News - June 1996

24 Jun 1996: Eagles on top

With Sydney City being defeated on the weekend, Manly now assume outright first position on the Optus Cup ladder. The Eagles' next match will be on Sunday in Perth against the last-placed Western Reds.

22 Jun 1996: Lyons routs Bears

Cliff Lyons conducted the show last night as Manly comprehensively defeated North Sydney 29-6 at Brookvale Oval. After a tough first-half the Eagles led 7-6, but ran away with it after the break by scoring four tries to nil. Lyons was Manly's best, setting up three tries with ease. Also to shine were Steve Menzies, Matthew Ridge, Nik Kosef and Neil Tierney. The Sea Eagles must surely now be considered premiership favourites after belting Canberra, Brisbane and Norths in successive games.

22 Jun 1996: Australian side, mark II

The ARL have named a new-look Australian side to play Fiji, after the game against the All Golds had to be cancelled. World Cup heroes Geoff Toovey, Steve Menzies, Mark Carroll and Terry Hill were all picked to wear the green and gold.

19 Jun 1996: Australian team announced

Geoff Toovey and Steve Menzies have both been named in the starting line-up for Australia, for the first Test to be played against the NZ All Golds on Friday 28th July.

17 Jun 1996: 3-0 to the Blues

NSW replacement Steve Menzies picked up man-of-the-match honours in State of Origin III earlier tonight, as the Blues triumphed 15-14 in a thriller. Team-mate and Manly captain Geoff Toovey was awarded player-of-the-series, the series dominated by his driving defence and clever play from dummy-half.

16 Jun 1996: Manly coast to victory

Manly moved to equal first place in the Optus Cup on Friday night, hardly getting out of second gear as they easily accounted for a depleted Brisbane 18-4 at ANZ Stadium. After a quick try to Brisbane in the opening minutes, superb and at times inspired defence from the Sea Eagles prevented the home team from scoring again. Manly's three tries all came from kicks - the first two both brilliant efforts from Danny Moore, who in both cases put up the kick and also scored the try.

The second half was scoreless and somewhat lacklustre, apart from a bizarre incident where Matthew Ridge somehow kicked the ball out of the hands of Brisbane centre Darren Smith, who was diving over the line for a certain try. Moore, Ridge, Mark Carroll and Des Hasler all played particularly strongly. A tough game comes up for the Sea Eagles on Friday night, when they face up to arch-rivals North Sydney at Brookvale.

14 Jun 1996: More changes

Mark Carroll and Solomon Haumono have both withdrawn from the Manly team for tonight's game against Brisbane due to injury. David Gillespie moves to the second row, while into the side come props Neil Tierney and Matt Guberina.

13 Jun 1996: Ridge in charge

Prodigal son Matthew Ridge has been named as Manly captain for tomorrow night's game against the Broncos. Des Hasler, Nik Kosef and Solomon Haumono come into the first grade side in place of Origin players Toovey, Cunningham and Menzies. Brisbane will be vastly understrength, with eight regular first graders missing, and have been awarded 8.5 points start on FootyTAB.

11 Jun 1996: It's OJ - finally

After years of being on the fringe, Manly's Owen Cunningham has been named as a reserve for Queensland in Monday's third State of Origin game. Geoff Toovey and Steve Menzies have both been retained in the NSW side.

10 Jun 1996: Canberra thrashed

Continuing their run of good form, Manly threw down the gauntlet yesterday to the other teams in the Optus Cup when they taught Canberra a football lesson. The Eagles triumped 28-12 in front of 20,000 parochial Brookvale fans, scoring four very good tries, including a 70 metre team effort which was undoubtedly the try of the season. Rock solid defence meant that the Raiders' only points came from an intercept and a kick. Best for Manly were Daniel Gartner (who picked up two tries), Craig Innes, Jim Serdaris and Mark Carroll. Now having won seven games in succession, the Eagles hold down outright second on the ladder. Manly's next game will be on Friday night against Brisbane at ANZ Stadium.

05 Jun 1996: Ready for the Raiders

Manly coach Bob Fulton has named a full strength Manly side for Sunday's home game against Canberra. The Raiders have been given a generous 7.5 point start in FootyTAB. The match is expected to be a sell-out.

Earlier stories: [Mar 96 | Apr 96 | May 96 ]

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24-Jun-1996
Bryan Gaensler
bgaensler@dunlap.utoronto.ca