Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - History

History

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.

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.