The Mighty Manly Sea Eagles. Well, where can I start? Being a huge manly fan I was thrilled to see them beat the Storm in the Grand Final. I can remember sitting on the hallowed hill at Brookvale Oval with a 5000 strong crowd of die hard manly supporters cheering on the "Silver tails". This happened week and week out with the club barely being able to get a decent size crowd in and we were doing it very tough.
Now how different is it? With state-of-the-art training centres at Narrabeen, lucrative sponsership deals and loads of media attention you could be forgiven by thinking that Manly has lost it's spirit. The truth is the opposite. Since we won the grand final this year and came runner-up last year the Northern Beaches has been in "Manly fever''.
How good is it for a club which was in ruins after separating from the North Sydney Bears and re-entering the NRL in 2003 to make it to two back-to-back grand final appearances. In the newspapers we have seen well-known Manly haters support Manly in the Grand final and if we can turn someone like Tommy Raudonikas into a fan our support base is growing rapidly.
This idea of "Manly Spirit" can be seen in none other than Steve Menzies. Steve has only ever played at one and only club - Manly. Through thick and thin "Beaver" has hung around. Perhaps one of the most under-rated players in rugby-league history, Beaver has scored 180 tries for the maroon and white and has also captained Manly. I have been lucky enough to meet Steve on occasions and the way he conducts himself both on and off the field is remarkable. beaver breaks the stereotype that all league players are "thugs". Beaver always has time for everyone and never lets a kid go home without and autograph.
I would like to give my absolute congratulations to each and every player both past and present for making the club what it is today, and also best wishes to Steven Bell and Steve Menzies for their future lives.
Stay tuned for my next blog which will hopfully be up soon.
Thank-You for Reading,
H.J.
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