News - August 1997

28 Aug 1997: Garts back

Daniel Gartner will return from injury for Manly's final round game against Souths on Sunday, while Anthony Colella moves back to the bench. The Manly side is otherwise unchanged from last week.

25 Aug 1997: Oops

Manly experienced what was hopefully just a hiccup on the way to back-to-back premierships on Saturday night, meekly submitting to the Gold Coast. Trailing 14-6 at half-time, the Eagles failed to regather in the second half and lost 25-10.

Parramatta's loss to Balmain means that Manly hold on to their premiership lead. The Eagles face up to South Sydney at Brookvale on Sunday in the final round, and would have to lose by a large margin not to take out the minor premiership.

In the lower grades, a second successive loss by the Manly reserve grade side saw them almost certainly bow out of contention for the finals. However the under-21s had another good win and are near the top of the ladder.

20 Aug 1997: Scrappy win

Manly are just one win away from wrapping up the minor premiership after an unimpressive but easy win over Illawarra 30-14 on Sunday. The Eagles had all the ball and territory, but numerous unforced errors meant a close game, the score 10-6 to Manly at half time. Some clever work late in the second half made the score look somewhat better than it should have been.

Manly's best was undoubtedly their hard-working locally produced second rower. No, not Daniel Gartner nor Steve Menzies, but OJ clone Anthony Colella, whose fierce tackling and powerful runs have already made him a crowd favourite. Colella scored an amazing solo try in the first half, running into a solid wall of Steelers defenders 20m from the line but then dragging them along with him all the way to score. Danny Moore showed some superb finishing skills to bag three tries, while Cliff Lyons, Neil Tierney, Mark Carroll and Shannon Nevin also brought the crowd to life.

With two rounds remaining, Manly are two points clear of Parramatta and should make it a hat trick of minor premierships. On Saturday night, the Eagles travel north to meet the Gold Coast at Carrara. Teams are:

Gold Coast: King, Bai, Mackay (c), Nicol, Plowman, O'Reilly, Patten, Schloss, Hurst, Sattler, Bella, Goddard, Parsons. Res: McKelleher, Maher, Nahi, Blackett

Manly: Nevin, Moore, Innes, Hill, Hopoate, Toovey (c), Field, Kosef, Colella, Menzies, Carroll, Serdaris, Tierney. Res: Hunter, S Fulton, Lyons, Gillespie

FootyTAB: Gold Coast + 17.5

14 Aug 1997: Teams for Sunday

Bob Fulton has made one change for Sunday's clash with Illawarra at Brookvale, bringing Anthony Colella into the second-row for the injured Daniel Gartner. Cliff Lyons has once again been named on the bench, despite starting the game in recent weeks. The Steelers have named captain Paul McGregor at five-eighth. Kick-off at Brookvale will be at 3pm - be there!

Manly: Nevin, Moore, Innes, Hill, Hopoate, Toovey (c), Field, Kosef, Colella, Menzies, Carroll, Serdaris, Tierney. Res: Hunter, S Fulton, Lyons, Gillespie

Illawarra: Reeves, Seru, Timmins, Rodwell, Clifford, McGregor (c), Barrett, Mackay, Lamey, Hart, Smith, Callaway, Cram. Res: Bristow, Leikvoll, Bradstreet

FootyTAB: Illawarra +12.5

11 Aug 1997: Wests get smashed

Manly romped home 48-14 over the Magpies in front of a lethargic Brookvale crowd yesterday afternoon, scoring nine tries to three. The Eagles raced to a 34-0 lead at half-time, Cliff Lyons making breaks at will. In the second half the home team were somewhat disinterested, doing enough to match Western Suburbs three tries all. Star of the day was Lyons, but Nevin, Toovey, Hill and Tierney also had great games. Terry Hill's three tries gives him 19 tries for the year, seven ahead of his nearest rival. Big wins in both lower grades capped off a great day for Manly fans.

North Sydney's loss on the weekend leaves Manly two points clear a the top of the ladder. Unless they lose two of their last three matches, the Eagles will take out the minor premiership for the third successive year. Next Sunday Manly play Illawarra at Brookvale, the Steelers on the edge of the seven and desperate for a win.

07 Aug 1997: Weekend teams

Manly: Nevin, Moore, Innes, Hill, Hopoate, Toovey (c), Field, Kosef, Gartner, Menzies, Carroll, Serdaris, Tierney. Res: Hunter, S Fulton, Lyons, Gillespie

Wests: Leeds, Willis, Ken McGuinness, Kevin McGuinness, Hodgson, Doyle, Georgalis, Langmack (c), Kennedy, Millard, Skandalis, Hasler, Howard. Res: Capovilla, Dunn

FootyTAB: Wests +10.5

Meanwhile, the latest ARL/Super League compromise reports suggest that Manly would stand on their own in a united competition.

04 Aug 1997: Tight win over Newcastle

Manly edged out Newcastle 14-12 on Friday night in a thrilling end-to-end game of rugby league. Multitudinous handling errors meant the Eagles spent much of the second half defending their own line, but some sterling defence kept the Knights out and gave our boys victory. The star was fullback Shannon Nevin, who scored a try, kicked three match-winning goals, and had a fantastic game all round. Nevin came into the side because of Craig Hancock's broken ankle.

Matches in the previous two rounds were also close. Manly defeated Sydney City 21-12 in round 16, and then went down 17-10 to Parramatta last week. The top of the ladder is still rather congested, but the Eagles sit in outright first place with four games to go. Sunday features a return to Brookvale when Manly take on Western Suburbs.

Sydney Morning Herald match reports:

Earlier stories: [Jan 97 | Feb 97 | Mar 97 | Apr 97 | May 97 | Jun 97 | Jul 97]

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28-Aug-1997
Bryan Gaensler
bgaensler@dunlap.utoronto.ca