News - June 1997
30 Jun 1997: Massacred!
It was a black (and red) day in history yesterday when Manly
were walloped 41-8 by North Sydney at Bear Park.
The Eagles' handling was ordinary and defence nothing short of
atrocious. Although Manly are still on top of the table, they
will need to turn things around if they are to be considered
serious contenders for the Optus Cup come September. Next Sunday's
game is against South Queensland at Brookvale.
17 Jun 1997: Origin III
Geoff Toovey, Nik Kosef, Terry Hill, Steve Menzies, Mark Carroll
and Neil Tierney have all retained their places in the sides
to meet in the third State of Origin game at the SFS on Wednesday
25th June.
14 Jun 1997: The Eagles are back!
In one of their best performances of the year, the Manly machine
returned to form last night with a definitive 28-4 win over St George.
After letting in a try in the corner in the opening minutes, the fabled
Manly defence returned after a long absence. In attack the team finally
showed some cohesion and enterprise, racking up six good tries. Best on
the field for Manly was Daniel Gartner, returning after four weeks off
due to a thumb injury. Also to star were Nik Kosef, Craig Innes, John
Hopoate and super-sub Cliff Lyons, while Terry Hill, Neil Tierney and
Mark Carroll all put in an enormous amount of work considering State of
Origin II was only 48 hours earlier. My only criticism of what was a
very solid effort is that the kicking game was very poor - there was
almost no tactical kicking, and Innes, Field and Lyons could between
them manage just 2 goals from 7 attempts.
With some tough games coming up, it was a timely and convincing return
to the winners' circle for the premiers. The Eagles now have two
weeks rest before travelling to Bear Park for what should be a great
Sunday afternoon derby.
12 Jun 1997: Teams for Friday
Manly take on St George at Brookvale on Friday night. Teams are:
Manly: Hancock, Moore, Innes, Hill, Hopoate, Toovey (c), Field,
Kosef, Gartner, Menzies, Carroll, Serdaris, Tierney. Res: Hunter,
Lyons, S Fulton, Gillespie.
St George: Smith, Bell, Coyne (c), Ainscough, Brunker, Hardy,
Clinch, Bartrim, Treacy, Tangata-Toa, Ward, Brown, Pearson.
Res: Felsch, Thompson, Kenward, Lenihan.
FootyTAB: St George +10.5
03 Jun 1997: State of Origin II
Toovey, Hill, Menzies, Kosef and Carroll have all been retained
in the NSW side for Origin II. Neil Tierney will play for Queensland,
but Danny Moore has been replaced due to injury.
Scott Fulton was cleared by the ARL judiciary last night of
a high tackle charge. James Langaloa wasn't so lucky, receiving
two weeks suspension for his spear trackle on Jim Serdaris.
01 Jun 1997: A loss at Brookvale
Manly's woes continued yesterday afternoon when they were
defeated 14-10 by Balmain. It was two tries apiece in what
was a poor game of football, but the Tigers were by far
the better side in a match where refereeing mistakes, handling errors,
endless penalties, brawls and general niggling dominated proceedings.
Manly's only points came from a Geoff Toovey try from dummy half
in the 41st minute, and then Jim Serdaris, stealing the ball,
going over in the 80th minute to at least make the scoreline
respectable. Toovey backed up from Wednesday night to put in yet
another superb performance, while fellow Blues Mark Carroll and
Steve Menzies also played well.
The upset win was Balmain's first at Brookvale since 1984, and
Manly's first home game loss since going down to Cronulla in
July 1995. It is not clear just what is wrong with the Sea Eagles -
there are plenty of individuals playing superbly, but the team
as a whole lacks forward momentum and drive. Poor tactical and
goal kicking is undoubtedly not helping the situation.
Despite having just one win in the last five games, Manly are
still on top of the ladder. The Eagles will now have another week's
rest before returning to Brookvale to face lowly-placed St George.
Earlier stories: [Jan 97 |
Feb 97 | Mar 97
| Apr 97 | May 97]
Back to the Sea Eagles home page.
11-Jul-1997
Bryan Gaensler
bgaensler@dunlap.utoronto.ca