News - Apr 1998

29 Apr 1998: Bozo fined

Manly coach Bob Fulton has been fined $10,000 for comments he made about Bill Harrigan's refereeing performance in round one.

Meanwhile, Luke Phillips returns from a broken hand this weekend, but Terry Hill is out with the knee injury he sustained against New Zealand. Anthony Colella remains out of the side with back troubles.

North Sydney: Seers, Roy, Florimo, Buettner, Dallas, Ikin, Jason Taylor (c), Moore, Fairleigh, Muir, Larson, Soden, Trindall. Res: Stuart, Pethybridge, Reber, Leyshon, Morrison (one to be omitted)

Manly: Phillips, Hunter, Hopoate, Torrens, Hancock, Toovey (c), Field, Kosef, Gartner, Menzies, Joe Taylor, Serdaris, Tierney. Res: Olejnik, Lyons, Browne, Costelloe, Bennett

FootyTAB: North Sydney +4.5

27 Apr 1998: Two from two

Claims that Manly go to sleep in the second half were put to rest yesterday following a gutsy win over South Sydney at Brookvale. A sloppy first 40 minutes saw the Eagles trail 12-0 at half-time, but an inspired performance saw them turn it around to finish winners 22-18. The star was Steve Menzies: just two days after being belted by the New Zealand forwards, Beaver put in a huge two-try performance, including a stunning 70 metre solo effort when the game was poised at 12-12.

Manly's second successive win sees them move up to 12th spot on the ladder. Next Sunday's game at North Sydney Oval should be a corker, the Bears looking to bounce back from their 60-6 flogging by Brisbane.

25 Apr 1998: Terry injured

Terry Hill scored two tries in Australia's loss to New Zealand last night, but later suffered a knee injury. Hill will be keen to take the field on Sunday, but will probably be replaced in the centres by Jamie Olejnik.

23 Apr 1998: Sunday's teams

Luke Phillips is still recovering from a broken hand, and will not play against South Sydney on Sunday. Kick-off at Brookvale is at 2.30pm.

Manly: Hancock, Hunter, Hopoate, Hill, Torrens, Toovey (c), Field, Kosef, Gartner, Menzies, Taylor, Serdaris, Tierney. Res: Olejnik, Lyons, Browne, A Peters.

Souths: Brasher (c), O'Meara, Rodwell, Caruana, Howlett, O'Neill, Trindall, Slattery, Smith, Schloss, Hermansson, Peats, Francis. Res: Burns, Munro, Ostini, W Peters.

FootyTAB: Souths +13.5

20 Apr 1998: Four Eagles in Test team

Manly's return to form has been duly recognised by the national selectors, with Terry Hill (centre), Steve Menzies (second-row), Geoff Toovey (hooker) and Nik Kosef (reserve) all being picked in the Australian side to play New Zealand on Friday. Toovey will assume the dummy-half role as in previous Test appearances, but it is not clear whether he or Andrew Johns will play hooker in the scrums. The Australian line-up is the first united national team since 1994, and the Manly club can take considerable satisfaction in fielding four of the seventeen in the squad, including two local juniors.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand side contains three former Manly players: captain Matthew Ridge, and Kevin and Tony Iro.

17 Apr 1998: Eagles bounce back!

A vocal home crowd saw Manly tear Brisbane apart earlier tonight, the Eagles easy winners 28-4. All over the park Manly were a transformed side: Tierney and Taylor made huge gains up the middle, Field's passing and kicking game were faultless, Hancock was superb at full-back, and the defensive line, led by Toovey, Gartner and Menzies, was virtually impregnable.

The Eagles scored early through Hopoate, who cleaned up a clever bomb to the corner by Field. With Manly dominating possession and Brisbane making error after error, some electrifying play down the right wing by Hunter, Hill and Kosef saw the Eagles quickly rack up another four tries. The standing ovation given to the 22-0 half-time score was a welcome change from the sullen and disinterested crowd of recent weeks.

The second half was considerably tighter. Brisbane lifted their game and spent much of the half attacking inside the Manly quarter, but apart from a lone Langer try the Manly defence held. Gordon Tallis was sent off for a high tackle, and Manly crossed another three times. Two of these tries, to Gartner and Hunter, were perhaps unfairly disallowed on video evidence. But there was no disputing the final through-the-gap effort from Steve Menzies.

By the time the siren had sounded, the message was clear: Manly were back. Brisbane were completely outplayed by a slick, enthusiastic and disciplined side, who now look as if they might be a force after all. The only slight on the performance was poor goal-kicking from Field, but Phillips' eventual return from injury should solve that problem. The boys return to Brookvale next Sunday to take on South Sydney.

15 Apr 1998: Phillips out

Luke Phillips is injured, and will miss Friday night's game against Brisbane. He is replaced at fullback by Craig Hancock. Meanwhile Cliff Lyons remains on the bench, while Scott Fulton has been omitted from the squad. Full teams are:

Manly: C Hancock, Olejnik, Hopoate, Hill, Torrens, Toovey (c), Field, Kosef, Gartner, Menzies, Taylor, Serdaris, Tierney. Res: Hunter, Lyons, Browne, Peters.

Brisbane: Lockyer, M Hancock, Renouf, Smith, Sailor, Walters, Langer (c), Campion, Thorn, Tallis, Gee, Plath, Webcke. Res: Walker, Lee, Carroll, Driscoll.

FootyTAB: Manly +11.5

Meanwhile, bookmakers now have Manly at odds of 500-1 to win the premiership.

13 Apr 1998: Manly choke

A third successive loss has seen Manly-Warringah sink to the bottom of the NRL ladder, leading 20-2 before eventually losing 26-20 to Canberra yesterday. Cliff Lyons began the match in place of Craig Field and put in one of his trademark masterful performances, the Eagles scoring four tries in the first 25 minutes to build what should have been a match-winning lead. However even without Daley or Stuart, Canberra were able to come back with two tries before the break to trail 20-12 at half-time. The Raiders then scored unconverted tries in the 47th and 74th minutes to level the scores, before a freak kick-gone-wrong from Nik Kosef in the dying minutes let Canberra's Mark McLinden run 50 metres to score the winning try.

Manly's headache doesn't end there. Adam Peters has been reported for striking, while the team has only until Friday before the undefeated and red-hot Brisbane Broncos arrive at Brookvale.

08 Apr 1998: Sunday's teams

Teams for Sunday's game at Bruce Stadium are:

Canberra (provisional): McNamara, Croker, Wiki, Pearson, Vainikolo, Daley (c), Stuart, Clyde, Furner, Kennedy, Davico, Woolford, Hetherington. Res: Boyle, Seabold, Priddis, McLinden

Manly: Phillips, Olejnik, Hancock, Hopoate, Hill, Torrens, Toovey (c), Field, Kosef, Menzies, Gartner, Taylor, Serdaris, Tierney (one back to be omitted). Res: Colella, Lyons, Peters, Hunter, Costelloe, Underwood.

FootyTAB: Manly +4.5

06 Apr 1998: Spud to stay in the UK

With round four completed Manly lie near the bottom of the table, and are obviously looking for ways out of their slump. It was reported in yesterday's Sun-Herald that star prop Mark Carroll might return from London to once more play for the Eagles. However this seems unlikely.

04 Apr 1998: Thrashed!

Parramatta thumped Manly 34-10 last night at Brookvale, leaving the Sea Eagles with just one win from four games. Manly started off strongly, Luke Phillips slipping a Lyons-style pass to Steve Menzies for the opening try. Parramatta replied with two tries of their own, but two penalty goals to the Eagles saw the score 10-10 at half time. But after the break, Manly's handling, organisation and defence fell apart as the Eels quickly skipped to a 22-10 lead. The game was suspended with 18 minutes remaining so that Parramatta players Nathan Cayless (spinal injuries) and Greig Harland (concussion) could be flown by helicopter to hospital. After an hour's break, Parramatta finished off by scoring twice more, completing a humiliating night for the Eagles.

Manly's once-impregnable defence seems unable to cope with kicks, broken play or changes in direction. The team suffered from the late withdrawals of Anthony Colella and Neil Tierney, but young prop Joe Taylor made an impressive first grade debut.

Next Sunday sees Manly travel to Bruce Stadium to face the Raiders.

01 Apr 1998: Back to full strength

With returns from injury and suspension, Manly have named their best side for Friday night's game against Parramatta. Bill Harrigan has been named as referee.

Manly: Phillips, Olejnik, Hopoate, Hill, Torrens, Toovey (c), Field, Kosef, Colella, Menzies, Gartner, Serdaris, Tierney. Res: S Fulton, Hancock, Lyons, Peters, Hunter, Underwood, Taylor.

Parramatta: Carige, Schicofske, Barnes, Kelly, Whereat, Bell, Simon, Dymock, Smith, McCracken, Morgan, Owens, Pay. Res: Pezet, Lovell, Cayless, Troy, Spence, Horsnell, Penna.

FootyTAB: Parramatta +3.5

Earlier stories: [Jan-Feb 98 | Mar 98]

Back to the Sea Eagles home page.
29-Apr-1998
Bryan Gaensler
bgaensler@dunlap.utoronto.ca