Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

Club information
Full name	Manly-Warringah District Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)	Sea Eagles
Colours	Maroon      White
Founded	1947
Departed	1999
Readmitted	2002
details
Ground(s)	Brookvale Oval (23,000)
CEO(s)	David Perry
Coach(s)	Geoff Toovey
Captain(s)	Jamie Lyon Jason King
Competition	National Rugby League
2011 season	Premiers (2nd)
Team colours		Away colours
Records
Premierships	8 (1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1987, 1996, 2008, 2011)
Runners-up	10 (1951, 1957, 1959, 1968, 1970, 1982, 1983, 1995, 1997, 2007)
Minor premiership	9 (1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1983, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1997)
World Club Challenge	1 (2009)
Wooden spoons	None
Most capped	309 - Cliff Lyons
Most points	1,917 - Graham Eadie

The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's (NRL's) Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia. The club first appeared in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League season and currently plays home matches out of its ground Brookvale Oval whilst being based at the New South Wales Academy of Sport in Narrabeen.

Since winning their first premiership in 1972, the club has won a total of eight First Grade titles. They are the reigning NRL premiers, having won the 2011 Grand Final. The club's eight titles span five consecutive decades.

Cliff Lyons holds the record for most first-grade games for Manly with 309. Steven Menzies played 349 games, but 69 of these were for the now-defunct Northern Eagles. The record for most points scored is held by Graham Eadie with 1917 points and Matthew Ridge has the highest total in one season, scoring 257 in 1995. Steven Menzies holds the top try scoring record with 151. He is also the highest scoring forward in the history of the game.

The Sea Eagles have never won the wooden spoon in their 62 seasons, the longest period of any current club. Since their first Grand Final appearance in 1951, the club has appeared in 18 Grand Finals in eight consecutive decades.

History

Main article: History of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

The original Manly-Warringah logo, which first appeared in the early 1950s.

The movement to set up rugby league in Sydney had gained serious momentum and Manly, as with all the other Sydney district rugby clubs, endured internal agonies as the new "League" was considered.The NSWRL accepted Manly's application and, along with Parramatta, they were granted admission to the 1947 competition.

The North Sydney Bears though suffered more than they anticipated. After having played in the 1943 Grand Final they hit the wall after the exodus of Manly players for 1947. The Bears lost half of their games in 1947, before spending the next four seasons at the bottom of the ladder.

Manly immediately adopted the maroon and white colours they had used for their Presidents Cup team since its inception and borrowed originally from the Freshwater SLSC of which Ken Arthurson & other players were members. They chose for an emblem the sea eagle – the native bird of prey of the Sydney coastline. The use of emblems on jerseys and as a marketing tool was way in the future, and a number of media writers simply referred to Manly as the "sea gulls". However, while they never raised an objection to being called sea gulls (emphasising how much of a non-issue emblems/marketing names were at the time) the club maintains that it has always officially been the Sea Eagles since their first day.

Manly's first premiership game was against Western Suburbs Magpies at Brookvale Oval on Saturday 12 April 1947. Max Whitehead, who had first played for Norths in 1942 and was a member of their 1943 Grand Final team, was Manly's first captain. Whitehead was a big barrel-chested second rower who was used by Bonds as the model for their iconic "Chesty Bond" character. Their first win was against the Parramatta Eels and the club finished their first season in second to last place.

Old Manly-Warringah club logo

Their first Grand Final appearance was in the 1951 season, which they lost to South Sydney. Manly-Warringah played in five Grand Finals before winning their first in 1972. They then won the following year in 1973 and again in 1976 and 1978.

Manly were powerful in the early 80s but were beaten in two Grand finals by Parramatta, but was victorious against the Canberra raiders in the 1987 Grand final. The Bob Fulton coached Sea Eagles returned to the play-offs in 1993 and 1994 but were beaten on both occasions in the first elimination semi-final by the Brisbane Broncos.

In 1995, amidst the dramas of the Super League war, Manly produced one of its most dominating seasons in the club's history but in one of the league's most dramatic upsets, were upset by the Bulldogs in the Grand Final.

In 1996 a Manly returned to the Grand Final and beat St George Dragons to win the title that had eluded them the season before. Rugby League in Australia was split in two leagues in 1997, the ARL and Super League, and Manly were one of the leading teams of the ARL's competition. For the third year in a row Manly reached the Grand Final, however lapses in their intensity which appeared during the season returned in the premiership decider against the Newcastle Knights and the Sea Eagles were beaten on the full-time siren by a Knights try.

The Manly teams of 1995 to 1997 produced some of the most entertaining football in Sea Eagles' history, but also featured rugby league's stingiest defence. Many great players featured, including Des Hasler, Geoff Toovey, Nik Kosef, Steve Menzies, Terry Hill, Mark Carroll, the ageless Cliff Lyons and former NZ All Blacks Matthew Ridge and Craig Innes.

After 1997 the club collapsed on the field and only recorded a 10th place in the 1998 season, and then missed the finals in 1999.

Resurrection

The joint venture collapsed and Manly retained the Northern Eagles licence for the 2002 season until returning to the competition as Manly for the 2003 season. The 2003 and 2004 seasons produced very few moments of joy for Sea Eagles supporters. The club improved its playing stocks for 2005, and reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1998. Manly have not missed the finals since, whilst every other club have missed the finals at least once since 2004.

A meeting of the Football Club in 3 June 2004 saw the club members vote for the privatisation of the Football Club.

2005 season

Manly made an unexpected bright start to the 2005 season, at one stage leading the competition outright after round seven. However their season was marred early by the dismissal of John Hopoate who was given a 17-match ban for striking Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks forward Keith Galloway in the round two match. Furthermore, the season overall was dominated by the team's fear of playing matches at night, with most of their defeats occurring under lights. This was pointed out by the Channel Nine commentators prior to its round eight, Friday night match against the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium (which was in fact Manly's first Friday night match in six years) which the Sea Eagles indeed lost by a scoreline of 38–12. The Sea Eagles suffered a late-season form slump with injuries plaguing the club, however wins over the Broncos in round 22 and the Raiders in the final round ensured their first finals appearance since 1998. They crashed out of the finals with a 46–22 hammering from the minor premiers and bitter rivals Parramatta.

This season also marked the beginning of the Sea Eagles' rivalry with the Melbourne Storm. In round three, both teams had won their opening two matches leading into an early-season top-of-the-table match which Manly won 25–18. Although Manly's time at the top of the ladder was short-lived, it proved that Manly could match it with the best sides in the competition. Steve Matai made his first grade debut in that match, a late replacement after John Hopoate was suspended, then sacked by the club.

2006 season

Season 2006, its 60th season in the competition, saw an average season in which the Manly side again advanced to the finals, finishing fifth. For this season only, a commemorative 60th anniversary logo was used on the player jerseys. Despite losing their first two matches of the season (both by small margins) the Sea Eagles built on their 2005 season to once again advance to the play-offs. Highlights in the season included wins over the Roosters in round 4, the Bulldogs in round 7, the Storm in round 11 and a last-gasp win over the defending premiers Wests Tigers in round 14 in which Brett Stewart scored a spectacular try in the last five minutes. Furthermore, their fear of playing matches at night were eliminated with the exception of losses to the eventual premiers Brisbane in round 10 and Melbourne in the final round.

Drawn an away final against their 1997 ARL Grand Final nemesis the Newcastle Knights, the Sea Eagles led at halftime only to see their lead run down in a controversial second half. Although they did advance a week further, the Sea Eagles' season ended with a 28–0 shutout at the hands of the St. George Illawarra Dragons. That match also marked Ben Kennedy's final game after two years in Manly colours.

2007 season

Main article: 2007 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season

In 2007, Manly played in their 15th grand final against Melbourne after defeating North Queensland at the Sydney Football Stadium 28 – 6. Manly were beaten 34 – 8 by the Storm on 30 September at Telstra Stadium, the game being notable for the sickening^{[citation needed]} but apparently legal tackle of Manly fullback Brett Stewart by the Storm's Michael Crocker. Melbourne was later stripped of the 2007 title for salary cap breaches. Manly were not recognised as the 2007 premiers (the premiers for 2007 and 2009 are instead being declared as null and void), despite calls by the fans and the Manly MP.

2008 season

With the departure of hooker Michael Monaghan, many questioned whether Manly could be as competitive as in 2007 and losses in the first 2 rounds seemed to confirm this. Manly's first win came in round 3 at Brookvale with a 52–6 thrashing of the New Zealand Warriors and followed this up with a 20–2 shutout of South Sydney. In the round 5 grand final rematch against the Storm, Manly were soundly beaten 26–4 and doubt about their premiership credentials resurfaced. In Heritage Round (Rd 6) Manly had a season defining last gasp win over bitter rivals Parramatta, with Manly overcoming injuries before and during the game including to winger Michael Bani who had to be stretchered off the ground after being knocked out.

Manly seemed to use this game as a springboard and entered a dangerous vein of form, notching up numerous impressive wins over top teams such as a 30–12 win over the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, a 42–0 annihilation of the Sydney Roosters at Brookvale Oval and a 34–14 win over the Gold Coast Titans at Skilled Park in round 17. In round 18 Manly avenged their opening round loss to bitter rivals and eventual preliminary finalists Cronulla with a 34–6 hammering of them at Toyota Stadium. In round 19, Manly once again faced historical rivals Parramatta and in a repeat of round 6, Manly lost halfback Matt Orford and lock Luke Williamson before the game and only minutes in five-eighth Jamie Lyon and prop Jason King were forced off the field with injury. An emotional King was later shown by Channel 9 cameras in the changerooms flipping over a table in frustration. Despite the setbacks and an early challenge from the Eels, Manly ran away with the game and finished 28–10 winners.

Some hiccups against the Roosters in round 20, the Storm in round 22 and the Rabbitohs in round 23 meant Manly finished the regular season tied first with Melbourne and Cronulla but 2nd on points differential and Manly missed out on claiming their first minor premiership since 1997. In the qualifying final manly faced 7th placed St. George at Brookvale. This game was club legend Steve Menzies's last ever game at Brookvale and he opened the scoring with an unusual charge down try in which after kicking ahead to himself and falling over, the ball bounced up and hit him in the head before he finally grounded it. Manly were easy 38–6 winners and departing Dragons centre Mark Gasnier was seen crying on the sidelines. After getting the week off, Manly faced the history making New Zealand Warriors whose late season charge got them into 8th place where they became the first 8th placed team to advance past qualifying finals with a dramatic and rare defeat of the Storm at Olympic Park. Despite an early challenge, Manly crushed the Warriors 32–6 and showcased their trademark wall of defense and attacking flair. With the win, Manly qualified for their 17th grand final where in a rematch of the 2007 decider, they would play the Melbourne Storm who had bounced back from the Warriors loss with wins over the Broncos and Sharks.

The story was very different for the Sea Eagles this time around as they decimated the Storm 40–0 to win their seventh premiership in front of 80,388 at ANZ Stadium. Ironically it was Michael Monaghan's replacement, the previously unknown Matt Ballin who scored the first try of the match. The game was also notable for winger Michael Robertson's hatrick and retiring legend Steve Menzies's try 10 minutes from full time, which he scored after coming back onto the field to replace the injured Steve Matai. Manly Prop Brent Kite was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal after a powerhouse display which included a class try in the 58th minute. This is the largest winning margin in a grand final in rugby league history.

2009 season

Main article: 2009 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season

The 2009 season boded poorly as a result of two incidents on the day of Manly's season launch. Second-rower Anthony Watmough was assaulted by a sponsor after allegedly making inappropriate comments to his daughter .^[1] Brett Stewart later that night was charged with the sexual assault of a 17-year old girl outside his apartment block, which he was subsequently cleared of, an incident which led to the dammning Four Corners investigation, "Code of Silence". Stewart was cleared of the charge in late September 2010 by a jury which took 45 minutes to reach their decision.

Manly paid a $100,000 fine for failing to adequately punish Stewart for his offence. Stewart faced a brief trial at the time, and a further, more comprehensive trial began in March 2010. As a result of Stewart's absence, Manly lost their first four games of the season, crashing to last place after round four (thus becoming the first defending premier since Melbourne in 2000 to lose their first four matches of a season), before finally achieving a 23–10 win against the Tigers in which Stewart scored three tries in his first match for 2009. A double against Souths followed, before injury struck. Stewart only played five games overall in 2009 following a serious knee injury suffered in round six, before returning in round 25. The Sea Eagles snared fifth place at the end of the season and lost the first qualifying final to eventual grand final winners Melbourne 40–12 in a one-sided contest played at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium. Due to other unfavourable results occurring on the weekend, Manly were eliminated from the premiership race. This premiership was also stripped from the Storm.

2010 season

In 2010, Manly started the season with a team of many new faces, including young play-maker Kieran Foran. After narrowly losing their first two games of the season, Manly won their third, following three matches against Newcastle, the Warriors and the Sharks before a late season slump saw them settle for eighth position on the ladder. Manly players were not involved in any further violations in 2010, and embarked on an active program of community engagement, which includes activities such as reading at schools and raising money for charities.

Manly spent much of the middle of the season near the top of the ladder and were earmarked as a possible premiership contender with impressive wins over the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Wests Tigers. Inconsistent form, injuries and suspensions caused a dramatic slide down the ladder and Manly were lucky to settle on 8th and just make the finals. Had it not been for the Melbourne Storm salary cap breach earlier in the season, Manly would have missed the finals altogether for the first time since 2004. In round 25 ballplaying second-rower Glenn Stewart was suspended for 4 matches for high shot on Sydney Roosters captain Braith Anasta and in round 26 centre Steve Matai was suspended for 7 matches for a high tackle that knocked out Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs hooker Michael Ennis. Their 2010 season ended with a dismal 28–0 hammering from the eventual premiers St. George Illawarra, although Manly were still in the game with 15 minutes remaining. Manly went into this game with 11 of their first choice players out with either injury or suspension and many of those who did play were still carrying injuries.

2011 season

Main article: 2011 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season

At the end of the 2010 season Manly lost Trent Hodkinson who signed a massive deal with the Bulldogs from the 2011 season onwards, as well as Josh Perry and Ben Farrar to the European Super League. Manly have not made any huge signings for the 2011 season. This was mirrored with its lowly 8th placing in the 2010 season, its lowest placing since 2005. However, Brett Stewart and David Williams are expected to return from long-term knee injuries which wiped them out for all but 76 minutes of the 2010 season. Manly has also announced plans to take games into Asia in 2011 with Macau, Singapore and China being likely destinations.^[2]

Manly's 2011 season started with an 18–6 loss to the Melbourne Storm in Melbourne. Brett Stewart made minimal impact in the match but escaped injury-free. This was followed with an upset 27–16 win over last year's beaten Grand Finalists, the Sydney Roosters, where Manly went into the match without its captain Jamie Lyon, Shane Rodney, Dean Whare and Glenn Stewart through injury and also Jason King and Steve Matai through suspension. Brett Stewart was appointed acting captain for the Roosters match. This is regarded as one of the most commendable wins in Manly's history ^[3] and featured outstanding performances by its younger players including Kieran Foran, Jamie Buhrer, William Hopoate and Vic Mauro. This was followed up with a 26–12 win over the Newcastle Knights at home, before a desperately unlucky loss against the South Sydney Rabbitohs by 32–30 which ended Manly's unbeaten run at Bluetongue Stadium, having won all of its matches at the venue beforehand.

Off-field controversy struck again when Anthony Watmough and Terence Seu Seu were both stood down by the club for urinating in public prior to its round five match against Cronulla at Toyota Stadium. The Sea Eagles were in trouble midway through the second half, at 13–0 down, before scoring 19 unanswered points, including a try after the siren by Michael Oldfield, to give the Silvertails a 19–13 victory.

Despite the massive player turnover from last season the Sea Eagles surprisingly find themselves sitting in second place on the NRL Ladder, only behind another rebuilding team in the Melbourne Storm. They have only lost five matches all season, all of them occurring at night. Manly won all of its matches at Brookvale Oval this season, reinstating the notorious "Fortress Brookie" title to the ground. The Last game at Brookvale was a Top of the Table Clash against the Melbourne Storm, Manly went on to win this game 18 – 4 but the win was shadowed by a massive brawl between Glenn Stewart and Adam Blair, giving the game the nickname 'The Battle Of Brookvale'.

On Saturday 10 September Manly registered a commanding 42-8 win over the North Queensland Cowboys at the Sydney Football Stadium. After a disappointing first stanza, Manly put in a masterclass to score 42 unanswered points in the 2nd half, to progress to the preliminary final. In the match itself, they defeated the Brisbane Broncos 26-14 to be the first team through to the 2011 NRL Grand Final, where they then met the New Zealand Warriors who were vying for their first ever premiership.

A season of success culminated in Manly winning its eighth premiership, defeating the New Zealand Warriors by 24–10 in the Grand Final. Glenn Stewart was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for his 34 tackles and a crucial try in the second half, making he and brother Brett Stewart the first ever brothers to score tries in the same Grand Final (in the 10 matches where this Stewart Brothers' double has occurred, Manly has won all 10 matches). Their second premiership in the NRL era means that they are only the second team (after the Brisbane Broncos in 1998, 2000 and 2006) to win a premiership more than once since 1998.

Just 40 days after Manly's premiership win, the club sensationally dismissed head coach Des Hasler after he was revealed to have breached his contract by trying to lure coaching staff and players to the Bulldogs where he would have started coaching in 2013. This meant that Geoff Toovey, who was to take over as part of a succession plan, was immediately elevated to the role of head coach from the 2012 season onwards.

Emblem and colours

• Manly Warringah Sea Eagles - Logos
• 

  1950–1969

• 

  1970–1980

• 

  1997–1999, 2003–present

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 who wore the colours of the local Freshwater Surf Lifesaving Club, which was previously established in the area in 1908.

The club's first jersey was maroon with a large white 'V' on the front. Manly teams were one of the first to feature an emblem, with an 'MW' appearing in the early 1950s. Far from the flashy logos worn today, the Manly‘Sea Eagle’which appeared in the mid 1950s was often confused for a seagull by many, including the media.

Various changes to the jersey were introduced at irregular intervals. The classic 'V' design was radically changed during the years of Pepsi sponsorship during the 90s. In addition, 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.

The team has been officially known as the "Sea Eagles" ever since the club entered the first grade competition in 1947. There was some confusion over this in the 1950s, when a journalist named Jim Mather (Sydney Daily Telegraph) began referring to the team as the "Seagulls" in his reports. This was picked up by other journalists and some fans, and at a time when club logos and nicknames were not used as prominently as they are today, the team was often referred to as the "Seagulls" in this era. However, officially Manly have always been the "Sea Eagles". Manly would change their Sea Eagle logo in 1998 following the introduction of the new competition. A new stylised sea eagle appeared under the 'Sea Eagles' banner, much more fierce and aggressive than its predecessor. It featured predominatley maroon, white, yellow and blue to symbolise the connection the club had with its major sponsor at the time Pepsi. This logo would not last however when the ill fated merger with North Sydney Bears in 2000 saw them take on the Northern Eagles moniker instead.

Upon their return in 2003, Manly opted to revert back to the previous logo but tweaked the logo slightly to focus on the sea eagle itself and include Warringah in the clubs name again. They also returned to their original colours of maroon and white, a symbol of their roots steming back from 1947. This logo has been in use since then.

A commemorative logo was used throughout the 2006 season to mark the 60th anniversary of their inclusion in the competition.

During the 2007 pre-season, the club introduced a limited number of 65 playing and memorabilia green and white jerseys, for a trial match against the Melbourne Storm.

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2006 Commemorative logo

Stadium

When Manly were accepted into the competition, the local Manly Council denied the club permission to use Manly Oval as a home ground. The council at the time was very pro-rugby union and attempted to stop the rival code spread to the area. Because of this, the club decided instead to acquire Brookvale Showground in order to host matches, which was supported by Warringah Council.

The ground was mostly renovated between 1965 and 1980, including the construction of two grandstands along both the southern end (Southern Stand) and western side (Jane Try Stand) of the ground. In the early 1990s, these two grandstands were connected by the Ken Arthurson Stand. The ground has also retained grassy hill areas along the eastern and northern edges. On 1 September 2008, the Southern Stand was renamed the Fulton-Menzies Stand.

Today the ground has a capacity of about 23,000. In 2006, the ground saw its largest average attendance over an entire season, with an average of 15,484 patrons watching each of the club's 11 matches played there. The record crowd at the ground is 27,655, set in the final round of the 1986 season. Since the club started playing in 1947, over five and a half million spectators have visited the ground.

In recent years, Manly have received criticism over the state of facilities at Brookvale Oval. In 2007, Manly stepped up their campaign for government funding to improve the stadium, culminating in a "Save Brookvale Oval" Rally on 21 November. As of September 2008, $4,000,000 of Warringah Council funding and a $6,000,000 NSW State Government grant has been secured by the club to allow for the initial redevelopment of the Jane Try Stand (with an additional level) and improvements to the Southern Stand and other amenities. A further $10,000,000 is being sought from the Federal Government for the development of an eastern stand, with the intention of maintaining a 10-metre deep grassed area in front of it.

Players

Current squad

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
First team squad								Coaching staff
Matt Ballin - HK Jamie Buhrer - LK, HK, CE Daly Cherry-Evans - HB James Cunningham - PR Ben Farrar - WG, CE, FB, FE Kieran Foran - FE Liam Foran - HB Joe Galuvao - SR, PR Daniel Harrison - SR Jason King (c) - PR Brent Kite - PR Darcy Lussick - SR, PR Jamie Lyon (c) - CE, FE		Lorenzo Ma'afu - PR Steve Matai - CE Vic Mauro - PR, SR Michael Oldfield - WG, FB Junior Paulo - PR, SR, LK Gary Riccardi - HB Liam Roach - PR Tim Robinson - PR George Rose - PR Nick Skinner - PR Brett Stewart (vc) - FB Glenn Stewart - LK Anthony Watmough - SR		Dean Whare - CE, WG David Williams - WG Tony Williams - SR, WG, CE				Head coach Geoff Toovey Legend: (c) Captain (vc) Vice captain Injured Updated: 28 May 2011 Source(s): Sea Eagles Player Profiles, Rugby League Project

2012 Player Transfers

IN Ben Farrar (from Catalans Dragons) Lorenzo Ma'afu (from Canterbury Bulldogs) Liam Roach (from South Wales Scorpions) Nick Skinner (from Canberra Raiders) OUT Matthew Cross (Retirement) Will Hopoate (Mormon Mission) / Parramatta Eels Michael Robertson (to London Broncos) Shane Rodney (to London Broncos) Terence Seu Seu (Released)

Notable players

For more details on this topic, see List of Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles players.

In 1990, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles club recognised their players, past and present, with a team announced to reflect the best squad up to that point. That team is listed below.

No. Position Player 1 FB Graham Eadie 2 WG Tom Mooney 3 CE Michael O'Connor 4 CE Bob Fulton 5 WG Les Hanigan 6 FE Wally O'Connell 7 HB Des Hasler 13 LK Malcolm "Mal" Reilly 12 SR Terry Randall

No. Position Player 11 SR Phil Lowe 10 PR Roy Bull 9 HK Max Krilich 8 PR John O'Neill 14 RE Ian Martin 15 RE Alan Thompson 16 RE Steve Norton 17 RE John McDonald

In 2006, a Dream Team of former Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles players was selected by a panel of selectors which featured former Manly-Warringah administrator Ken Arthurson, respected rugby league writer Ian Heads, the club Chairman Kerry Sibraa and journalist Phil Rothfield.

No. Position Player 1 FB Graham Eadie 2 WG Ken Irvine 3 CE Ray Branighan 4 CE Bob Fulton 5 WG Michael O'Connor 6 FE Wally O'Connell 7 HB Geoff Toovey 8 PR Roy Bull 9 HK Max Krilich

No. Position Player 10 PR John O'Neill 11 SR Steve Menzies 12 SR Terry Randall 13 LK Malcolm "Mal" Reilly 14 RE Des Hasler 15 RE Ben Kennedy 16 RE Cliff Lyons 17 RE Paul Vautin CO Frank Stanton (coach)

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
• Russell 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 – 2004–2011
• Geoff Toovey – 2012–

¹ Sharp was also coach of the Northern Eagles between 2000 and 2002.

Records and statistics

Main article: List of Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles records

• Biggest win: 70-7 vs Penrith (1973 NSWRFL season)
• Biggest loss: 6-68 vs Cronulla-Sutherland (2005 NRL season)
• Most consecutive wins: 15 (1995 ARL season)
• Most consecutive losses: 8 (1950 & 1998-99)

Honours

Main article: List of Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles honours

• New South Wales Rugby League, Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League^[4]: 8

1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1987, 1996, 2008, 2011

• New South Wales Rugby League, Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League runners-up: 10

1951, 1957, 1959, 1968, 1970, 1982–83, 1995, 1997, 2007

• New South Wales Rugby League, Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League minor premierships: 9

1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1983, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1997

• New South Wales Rugby League Club Championships: 4

1972, 1983, 1987, 1988

• Pre-Season Cup titles: 1

1980

• World Club Challenge: 1

2009

• KB Cup: 2

1982, 1983

• Sevens: 3

1990, 1994, 1995

• First Division, Premier League^[5]: 5

1954, 1960, 1969, 1973, 1988

• Jersey Flegg: 4

1961, 1974, 1987, 1988

• Presidents Cup: 2

1946, 1970

• Third Grade: 1

1952

Supporters

The Sea Eagles, nicknamed the Silvertails, are well known as a team that most working-class rugby league fans traditionally love to hate.^[6] Notable supporters of the club include Jim Anderson,^[7] Allen Aylett,^[8] Wendy Harmer,^[9] Hugh Jackman,^[10] Thomas Keneally,^[11]

Kerri Pottharst,^[12] Layne Beachley,^[12] Shelley Taylor-Smith,^[12] Shelley Oates-Wilding,^[12] Tracey Spicer,^[12] Nici Andronicus,^[12] Naomi Flood,^[12] Melissa Femia,^[12] Melinda Gainsford-Taylor,^[12] Louise Sauvage,^[12] Debbie Watson,^[12] Brooke Hanson,^[12] Anne Sargeant,^[12] Amy O'Mara,^[12] Johanna Griggs,^[13] Zali Steggall,^[13] Jean Hay, AM,^[14]

Doug Mulray,^[15] Peter Phelps,^[9] Mike Goldman,^[16] Miles Stewart^[17] and Sarah Murdoch.^[18]

References

1. ^ Code of Silence, Four Corners, broadcast on the ABC on 11 May 2009
2. ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/look-its-the-asian-eagles/story-e6frexnr-1225955145411
3. ^ http://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/manly-win-one-of-best-says-fulton/story-fn6ck6f9-1226025019398
4. ^ Up until 1994, the top division of the premiership in New South Wales was the New South Wales Rugby League premiership; since then, it has been the Australian Rugby League (1995–1997) and the National Rugby League premierships.
5. ^ Up until 2002, the second division of rugby league in New South Wales was Reserve Grade/Presidents Cup/First Division Premiers; since then, it has been the NSWRL Premier League.
6. ^ Moore, Andrew (1993). Testosterone Overdose: Popular culture and Historical Memory. Australia. p. 15. http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingTraditions/1993/st1001/st1001c.pdf. Retrieved 19 February 2011. 
7. ^ Hanna, Jim (30 April 2003). "Five new scholarships to honour late MP". Australia: AAP General News. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-73611057.html. Retrieved 5 October 2009. 
8. ^ Goodwin, Dorothy (26 September 1982). "Eels Premier Tip". League Souvenir (Sun-Herald, The). http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5GwRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4OYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6417,7404171. Retrieved 27 September 2009. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ ^{a b} smh.com.au (28 September 2007). "Author tips script to go out the window". League HQ (Fairfax Digital). http://blogs.smh.com.au/sinbin/archives/2007/09/author_tips_script_to_go_out_t.html. Retrieved 27 September 2009. 
10. ^ smh.com.au (6 September 2007). "Crowe to miss final, Jackman in doubt". Sydney Morning Herald, The (Fairfax Digital). http://www.smh.com.au/news/Sport/Crowe-to-miss-final-Jackman-in-doubt/2007/09/06/1188783405904.html. Retrieved 28 September 2009. 
11. ^ "NSW recognises Keneally's literary talents". abc.net.au (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 20 May 2008. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/20/2249902.htm. Retrieved 27 September 2009. 
12. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} | publisher = Manly Sea Eagles
13. ^ ^{a b} | publisher = Manly Sea Eagles
14. ^ | publisher = The Manly Daily
15. ^ Koslowski, Michael (25 September 1997). "Field of teams". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia: Fairfax Media): p. 6. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&docID=news970925_0130_8090. Retrieved 6 February 2011. 
16. ^ "Friday Night Download's Mike Goldman was Manly's mascot". The Daily Telegraph (Australia: The Sunday Times). 2 October 2008. http://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/perth-confidential/mikes-sweated-for-sea-eagles/story-e6frg30l-1111117651558. Retrieved 16 April 2010. 
17. ^ Weidler, Danny (14 March 1999). "Athletes told to fake it". The Sun-Herald (Fairfax Digital): pp. 119. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=news990317_0619_4421. Retrieved 6 October 2009. 
18. ^ "The culture war: the insular peninsula versus the world". The Sports Factor (Australia: ABC). 28 September 2007. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/sportsfactor/stories/2007/2042898.htm. Retrieved 16 April 2010. 

Sources

• Rugby League History; Sean Fagan
• Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, 1999; Alan Whiticker and Glen Hudson
• ABC of Rugby League, 1995; Malcolm Andrews
• Heritage Report on Brookvale Oval, Mayne-Wilson & Associates; August 2005

External links

• Rugby League Tables and Statistics; Paul Jeffs
• Official Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Website
• Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Annual Report 2008
• Silvertails, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Supporters site, group and Forums