Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
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| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | |
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| Full name | Manly-Warringah Rugby League Club |
| Nickname(s) | Sea Eagles |
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| Founded | 1947 |
| Ground | Brookvale Oval Brookvale, Sydney |
| Capacity | 23,000 |
| CEO |  Grant Mayer |
| Coach | Des Hasler |
| League | National Rugby League |
| 2006 | National Rugby League, 5th |
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are a team in the National Rugby League (NRL), the premier rugby league football competition in Australia.
Based in Brookvale on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, the Sea Eagles were admitted in 1947 to the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition, predecessor of the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the current NRL competition. The club has recently (2005) moved its headquarters to the NSW Institute of Sport, based at Narrabeen.
The club had to wait until 1972 to taste premiership glory, with a 19-14 win over the Roosters but followed it up with three more titles that decade. Since then, the Sea Eagles have won two premierships, triumphing in 1987 and 1996.
The Manly Sea Eagles is the first club to launch an NRL website just for kids http://www.seaeaglekids.com
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[edit] Club information
- Club Name: Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (1947- Present) Note: Manly-Warringah did not participate as the Sea Eagles in the NRL between 2000 - 2002.
- Founded: 1947 (re-entered premiership: 2003) Note: Manly-Warringah did not participate in the premiership between 2000 - 2002, initially forming a joint venture with the North Sydney Bears to play as the Northern Eagles. The joint venture arrangement was officially dissolved in August 2001, but the Manly-Warringah club continued to play as the Northern Eagles until the end of the 2002 season.
- Home Stadium: Brookvale Oval (1947-1999, 2003-present)
- Head Coach: Des Hasler (2004-present)
- NRL Team Captain: Matt Orford
- Uniform Colors: Maroon and White
- Premiership Titles: 6 - 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1987, 1996
- Premiership Runners-up: 9 - 1951, 1957, 1959, 1968, 1970, 1982, 1983, 1995, 1997
- Minor Premiership Titles: 9 - 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1983, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1997
[edit] 2006 season
2006 was a great season for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, although they did lose both the finals matches, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles have not been this high in the ladder for a long time. With the loss of Ben Kennedy, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are aiming for a fiery 2007 season.
[edit] Round 8, v Parramatta Eels
One of many thrilling wins for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles with Matt Orford scoring a field goal to beat the Parramatta Eels 23-22 with 2 minutes left. It was a great comeback for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles who were trailing 0-16 in the first half
[edit] Round 14, v Wests Tigers
This was one of the most memorable games of the 2006 for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. The Wests Tigers led 12-10 with moments to go until a Matt Orford banana kick was fielded by full-back Brett Stewart who juggled the ball and scored the winning try to win the game for Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 16-12. This broke the hearts of the Wests Tigers, who were headed for victory.
[edit] Round 20, v Penrith Panthers
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles pulled of a gutsy win against the Penrith Panthers coming back from 18 points behind. Travis Burns kicked a penalty on the 74th minute to seal victory for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 32-30.
[edit] Round 25, v Canterbury Bulldogs
A thrilling field goal on the 78th minute by Matt Orford sealed a 21-20 win against Canterbury Bulldogs at Brookvale Oval .
[edit] Club history
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles has been perceived as the "Silvertails" of the league since their original entry into the New South Wales Rugby League back in 1947, although the term first appears in the late 1970s. Roy Masters, the Western Suburbs Magpies coach first labelled Manly 'The Silvertails' in an attempt to fire up his own teams of the time. The Silvertails vs Fibro (short for 'pre-fabricated housing', an inexpensive option used for housing in many areas of Sydney's Greater West during the 1950s) moniker is now ingrained in the minds of many League supporters.
The Sea Eagles have had great success during their history, especially during the 1970s when they won four grand finals. However they had to wait 25 years for a title.
[edit] Bridesmaids
Manly made their first Grand final only four years after entering the premiership but were thrashed by the Rabbitohs 42-14, which is still a grand final record. Manly's captain-coach Wally O'Connell missed the game through injury. Twice more they were thrashed in Grand Finals in 1957 and 1959 against the St George Dragons who were in the middle of their 11 title run.
In 1968, Manly finished second during the regular season, a point behind South Sydney, and beat the Rabbitohs 23-15 in the major semi to be the first club to qualify for the Grand Final that year. However they lost a tight game 13-9 to South Sydney. Bobby Fulton and Frank Stanton, future heroes of the club in the 1970s, was in the losing side that year.
[edit] Glory years
1971 saw Manly as minor premiers but bowed out of the semis with successive losses to the Rabbitohs and St George Dragons. In 1972, however, they claimed their maiden premiership, beating Easts 19-14. They backed up a year later defeating Cronulla Sharks 10-7 in a bruising encounter. The team boasted internationals such as Bob Fulton, Ray Branighan, Ken Irvine and John O'Neill and was coached by former player Ron Willey.
In 1976, Manly defeated Parramatta Eels 13-10 despite scoring one try to two. The game was famous for the 'wedge' as the Eels desperately tried to score in the final minutes of the game. Frank Stanton, another former player, was the successful premiership coach. They had had to fight their way through via the final, beating Canterbury 15-12, after losing the first semi to Parramatta.
Two years later they beat the Cronulla Sharks 16-0 in a replay after a Grand final drawn 11-11.
[edit] Later years
1987 saw Manly defeat a spirited young Canberra Raiders side who showed signs of their future glory.
From 1995 to 1997, Manly appeared in three Grand Finals against Canterbury, St.George and Newcastle. Their only success at this time came in 1996 decider against the St.George Dragons.
The support for the ARL by the club during the Super League war 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.
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.
Although the 2003 and 2004 seasons were not successful (finishing second last to Souths in 2004), the club had many positives off the field. The club was privatised with the owner, and lifelong Manly supporter, Max Delmege instrumental in keeping the club financial.
Astute purchases of representational players such as Ben Kennedy and Brett Kite (2005), Matt Orford and Steve Bell (2006) and Jamie Lyon (2007) has seen significant progress on the field. The club made the 2005 finals, the first time since 1998. This was followed up a year later with a strong fifth and progress to the second week of the 2006 finals.
The 2007 NRL season sees the club maintain a stable playing roster for the first time since the success of the mid 1990's and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles tipped for another strong season.
[edit] Privatisation
In 2004, northern beaches property developer and club major sponsor Max Delmege completed a deal with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles which saw him purchase a majority stake in the newly formed "Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Limited". The Sea Eagles corporation now holds the National Rugby League licence for the team and generally operates the running the of the team in the Telstra Premiership . The remaining shares in the Sea Eagles entity are owned by several supporters of the club (including board member Scott Penn) and the Manly-Warringah Rugby League Football Club Limited. The "Football Club" as this entity is now known, has around 2,000 members. Membership in the Football Club was previously heavily resticted and was difficult to gain except for those closely connected to the Club. Since 2004 membership has been open to the public.
The third entity in the Sea Eagles organisation is the Manly Warringah Rugby League Club which operates the "Manly Warringah Leagues Club" based in Brookvale.
[edit] Grand Final Premiership sides
[edit] 1972, September 16.
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground.
Crowd: 54,357.
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
Result:
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). Referee: Keith Page.
[edit] 1973, September 15.
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground.
Crowd: 52,044.
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.
Result:
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - 10 (Fulton 2 tries; Eadie 2 goals) defeated Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks - 7 (Bourke try; Rogers 2 goals). Referee: Keith Page.
[edit] 1976, September 18.
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground.
Crowd: 57,343.
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.
Result:
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - 13 (Lowe try; Eadie 5 goals) defeated Parramatta Eels - 10 (Porter, Gerard tries; Peard 2 goals). Referee: Gary Cook.
[edit] 1978, September 19 (Grand Final Replay).
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground.
Crowd: 33,552.
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.
Result:
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - 16 (Gartner 2, Eadie tries; Eadie 3 goals; field goal) defeated Cronulla Sharks - 0. Referee: Greg Hartley.
[edit] 1987, September 27.
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground.
Crowd: 50,201.
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.
Result:
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - 18 (O'Connor, Lyons tries; O'Connor 5 goals) defeated Canberra Raiders - 8 (O'Sullivan try; Meninga, Belcher goals). Referee: Mick Stone. Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Cliff Lyons.
[edit] 1996, September 29.
Venue: Sydney Football Stadium.
Crowd: 40,985.
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.
Result:
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - 20 (Innes, Menzies, Moore tries; Ridge 3, Innes goals) defeated
St George Illawarra Dragons - 8 (Zisti try; Bartrim 2 goals). Referee: David Manson.
Clive Churchill Medal Winner: Geoff Toovey.
[edit] Green Jersey
To mark the partnership with sponsor Energy Australia, the club wore green jerseys against the Melbourne Storm at Caloundra, Queensland for their first trial match of 2007.
Energy Australia estimates that the greenhouse impact of powering up Brookvale Oval for 11 home games with coal fired power would be the same as driving to Queensland and back 375 times. With an eye on the global warming issue, Energy Australia has agreed to match the electricity used at Brookvale Oval on game days during the 2007 season, with renewable energy.
Only 65 green jerseys have been produced. [1]
[edit] 2007 Squad
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Players in bold are representive players.
[edit] Players of note
- Ken Arthurson
- Rex Mossop
- Bob Fulton
- Graham Eadie
- Paul Vautin
- Des Hasler
- Cliff Lyons
- Ian Roberts
- Geoff Toovey
- Steven Menzies
- Ben Kennedy
- John Hopoate
- John Ribot
- Max Krilich
[edit] Coaches
- Harold Johnston - 1947
- Ray Stehr - 1947-1948
- George Mullins - 1949
- Wally O'Connell - 1950-1952 and 1966-1967
- Roy Bull - 1953
- Ray Norman - 1954
- Pat Devery - 1955-1956
- Ken Arthurson - 1957-1961
- Ron Willey - 1962 and 1970-1974
- Tony Paskins - 1963
- Russ Pepperell - 1964-1965
- George Hunter - 1968-1969
- Frank Stanton - 1975-1979
- Allan Thomson - 1980
- Ray Ritchie - 1981-1982
- Bob Fulton - 1983-1988 and 1993-1999
- Alan Thompson - 1989
- Graham Lowe - 1990-1992
- Peter Sharp - 1999 and 2003¹
- Des Hasler - 2004-present
¹ Sharp was also coach of the Northern Eagles between 2000 and 2002.
[edit] External links
THE OFFICIAL SITE
THE OFFICIAL KIDS SITE
