the finals in the first weekend with a 22-18 win.
Early in the 1985 season, Manly were challenging for a top two position, but a lack of momentum in the last half of the season saw the club unable to build on this position. At the completion of the regular season, the Sea Eagles still needed to win a mid-week final against Penrith to attempt to claim fifth position, but the boot of Greg Alexander carried the Penrith Panthers to a 10-7 victory and into their first finals campaign.
Although Manly finished in fourth in 1986, the closeness of the competition meant that any of the finals teams were capable of beating the others on their day. Fifth place again had to be decided by a mid-week play-off, this time Balmain beat Norths and progressed to a meeting with Manly for the first week of the finals. The Tigers scored a strong 29-22 win and Manly were knocked out of the finals in the first week, for the second year in a row.
Led by captain Paul Vautin and coached by Manly legend Bob Fulton, the 1987 Sea Eagles dominated the competition and took the Minor Premiership by six points. Meeting second placed Easts in the second week of the finals, the Sea Eagles did enough to get over the Roosters, 10-6, and move into the Grand Final.
Joining Manly in the final Grand Final to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground was the Canberra Raiders. The Sea Eagles scored a solid victory, 18-8, to secure their fifth title.
- 1987, September 27
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles: Dale Shearer, David Ronson, Darrell Williams, Michael O'Connor, Stuart Davis, Cliff Lyons, Des Hasler, Paul Vautin (c), Noel Cleal, Ron Gibbs, Kevin Ward, Mal Cochrane, Phil Daley
Replacements: Mark Pocock for Noel Cleal; Paul Shaw for head bin (twice for Ron Gibbs)
Coach: Bob Fulton
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - 18 (O'Connor, Lyons tries; O'Connor 5 goals) defeated Canberra Raiders - 8 (O'Sullivan try; Meninga, Belcher goals)
Less than two weeks later, the premiers travelled to England to face the reigning English champions, Wigan. In the first World Club Challenge since the Eastern Suburbs Roosters mid-season win against St Helens in 1976, Manly lost the match, 8-2.
With the expansion of the NSWRL seeing new teams from Newcastle and Queensland, the first round of the 1988 season saw the reigning premiers taking on a Brisbane Broncos team featuring many of Queensland’s top players. Manly were never in the match and lost to the Brisbane side, 44-10. By the end of the regular season, Manly finished third but were eliminated in the first week, 19-6, by Grand Final bound Balmain.
With Bob Fulton taking on the Australian coaching job, another former Manly favourite was brought in to fill his shoes. International Alan Thompson distinguished himself in the maroon and white over a 263-game career at five-eighth, but his form as a player did not transfer to the coaching role. During the 1989 season the clubs attack stalled and finished twelfth. Thompson was sacked and the club bought in successful Wigan coach, Graeme Lowe.
[edit] 1990-1999
The 1990 and 1991 seasons saw the club return to the finals football, but no premierships. The 1990 side started slow but eventually finished the regular season in fourth and facing Balmain in the first week of the finals, which the Sea Eagles won. However, a tryless effort against the Broncos in the second week saw the club go no further in their campaign.
Finishing second in 1991, Manly succumbed in successive finals matches, losing first to North Sydney then knocked out in the second week by Canberra.
The 1992 season featured only one team in the finals from the previous year. Manly’s recent improvements in attack disappeared and they missed out, finishing eighth.
During the 1993 season, after a previous health scare, Manly coach Graeme Lowe eventually succumbed to a serious health issue which forced him from his coaching role. This saw the return of Bob Fulton to the coaching role. In one of the closest finishes to the top of the table, only two points separated first and fifth, with Manly finishing in fourth position. Manly’s first match in the finals was against fifth-placed Brisbane and they were again outclassed by the reigning premiers and were eliminated on the first weekend of finals.
Over the course of the 1994 season, the club displayed a further improvement in their attacking skills, including the club record 61-0 victory over 1993 grand finalists, St George. Finishing fourth, the Sea Eagles again met the fifth placed Broncos in the first week of finals, but were unable to reverse the result of 1993 and were eliminated from the finals series, 16-4.
Against the backdrop of Super League and resultant Super League War throughout the 1995 season, Manly dominated the season losing only two matches to finish as minor premiers. They won their first 15 matches in a row, a club record, and missed out on the highest amount of points scored by the club by just three.
With the increase of teams from 16 to 20, a new finals format was introduced and consisted of the top eight sides at the end of the regular season. In the first week of the finals, Manly beat Cronulla before a two week break and another victory, this time against the Newcastle Knights. Manly were to face the finals series surprise packet, Sydney Bulldogs (Canterbury), which despite finishing the season in sixth place, had already beaten favourites Brisbane and Canberra in the finals. Despite being clear favourites to hold off the Bulldogs challenge, Manly struggled to match the intensity of their rivals and lost, 17-4
Over the course of the 1996 season Manly, on the back of its defence which conceded less than 9-points per game, produced one of its most dominant displays since joining the competition in 1947 to claim it’s eighth Minor Premiership. A tight win against the Sydney City Roosters and a shutout of Cronulla saw the club meeting St George in the Grand Final.
Manly won their sixth title with a comfortable 20-8 victory, but it wasn’t without controversy, with a try just before halftime award on the back of the referee’s decision to allow play-on after an apparent tackle put the Dragon’s defence on the back foot.
- 1996, September 29
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles: Matthew Ridge, Danny Moore, Craig Innes, Terry Hill, John Hopoate, Nik Kosef, Geoff Toovey(c), David Gillespie, Jim Serdaris, Mark Carroll, Steve Menzies, Daniel Gartner, Owen Cunningham.
Interchange: Cliff Lyons, Neil Tierney, Craig Hancock, Des Hasler
Coach: Bob Fulton.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - 20 (Innes, Menzies, Moore tries; Ridge 3, Innes goals) defeated St George Dragons - 8 (Zisti try; Bartrim 2 goals)
Despite the loss of a couple of players to Super League, the club still held the nucleus of the squad together for a tilt at back-to-back titles in the split 1997 season competition. By the end of the regular season, Manly finished on top of the table and earned a break from the first round of finals in the seven-team format.
The Sea Eagles accounted for the Knights in the second week of the finals, before scoring a tight win against the Roosters to qualify for the Grand Final. Manly were again clear favourites and for the first hour, they had the premiership in their grasp, holding on to a 10-point lead. Two tries to Newcastle fullback, Robbie O’Davis, soon had the clubs tied at 16-all with full time looming. Only seconds from seeing the game enter into extra-time, Newcastle halfback, Andrew Johns, wrong footed the defence to send his winger, Darren Albert over the try line.
The start of the 1998 season saw a much anticipated match up between the Super League champions Brisbane and the ARL high flyers, Manly. The Sea Eagles went down 22-6 and an inconsistent season saw the club rely on a late winning streak of six matches to finish out the regular season and limp into the finals in tenth place. Facing Canberra in the first week of the finals, Manly were convincingly beaten 17-4; the last time the club would play finals football until 2005.
From one of the richer clubs in the League, Manly were by now struggling to keep up with player payments and were unable to entice players to the club. Much talk was made about a possible joint venture between local rivals Manly and Norths with both teams were in need of the $10M on offer. With these issues in the background, Manly turned up to the regular season seven rounds late and soon Bob Fulton quit his head coach position due to his wife’s health concerns. Peter Sharp took over the reins and managed to win his first three games, a record result for a caretaker coach in the League.
By halfway through the season, it was obvious that the club would be missing their first finals campaign since 1992 and when they finished thirteenth, it was their lowest relative placing since 1989. But unlike previous eras when the club could look to purchase key players, there was simply no money left.
A consolidation of the competition meant that a criteria was imposed and those not making the cut would not be involved in the 2000 season. The NRL imposed a time limit on the acceptance of a merger offer, or clubs could try their luck through the criteria. Both Manly and Norths administrators were not keen on approaching a merger, but with Manly’s financial problems and North Sydney effectively insolvent due to disastrous year when a planned move to the Central Coast was delayed, both sides met to talk of a joint venture. Although the criteria result was in the positive for the Manly club, financial realities meant that there was not much success likely in the future. Due to their insolvency, the North Sydney club were not even considered for the criteria.
In late 1999, the clubs agreed to a joint venture and the Northern Eagles were born.
[edit] 2003-present
Emerging from the failed merger through 2002, Manly were still on shaky ground both on and off the field. The reversion of the NRL licence to Manly meant that contracts with the Northern Eagles were now void. Waiting on further payments, many players left and the club soon developed a high turnover of journeyman and fringe first graders which saw a further lack of stability both on and off the field. With no major sponsor and little public interest with either spectators or through merchandise, the clubs finances were so bad that the football club was only days from closing its doors midway through the 2002 season. In June, initial efforts by the Penn family and then a multi-million dollar deal with local developer, Max Delmege, led to the future privatisation of the club and financial security.
Results on the field during 2003 season were generally poor, with the club regularly conceding 50-plus score lines, even at Brookvale Oval. By the end of the regular season the club finished 14th; just one position above wooden-spooners, South Sydney.
The club made no strong moves in the player market ahead of the 2004 season, but there was one significant change to the roster with Peter Sharp axed and his assistant coach, Des Hasler, taking over the head coach role. Manly won just two more games than 2003 to finish thirteenth, but this slight improvement on the table was tempered by the club enduring their worst loss up to that time, going down 72-12 to the Penrith Panthers in Round 22. As if to highlight the inconsistencies of the team, the Sea Eagles produced their best result for the season with a 48-10 win against Newcastle the following week; the highest turn-around in NSWRL/ARL/NRL history.
The purchase of representative players Ben Kennedy and Brent Kite, ahead of the 2005 season were the clubs first significant signings since the mid-90’s and early success on the field was reflected by the clubs place at the top of the table mid-way through the season. But contract issues with captain Michael Monaghan coincided with a drop in form, including a record loss of the club against Cronulla, 68-6. Winning their final round game, Manly secured eighth spot, but were quickly dispatched from the finals in the first week with a 46-22 loss to Parramatta.
The club further boosted its roster for the 2006, with the signings of Orford and centre Steve Bell from Melbourne. The club overcome a slow start to finish the regular season fifth and a match against the Newcastle Knights in the first week of finals. Despite an early lead, the Sea Eagles were run down in a physical encounter, eventually losing 25-18. The following week, Manly struggled for any impact against the St.George-Illawarra Dragons, losing 28-0 to finish their tilt at the premiership.
The 2007 NRL season saw the club maintain a stable playing roster for the first time since the success of the mid 1990s and on the back of a strong defensive platform, finished the regular season second place behind the Melbourne Storm. With their first top four finish in the NRL, the club hosted their first ever final at Brookvale Oval, against South Sydney Rabbitohs which resulted in an easy 30-6 victory and a week off. In the qualifying final against North Queensland Cowboys, a dominant second half saw the team win 28-6 and earn a place in the Grand Final against minor premiers Melbourne Storm. After a physical opening, Manly soon ran out of steam and were well beaten 8-34.
[edit] Crest & Colours
Upon entering the NSWRL, the Manly club took on the colours of maroon and white. These were adopted from the colours of the President's Cup side which appears to have utilised the colours of the local Freshwater Surf Lifesaving Club, established in 1908.
The club originally had played in a maroon jersey with a large white 'V' on the front. The club was one of the first to feature a crest or emblem, with an MW on a crest appearing in the early 1950s. Far from the flashy emblems worn today, the Manly ‘Sea Eagle’ which appeared in the mid 1950’s was often confused for a seagull by many, including the media. As there were no official nicknames for clubs at the time, more an adopted ‘mascot’, it was not considered an issue.
Various changes to the jersey were introduced at irregular intervals. As well as the classic 'V' design, the club has broken up the maroon jersey with hoops, bars, large eagles, player numbers, stripes, double stripes, top and bottoms, collars, no collars, reversed colours and even the use of blue.
During the 2007 pre-season, the club introduced a limited number of green jerseys for a trial match against the Melbourne Storm.
[edit] Rivalries
The Manly Sea Eagles have developed some rivalries since 1947. Some of them include:
- North Sydney - The first, and most obvious, was the local derby's between North Sydney. As well as taking many of North's playing stock due to the residential rule imposed at the time, Manly had bought further stars from the North Sydney club including Ken Irvine, Cliff Lyons and Martin Bella. Even the fact that North Sydney are not longer competing in the top league, has fueled this rivalry, with many Bears supporters believing that Manly systematically pushed the North Sydney element out of the Northern Eagles joint-venture.
- Parramatta Eels - Another rivalry was with fellow debutants from 1947, Parramatta. Not much was made of their clashes until the mid 70's, and in particular the 1976 Grand Final in which Manly denied the Parramatta club a maiden premiership. Further clashes through to the mid 80's cemented a fierce rivalry between many of the clubs supporters.
- Wests - Also during this time, the clashes between Wests and Manly were billed as a battle between the "Silvertails" and the "Fibros". This distinction between perceived classes of people fuelled many tough matches between the clubs, particularly after Manly would secure top players from the Magpies such as John Dorahy, Les Boyd, David Gillespie. The Silvertails and Fibros monikers first appeared in stories written by reporter Chris Masters, in the late 70's. It should be noted that Chris was the brother of the then Wests coach, Roy Masters.
- Newcastle Knights - Since the mid-90's, Manly has also built a rivalry with the Newcastle Knights club. In many ways this mirrors the Manly/Wests clashes where class distinction is used to fuel the perceived underdogs, in this case the working class city of Newcastle. In 1997, both Manly and Newcastle fought out the decider, with Newcastle winning 22-16. Recently, in the 2007 August 10th match to commemorate the 1997 grand final Manly took revenge, thumping the knights 50-16.
[edit] Stadium
Home games are played at Brookvale Oval, which has a capacity of 23,000.
Upon entry into the top league, Manly were denied the use of Manly Oval by the pro-Rugby Union council of the time. This led to the acquition of the Brookvale Showground as a home ground, supported by the Warringah Council.
Most development on the site had occurred between 1965 and 1980, with the latest addition, the Ken Arthurson Stand, erected in the early 90's.
There is much conjecture on what the future development of the ground will include. As one of the few grounds to still have a substantial grassed hill area, many supporters believe that future plans must retain this unique feature.
The largest attendance for a Rugby League match at Brookvale Oval was 27,655 during the final round clash of the 1986 season, between Manly and Parramatta. Highest average crowd for a season was 15,484 over 11 games, in the 2006 season.
In total, Brookvale Oval has seen over five and half million spectators since 1947.
[edit] Super League
Throughout the mid-90's, rumours of a separate League developed into a major split of the code in Australia. With News Ltd's backing, the Brisbane Broncos and Canberra Raiders pushed hard for better input to the game, feeling that the Sydney-centric ARL was not meeting their needs. Despite all the rhetoric of better player conditions, the resultant Super League developed into a push by Rupurt Murdoch's News Ltd to develop a competition that would be used as the flagship of his fledging Pay TV sports channel, Fox Sports.
The club remained solid with the ARL with only a handful of players, including Matthew Ridge, Ian Roberts and Owen Cunningham, committing to Super League.
The support for the ARL by the club during the Super League war was not rewarded during the reconciliation of the warring factions before the 1998 NRL season. Falling into financial difficulties, the club agreed to form a joint venture arrangement with the insolvent North Sydney Bears for the 2000 competition.
[edit] Northern Eagles - 2000-2002
Unlike the successful St. George Dragons and Illawarra Steelers merger of 1999, restrictions imposed on the clubs meant that half of the combined squad had to be released prior to kick-off as the Northern Eagles, on 05 February 2000.
Despite a first up win against the Newcastle Knights, a lack of consistent on-field success and continuing financial problems saw the joint venture gradually suffer with a lack of support from the Central Coast supporters, who felt the team forced onto them, and the Manly faithful who disappeared from Brookvale Oval.
Although officially dissolved in August 2001, the club continued to play out of both Brookvale and Graeme Park (Central Coast Stadium) until the lead up to the Round 16 clash with Melbourne in 2002. Originally scheduled for Graeme Park, fierce opposition by Central Coast locals and some media identities forced the club to cease playing in Gosford.
With the club returning to Brookvale Oval full time they were by now the Northern Eagles in name only. In 2003 they re-entered the league as the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
[edit] Privatisation
With the club still suffering with poor finances, and despite the cash injection of $10,000,000 granted to the Northern Eagles entity, a change in direction was needed.
2004 saw the Football Club days from closing its doors until financial assistance was offered firstly by Scott Penn, and soon after by Max Delmege. Both are successful businessman and with their club in dire straits, moves were made by the club to allow privatisation and an influx of money which could save the club.
During an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Football Club on 03 June 2004, the members voted for the approval of Special Resolutions to allow for the privatisation of the Football Club to proceed. The club was now Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Limited. This entity holds the NRL Licence and manages the clubs employees from the players right through to the front office, organisation of sponsorships and merchandise, provides hospitality and prepares for games played out of Brookvale Oval. It is also responsible for running the lower grades in the NSWRL competitions.
There are three current shareholders in this entity which are the Manly-Warringah Football Club Ltd (2,150,000 shares - June 2007), Delmege managed companies (3,925,000 shares - June 2007) and Penn Sport Pty Ltd (3,925,000 shares - June 2007).
The second entity is the Manly-Warringah Rugby League Football Club Limited which has no shareholders. This is the membership based company which Football Club members and Life Members belong to and owns 21.5% of the shares, and one Preference Share, in Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Limited.
Importantly, this preference share gives the members control of the Manly Sea Eagles name, colours and emblem as well as control over the home ground location.
Fundraisers by the Manly-Warringah Rugby League Football Club Limited, including membership drives, allows this entity to acquire further shares in Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Limited.
The third entity is the Manly Warringah Rugby League Club which operates the Manly- Warringah Leagues Club based in Brookvale and is independent of the Football Club operations. The Leagues Club provides support for the Manly-Warringah District Junior Rugby League.
[edit] Statistics and Records
[edit] Premierships and Titles
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premiership Titles | 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1987, 1996 (6) | |||||||||
| Premiership Runners-Up | 1951, 1957, 1959, 1968, 1970, 1982, 1983, 1995, 1997, 2007 (10) | |||||||||
| Minor Premiership Titles | 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1983, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1997, (9) | |||||||||
| Pre-Season Cup | 1980 | |||||||||
| Sevens Tournaments | 1990, 1994, 1995 (3) | |||||||||
| Reserve Grade Titles | 1954, 1960, 1969, 1973, 1988 (5) | |||||||||
| Jersey Flegg Cup Titles | 1961, 1974, 1987 (3) | |||||||||
| Third Grade Titles | 1952 (1) | |||||||||
| Presidents Cup | 1946, 1970 (2) | |||||||||
| KG Cup | 1982, 1983 (2) | |||||||||
| S.G. Ball Cup | Nil | |||||||||
| Harold Matthews Cup | Nil | |||||||||
| Club Championships | 1972, 1983, 1987, 1988 (4) | |||||||||
| First Grade Wooden Spoons | Nil | |||||||||
[edit] Player Records
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most 1st Grade Games | Steve Menzies - 333 (Rd 12 2008) (incl 69 for Northern Eagles) | |||||||||
| Cliff Lyons - 309 | ||||||||||
| Most Points - Career | Graham Eadie - 1917 (71 Tries, 847 Goals, 3 Field Goals) | |||||||||
| Bob Batty - 1154 (40 Tries, 502 Goals, 15 Field Goals) | ||||||||||
| Most Tries - Career | Steve Menzies - 170 (Rd 12 2008) (incl 29 for Northern Eagles) | |||||||||
| Bob Fulton - 105 | ||||||||||
| Most Points - Season | Matthew Ridge - 257 (1995) | |||||||||
| Most Tries (Back) - Season | Phil Blake - 27 (1983) | |||||||||
| Most Tries (Forward) - Season | Steve Menzies - 22 (1995) | |||||||||
[edit] Club Records
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biggest Win | 70-7 vs Penrith (1973) | |||||||||
| 61-0 vs St George (1994) | ||||||||||
| Biggest Loss | 6-68 vs Cronulla (2005) | |||||||||
| 12-72 vs Penrith (2004) | ||||||||||
| Consecutive Wins | 15 - (1995) | |||||||||
| 12 - (1997) | ||||||||||
| Consecutive Losses | 8 - (1950 / 1998-99) | |||||||||
| Best Winning Percentage (10+ Games) | Gold Coast Chargers - Played 17 / Won 14 (82%) | |||||||||
| Illawarra - Played 27 / Won 19 (70%) | ||||||||||
| Worst Winning Percentage (10+ Games) | Melbourne - Played 12 / Won 5 (42%) | |||||||||
| St George Illawarra - Played 12 / Won 3 (25%) | ||||||||||
| Clubs (Most Wins Against) | Parramatta - 74 | |||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs - 72 | ||||||||||
| Clubs (Most Losses To) | St George - 55 | |||||||||
| South Sydney - 54 | ||||||||||
| Brookvale Oval Record | Played 556 - (W) 389 / (L) 153 / (D) 14 (Round 14 - 2008) | |||||||||
[edit] Honours and Awards
[edit] Media and Association Awards
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby League Immortal | Bob Fulton (1985 – Original Inductee) | |||||||||
| ARL Hall of Fame | Ken Irvine and Bob Fulton | |||||||||
| Rothmans Medal | Graham Eadie (1974) and Mal Cochrane (1986) | |||||||||
| Dally M Awards | ||||||||||
| Player of the Year | Cliff Lyons (1990 and 1994) | |||||||||
| Silver Dally M | Ian Roberts (1993) and Cliff Lyons (1995) | |||||||||
| Best Fullback | Matthew Ridge (1995) | |||||||||
| Best Five-Eight | Cliff Lyons (1994) | |||||||||
| Best Lock Forward | Ben Kennedy (2005 and 2006) | |||||||||
| Best Second Rower | Steve Menzies (1994 and 1995), Anthony Watmough (2007) | |||||||||
| Best Hooker | Jim Serdaris (1996) | |||||||||
| Best Prop Forward | Ian Roberts (1993 and 1994) | |||||||||
| Top Try-Scorer | Steve Menzies (1995) | |||||||||
| Top Points Scorer | Matthew Ridge (1995) | |||||||||
| Rookie of the Year | Phil Blake (1992), Jack Elsegood (1993) and Steve Menzies (1994) | |||||||||
| Captain of the Year | Ben Kennedy (2006) | |||||||||
| Clive Churchill Medal | Cliff Lyons (1987) and Geoff Toovey (1996) | |||||||||
| RLW Players of the Year | John Mayes (1973), Bob Fulton (1975), Phil Sigsworth (1983) and Cliff Lyons (1994) | |||||||||
| Norwich Rising Star – Rookie of the Year | Jack Elsegood (1993) and John Hopoate (1995) | |||||||||
| Rugby League Players Association | ||||||||||
| Players’ Player | Ben Kennedy (2006) | |||||||||
| Best Country Player | Brent Kite (2006) | |||||||||
| New Zealand Player of the Year | Darrell Williams (1989) | |||||||||
| NSW Player of the Year | Roy Bull (1954) and Bob Fulton (1972 and 1973) | |||||||||
| Sun Herald Best and Fairest | Rex Mossop (1958) and Dennis Ward (1968) | |||||||||
| Ken Stephen Memorial Award | Ian Roberts (1994) and Michael Monaghan (2006) | |||||||||
[edit] Club Honours
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clubman of the Year | Owen Cunningham (1994), Cliff Lyons (1995), Des Hasler (1996), Geoff Toovey (1997), Craig Hancock (1998), Steve Menzies (1999 and 2002), Warwick Bulmer (2000), Chad Randall (2003), Albert Torrens (2004), Luke Williamson (2005), Chris Hicks (2006), Michael Monaghan (2007) | |||||||||
| Best and Fairest | Steve Menzies (2002), Chris Hicks (2004), Ben Kennedy (2005 and 2006), Glenn Stewart (2007) | |||||||||
| Players’ Player | John Hopoate (2002), Ben Kennedy (2005), Brent Kite (2006), Brett Stewart (2007) | |||||||||
| Rookie of the Year | Jason King (2002), Steve Matai (2005), Travis Burns (2006), Michael Bani (2007) | |||||||||
| Members Best and Fairest | Ben Kennedy (2005 and 2006), Anthony Watmough & Brett Stewart (2007) | |||||||||
[edit] Centenary Honours
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Of The Century | Ken Irvine (Wing), Bob Fulton (Reserve) | |||||||||
| 100 Greatest Players | Kerry Boustead, Roy Bull, Graham Eadie, Bob Fulton, Ken Irvine, John O'Neill | |||||||||
| NSWRL Team Of The Century | Ken Irvine (Wing), Bob Fulton (5/8), Roy Bull (Reserve) | |||||||||
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- [1] Rugby League History; Sean Fagan
- Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, 1999; Alan Whiticker and Glen Hudson
- ABC of Rugby League, 1995; Malcolm Andrews
- [2] Rugby League Tables and Statistics; Paul Jeffs
[edit] External links
THE OFFICIAL SITE
THE OFFICIAL KIDS SITE The Manly Sea Eagles is the first club to launch an NRL website just for kids
