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1973 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season

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1973 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season
NSWRFL champions
NSWRFL Rank1st
1973 recordWins: 19; draws: 1; losses: 4
Points scoredFor: 524; against: 237
Team information
SecretaryAustralia Ken Arthurson
CoachAustralia Ron Willey
Assistant coachAustralia Frank Stanton (Reserve Grade)
Captain
StadiumBrookvale Oval
Top scorers
TriesAustralia Bob Fulton (18)
GoalsAustralia Graham Eadie (69)
PointsAustralia Graham Eadie (150)
← 1972 1974 →

The 1973 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 27th in the club's history since their entry into the then New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in 1947. Manly went into the 1973 season as the reigning premiers having won the 1972 Grand Final defeating Eastern Suburbs 19-14.[1]

As they were in 1972, the 1973 Sea Eagles were coached by former Australian international and Manly fullback Ron Willey. Captaining the side was long serving hooker Fred Jones. The club competed in the New South Wales Rugby Football League's 1973 Premiership season and played its home games at the 20,000 capacity Brookvale Oval.[2]

Ladder

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Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Manly-Warringah 22 17 1 4 500 226 +274 35
2 Cronulla-Sutherland 22 17 0 5 389 219 +170 34
3 St. George 22 15 0 7 372 213 +159 30
4 Newtown 22 14 0 8 358 224 +134 28
5 Canterbury 22 12 1 9 369 269 +100 25
6 Eastern Suburbs 22 12 0 10 415 314 +101 24
7 South Sydney 22 11 1 10 345 367 -22 23
8 North Sydney 22 7 1 14 239 350 -101 15
9 Western Suburbs 22 7 0 15 310 414 -104 14
10 Balmain 22 7 0 15 254 495 -241 14
11 Parramatta 22 6 0 16 275 492 -217 12
12 Penrith 22 5 0 17 272 525 -253 10

Regular season

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Sunday 25 March Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 12 – 12 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Brookvale Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Bob Fulton, Ken Irvine
Goals:
Graham Eadie (3)
[3]
Tries:
Bernard Lowther, Terrence Murphy
Goals:
Henry Tatana (3)

Attendance: 14,154
Referee: Keith Holman

Saturday 31 March St. George Dragons 0 – 13 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney
Tries:

Goals:
[4]
Tries:
Max Krilich, Johnny Mayes
Goals:
Ray Branighan (3)
Field Goals:
Johnny Mayes (1)

Attendance: 14,444
Referee: Keith Holman

Saturday 7 April Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 10 – 20 Newtown Bluebags Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Tries:
Max Brown, Johnny Mayes
Goals:
Ray Branighan (2)
[5]
Tries:
Paul Dawson, Dennis Gardiner, Neil Pringle, Mark Robertson
Goals:
Ken Wilson (4)

Attendance: 10,850
Referee: Keith Holman

Sunday 15 April North Sydney Bears 7 – 30 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles North Sydney Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Mal McLachlan
Goals:
Barry Glasgow (2)
[6]
Tries:
Johnny Mayes (3), Bob Fulton, Ken Irvine, Fred Jones
Goals:
Ray Branighan (6)

Attendance: 8,824
Referee: Keith Holman

Sunday 22 April Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22 – 13 Eastern Suburbs Roosters Brookvale Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Max Brown (3), Bob Fulton, Ken Irvine
Goals:
Ray Branighan (3)
Field Goals:
Bob Fulton (1)
[7]
Tries:
Bill Mullins (2), Jim Porter
Goals:
Allan McKean (2)

Attendance: 17,616
Referee: Keith Page

Sunday 29 April Parramatta Eels 10 – 0 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Cumberland Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Owen Frith, Garry Thomas
Goals:
Garry Thomas (2)
[8]
Tries:

Goals:

Attendance: 6,988
Referee: Barry Barnes

Sunday 6 May Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24 – 11 South Sydney Rabbitohs Brookvale Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Bob Fulton (2), Ian Martin, Gary Thoroughgood
Goals:
Peter Peters (6)
[9]
Tries:
Denis Pittard
Goals:
Eric Simms (4)

Attendance: 18,205
Referee: Barry Barnes

Sunday 13 May Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 41 – 5 Penrith Panthers Brookvale Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Ken Irvine (3), Ray Branighan, Fred Jones, Ian Martin, Johnny Mayes, Mal Reilly, Gary Thoroughgood
Goals:
Peter Peters (7)
[10]
Tries:
Phillip Capper
Goals:
Reg Walton (1)

Attendance: 9,630
Referee: Richie Humphreys

Sunday 20 May Western Suburbs Magpies 13 – 17 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Lidcombe Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Barry Bryant
Goals:
Tony Ford (5)
[11]
Tries:
Ray Branighan, Ken Irvine, Johnny Mayes, Mal Reilly, Peter Peters
Goals:
Ray Branighan (1)

Attendance: 4,923
Referee: Jack Danzey

Sunday 27 May Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 12 – 8 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Brookvale Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Bob Fulton (2), Ray Branighan, Max Brown
Goals:
[12]
Tries:
Fred Dennehy (2)
Goals:
Barry Andrews (1)

Attendance: 14,065
Referee: Keith Page

Sunday 3 June Balmain Tigers 13 – 33 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Greg Fryer, Tim Murphy, Jeff Shield
Goals:
Mark Tonks (2)
[13]
Tries:
Bob Fulton (2), Rod Jackson (2), Fred Jones, Ian Martin, Johnny Mayes
Goals:
Graham Eadie (5)
Mal Reilly

Attendance: 6,066
Referee: Jack Danzey

Monday 11 June Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 9 – 17 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Belmore Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Bernard Lowther
Goals:
Henry Tatana (3)
[14]
Tries:
Ray Branighan, Graham Eadie, Fred Jones
Goals:
Graham Eadie (4)

Attendance: 18,216
Referee: Keith Holman

Saturday 16 June Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 4 – 3 St. George Dragons Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Tries:

Goals:
Graham Eadie (2)
[15]
Tries:
Ted Goodwin
Goals:

Attendance: 21,682
Referee: Laurie Bruyeres

Sunday 24 June Newtown Bluebags 11 – 13 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Henson Park, Sydney
Tries:
Paul Dawson, John Floyd
Goals:
Ken Wilson (2)
Field Goals:
Ken Wilson (1)
[16]
Tries:
Ken Irvine, Rod Jackson, Mal Reilly
Goals:
Ray Branighan (2)

Attendance: Keith Holman
Referee: 9,633

Saturday 1 July Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 14 – 12 North Sydney Bears Brookvale Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Max Brown, Johnny Mayes
Goals:
Graham Eadie (4)
[17]
Tries:
Phil Giersch, Barry Glasgow
Goals:
Barry Glasgow (3)

Attendance: 12,344
Referee: Laurie Bruyeres

Saturday 7 July Eastern Suburbs Roosters 15 – 10 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Tries:
Terry Stevens
Goals:
John Brass (6)
[18]
Tries:
Graham Eadie, Rod Jackson
Goals:
Graham Eadie (2)

Attendance: 13,465
Referee: Keith Page

Sunday 15 July Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 53 – 8 Parramatta Eels Brookvale Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Ken Irvine (3), Bob Fulton (2), Ian Martin (2), Graham Eadie, Warren Evans, Johnny Mayes, Peter Peters
Goals:
Graham Eadie (10)
[19]
Tries:
Barry Payne, Terry Reynolds
Goals:
Keith Campbell (1)

Attendance: 12,082
Referee: Keith Page

Saturday 21 July South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 – 31 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Tries:
Keith Edwards, Tom Mooney, Herbie Timms, Jeff Withers
Goals:
Eric Simms (6)
[20]
Tries:
Graham Eadie, Ken Irvine, Fred Jones, Ian Martin, Johnny Mayes
Goals:
Graham Eadie (8)

Attendance: 24,693
Referee: Laurie Bruyeres

Sunday 29 July Penrith Panthers 7 – 70 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Penrith Park, Sydney
Tries:
Dave Irvine
Goals:
Reg Walton (2)
[21]
Tries:
Johnny Mayes (4), Alan Thompson (3), Bob Fulton (2), Ray Branighan, John Bucknall, Ian Martin, Peter Peters, Max Brown,
Goals:
Graham Eadie (14)

Attendance: 6,750
Referee: Keith Holman

Sunday 5 August Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 25 – 13 Western Suburbs Magpies Brookvale Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Ian Martin (2), Peter Peters (2), Max Brown
Goals:
Graham Eadie (4)
Max Brown (1)
[22]
Tries:
John Heyward, Russell Mullins, John O'Bryan
Goals:
Stephen Satterley (2)

Attendance: 12,472
Referee: Don Macdonald

Saturday 11 August Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 9 – 7 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Tries:
Pete O'Brien
Goals:
Steve Rogers (3)
[23]
Tries:
Bob Moses
Goals:
Graham Eadie (2)

Attendance: 8,831
Referee: Jack Danzey

Sunday 19 August Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 42 – 3 Balmain Tigers Brookvale Oval, Sydney
Tries:
Bob Fulton (2), Peter Peters (2), Ray Branighan, Ken Irvine, Johnny Mayes, John O'Neill, Terry Randall, Mal Reilly
Goals:
Graham Eadie (6)
[24]
Tries:
Geoff Starling
Goals:

Attendance: 12,501
Referee: Keith Page

Finals

[edit]

Major Semi-Final

[edit]
Saturday 1 September Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 14 – 4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Tries:
Max Brown, Bob Fulton
Goals:
Graham Eadie (3)
Field Goals:
Bob Fulton (2)
[25]
Tries:

Goals:
Steve Rogers (2)

Attendance: 41,898
Referee: Keith Page

Grand Final

[edit]
Saturday 15 September
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 10 – 7 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Tries:
Bob Fulton (2)
Goals:
Graham Eadie (2/6)
[26]
Tries:
Rick Bourke
Goals:
Steve Rogers (2/5)
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 52,044
Referee: Keith Page
Player of the Match: Bob Fulton
Manly-Warringah
Cronulla-Sutherland
FB 1 Graham Eadie
LW 2 Ken Irvine
CE 3 Ray Branighan
CE 4 Bob Fulton
RW 5 Max Brown
FE 6 Ian Martin
HB 7 Johnny Mayes
LK 8 Mal Reilly
SR 9 Terry Randall
SR 10 Peter Peters
PR 11 John O'Neill
HK 12 Fred Jones (c)
PR 13 Bill Hamilton
Substitutions:
IC 14 John Bucknall
IC 15
Coach:
Australia Ron Willey
FB 1 Warren Fisher
LW 2 Ray Corcoran
CE 3 Steve Rogers
CE 4 Eric Archer
RW 5 Bob Wear
FE 6 Chris Wellman
HB 7 Tommy Bishop (c)
LK 8 Greg Pierce
SR 9 John Maguire
SR 10 Ken Maddison
PR 11 Grahame Bowen
HK 12 Ron Turner
PR 13 Cliff Watson
Substitutions:
IC 14 Rick Bourke
IC 15
Coach:
England Tommy Bishop

After Cronulla-Sutherland's 14-4 loss in the major semi-final, Manly-Warringah expected the Sharks would be fired up for the Grand Final. And they were. Ian Heads wrote in the Sunday Telegraph the next day that It was a Grand Final as tough and dirty as any bar-room brawl.[27] Alan Clarkson wrote in the Sun Herald The fare served up in the first half belonged in the Colosseum.[28] The first half was not how the game's administrators would have wished to show-case rugby league, every tackle was loaded with menace and meant to damage. But from the melee Bob Fulton emerged and showed his unrivalled skill. Heads and Clarkson wrote of his "towering genius" and "football brilliance" respectively.

Manly's English import Malcolm Reilly, himself never one to take a backward step, was the first victim of the carnage. In the opening minute, Cronulla hooker Ron "Rocky" Turner set his sights on Reilly as the Englishman got an early kick away to take advantage of a strong breeze blowing towards the Bradman Stand (Paddington End). Turner missed Reilly the first time around, but didn't miss him a few minutes later. The Manly lock was left in agony from a badly bruised hip and had to leave the field for pain-killing injections. Knowing he probably wouldn't last the first half he then returned to the field and created mayhem despite the injections he received failing to work properly. He set about doing as much physical damage to Cronulla players as he could, but bowed out in the 25th minute and was replaced by reserve forward John Bucknall, who had played in Manly's winning Reserve Grade Grand Final side earlier in the day. Bucknall didn't think he would be needed and actually had a full lunch and soft drink shortly before the first grade game began.

After a number of brawls in the first half, referee Keith Page eventually called in all 26 players twice for mass cautions, threatening that any more foul play would result in players being sent off. Despite his warnings the back-alley tactics continued from both teams, and Page didn't send anyone from the field.[29]

Then Fulton took over in the 29th and 58th minutes. 'Bozo' demonstrated power and pace in both tries. The first came from a brilliant Fred Jones flick pass [30] which saw Fulton split Eric Archer and Steve Rogers just twenty-five metres from the line. Fulton ran around to touch down near the posts and give Graham Eadie an easier shot at conversion which he duly slotted through the posts. Manly took a 5-0 scoreline to the half time break.

The second Fulton try came after Eadie took a pass from five-eighth Ian Martin, then looked for Fulton and set him up perfectly. Fulton raced for the Brewongle Stand corner and managed to put the ball down before being bundled into touch by Rogers and replacement fullback Rick Bourke. From out wide Eadie missed the conversion to make it 8-2 (Steve Rogers had kicked a penalty goal before Fulton scored his second try).

Cronulla had to wait a long time before they dented the Manly line. It was in the 70th minute that the crack appeared. Trailing 8-2, the Sharks struck when lock Greg Pierce positioned Rick Bourke for a try (Bourke was flattened by Manly winger Max Brown as he scored, resulting in a broken thumb for Brown). Rogers easily kicked the conversion to reduce the deficit to just one point. Eadie stretched the lead to three points from a penalty kick and then the Sharks rallied and bombarded Manly. Ultimately, the Manly defence of John Mayes, Terry Randall, Peter Peters, Eadie and Fulton were up to the task. It will, however, go down in Sharks folklore that a Tommy Bishop flick pass in the dying moments failed to go to hand with the Manly line wide open. It was a set move Cronulla had successfully played all year, but had adjusted for the Grand Final in anticipation of Manly's familiarity with the standard move. As expected, the Manly defence reacted to snuff out the set play, leaving a gap that Bishop's pass managed to pinpoint. But in the heat of the moment, Sharks second-rower Ken Maddison also played for the old move, ran the wrong line and the ball went to ground - and with it went the premiership.

Player statistics

[edit]

Note: Games and (sub) show total games played, e.g. 1 (1) is 2 games played.

Player Games (sub) Tries Goals FG Points
Australia John Barber
Australia Bill Bradstreet
Australia Ray Branighan 6 18 54
Australia Max Brown 9 27
Australia John Bucknall 1 3
Australia Bill Clare
Australia Graham Eadie 4 69 150
Australia Warren Evans 1 3
Australia Bob Fulton 18 3 57
Australia Bill Hamilton 2 6
Australia Terry Hill
Australia Ken Irvine 13 39
Australia Rod Jackson 4 12
Australia Fred Jones (c) 5 15
Australia Max Krilich 1 3
Australia Ian Martin 9 27
Australia Johnny Mayes 16 1 49
Australia Bob Moses 1 3
Australia John O'Neill 1 3
Australia Peter Peters 7 13 37
Australia Norm Pounder
Australia Terry Randall 1 3
England Mal Reilly 4 1 14
Australia Alan Thompson 3 9
Australia Gary Thoroughgood 2 6
Australia Mark Willoughby
TOTAL 106 101 4 524

Representative Players

[edit]

International

[edit]

State

[edit]

City vs Country

[edit]

City under 23 Chris Ryan

References

[edit]
  1. ^ NSWRFL 1972 - Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
  2. ^ NSWRFL 1973 - Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
  3. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.1 - Manly vs Canterbury-Bankstown
  4. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.2 - St George vs Manly
  5. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.3 - Manly vs Newtown
  6. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.4 - North Sydney vs Manly
  7. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.5 - Manly vs Eastern Suburbs
  8. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.6 - Parramatta vs Manly
  9. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.7 - Manly vs South Sydney
  10. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.8 - Manly vs Penrith
  11. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.9 - Western Suburbs vs Manly
  12. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.10 - Manly vs Cronulla-Sutherland
  13. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.11 - Balmain vs Manly
  14. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.12 - Canterbury-Bankstown vs Manly
  15. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.13 - Manly vs St. George
  16. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.14 - Newtown vs Manly
  17. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.15 - Manly vs North Sydney
  18. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.16 - Eastern Suburbs vs Manly
  19. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.17 - Manly vs Parramatta
  20. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.18 - South Sydney vs Manly
  21. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.19 - Penrith vs Manly
  22. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.20 - Manly vs Western Suburbs
  23. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.21 - Cronulla-Sutherland vs Manly
  24. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.22 - Manly vs Balmain
  25. ^ 1973 NSWRFL major semi-final – Manly vs Cronulla-Sutherland
  26. ^ 1973 NSWRFL Grand Final – Manly-Warringah vs Cronulla-Sutherland
  27. ^ Sydney Sunday Telegraph 16 Sept 1973
  28. ^ Sydney Sun Herald 16 Sept 1973
  29. ^ Coady, Ben (2009-09-28). "Grand final dramas". WA Today. Australia: Fairfax Digital. Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
  30. ^ Harker, Jon (25 September 1993). "I'll walk off, says Referee". The Sun-Herald. Australia: Fairfax Media. p. 72. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
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