1978 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season | ||||
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NSWRFL champions | ||||
NSWRFL Rank | 3rd | |||
1976 record | Wins: 18; Draws: 2; Losses: 8 | |||
Points scored | For: 510; Against: 346 | |||
Team information | ||||
Secretary | Ken Arthurson | |||
Coach | Frank Stanton | |||
Captains |
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Stadium | Brookvale Oval | |||
Top scorers | ||||
Tries | Tom Mooney (11) | |||
Goals | John Gray (61) | |||
Points | John Gray (134) | |||
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The 1978 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 32nd in the club's history since their entry into the then New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in 1947.
The 1978 Sea Eagles were coached by 1963–64 Kangaroo tourist Frank Stanton. Captaining the side was long serving hooker Max Krilich. The club competed in the New South Wales Rugby Football League's 1978 Premiership season and played its home games at the 27,000 capacity Brookvale Oval. [1]
Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Western Suburbs | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 426 | 288 | +138 | 33 |
2 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 418 | 261 | +157 | 30 |
3 | Manly-Warringah | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 427 | 287 | +140 | 30 |
4 | Parramatta | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 525 | 306 | +219 | 28 |
5 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 22 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 307 | 273 | +34 | 28 |
6 | Eastern Suburbs | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 377 | 280 | +57 | 26 |
7 | South Sydney | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 298 | 300 | -2 | 25 |
8 | St. George | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 367 | 354 | +13 | 21 |
9 | Balmain | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 337 | 344 | -7 | 19 |
10 | Penrith | 22 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 206 | 463 | -257 | 10 |
11 | North Sydney | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 325 | 439 | -114 | 9 |
12 | Newtown Jets | 22 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 199 | 577 | -378 | 5 |
Sunday 26 March | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 19 – 5 | St. George Dragons | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Johnny Gibbs, Max Krilich, Tom Mooney Goals: Graham Eadie (5/9) | [2] | Tries: Steve Butler Goals: Ted Goodwin (1) | Attendance: 23,168 Referee: Gary Cook |
Saturday 1 April | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 17 – 10 | Penrith Panthers | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Russel Gartner, Johnny Gibbs, Stephen Knight Goals: Graham Eadie (4/5) | [3] | Tries: Paul Merlo Goals: Ken Wilson (2/3) | Attendance: 4,084 Referee: Jack Danzey |
Sunday 9 April | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 44 – 17 | Newtown Bluebags | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Russel Gartner (2), Alan Thompson (2), Ray Branighan, Johnny Gibbs, John Gray, Ray Higgs, Terry Randall, Bruce Walker Goals: Graham Eadie (7) | [4] | Tries: John Ribot, Steve Bowden Goals: Phil Sigsworth (3) John Ribot (1) | Attendance: 8,085 Referee: Don Macdonald |
Sunday 16 April | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 16 – 13 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney | |
Tries: Pat English, Steve Gearin Goals: Steve Gearin (5/5) | [5] | Tries: Johnny Gibbs, John Gray, Stephen Knight Goals: Graham Eadie (2) | Attendance: 13,373 Referee: Jack Danzey |
Sunday 23 April | Parramatta Eels | 15 – 27 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | |
Tries: Neville Glover, Phil Mann, Graham Murray Goals: Michael Cronin (3/5) | [6] | Tries: Simon Booth, Graham Eadie, Tom Mooney, Ian Thomson, Bruce Walker Goals: Graham Eadie (5/7) John Gray (1) | Attendance: 44,507 Referee: Denis Braybrook |
Sunday 30 April | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 29 – 13 | Balmain Tigers | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Johnny Gibbs, Stephen Knight, Tom Mooney, Alan Thompson, Bruce Walker Goals: John Gray (7) | [7] | Tries: , Rex Murphy Goals: (1/3) Mark Tonks (1/1) | Attendance: 17,225 Referee: Gary Cook |
Sunday 7 May | Western Suburbs Magpies | 13 – 7 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Lidcombe Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Bruce Gibbs Goals: John Dorahy (5) | [8] | Tries: Stephen Knight, Ian Thomson Goals: Graham Eadie (2) | Attendance: 10,931 Referee: Denis Braybrook |
Sunday 14 May | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 5 – 30 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Ray Branighan Goals: Graham Eadie (1/4) | [9] | Tries: Trevor Barnes, John Berne, Terry Fahey, Eric Ferguson, Bob McMillan, John Peek Goals: Eric Ferguson (6) | Attendance: 11,103 Referee: Don Macdonald |
Sunday 21 May | North Sydney Bears | 10 – 11 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | North Sydney Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Don McKinnon, Tony Quirk Goals: Peter Schofield (2/5) | [10] | Tries: Tony Ashworth Goals: John Gray (4) | Attendance: 6,823 Referee: Kevin Roberts |
Sunday 28 May | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 8 – 27 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Endeavour Field, Sydney | |
Tries: Dave Chamberlin, Gary Stares Goals: Barry Andrews (1) | [11] | Tries: Simon Booth, Terry Randall, Ian Thomson Goals: John Gray (6) | Attendance: 14,665 Referee: Gary Cook |
Sunday 4 June | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 15 – 12 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Russel Gartner, Ian Thomson Goals: John Gray (4) Field Goals: Steve Martin (1) | [12] | Tries: Royce Ayliffe, Bob Fulton Goals: Ken Stevens (3) | Attendance: 19,657 Referee: Gary Cook |
Sunday 11 June | St. George Dragons | 22 – 13 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Kogarah Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Mitch Brennan, Steve Butler, Ted Goodwin, John Jansen Goals: Ted Goodwin (5) | [13] | Tries: Graham Eadie, Johnny Gibbs, John Gray Goals: Graham Eadie (1) John Gray (1) | Attendance: 16,800 Referee: Jack Danzey |
Saturday 17 June | Penrith Panthers | 9 – 32 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Penrith Park, Sydney | |
Tries: Greg Moore Goals: Phil Gould (3) | [14] | Tries: Tom Mooney (2), Graham Eadie, Stephen Knight, Max Krilich, Steve Martin Goals: John Gray (6) Graham Eadie (1) | Attendance: 6,916 Referee: Kevin Roberts |
Sunday 25 June | Newtown Bluebags | 17 – 10 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Henson Park, Sydney | |
Tries: Mick Kermode, Phil Sigsworth Goals: Mick Kermode (2) | [15] | Tries: Ray Branighan, Lindsay Drake, Tom Mooney Goals: John Gray (4) | Attendance: John Gocher Referee: 3,167 |
Sunday 2 July | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 9 – 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Tom Mooney Goals: John Gray (3) | [16] | Tries: Mark Hughes, Bill Noonan Goals: Steve Gearin (3) | Attendance: 7,818 Referee: Don Macdonald |
Sunday 9 July | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 19 – 20 | Parramatta Eels | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Russel Gartner, Johnny Gibbs, Ian Thomson Goals: Graham Eadie (5) | [17] | Tries: Ray Price (2), Michael Cronin, Neville Glover Goals: Michael Cronin (4) | Attendance: 20,030 Referee: Gary Cook |
Sunday 11 July | Balmain Tigers | 19 – 7 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Leichhardt Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Larry Corowa, Noel Maybury Goals: Allan McMahon (6) Field Goals: Les Mara (1) | [18] | Tries: Chris Montgomery Goals: John Gray (2) | Attendance: 7,869 Referee: Kevin Roberts |
Sunday 23 July | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 16 – 10 | Western Suburbs Magpies | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Steve Martin, Wayne Springall Goals: Graham Eadie (3) John Gray (2) | [19] | Tries: Eric Cain, Ron Giteau Goals: Peter Rowles (2) | Attendance: 14,171 Referee: Greg Hartley |
Saturday 30 July | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 10 – 14 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Redfern Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Kenneth Stewart, Peter Tunks Goals: Eric Ferguson (2) | [20] | Tries: Ian Martin, Steve Martin Goals: John Gray (4) | Attendance: 17,148 Referee: Greg Hartley |
Sunday 6 August | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 40 – 12 | North Sydney Bears | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Steve Martin (3), Tom Mooney (2), Bruce Walker (2), Simon Booth, Johnny Gibbs, Max Krilich Goals: John Gray (5) | [21] | Tries: John Adam, Glen Boatswain Goals: Peter Schofield (3) | Attendance: 11,058 Referee: Kevin Roberts |
Sunday 13 August | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 26 – 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | |
Tries: Graham Eadie, Johnny Gibbs, Tom Mooney, Ian Thomson Goals: John Gray (7) | [22] | Tries: Goals: Barry Andrews (2) | Attendance: 12,135 Referee: Jack Danzey |
Sunday 20 August | Eastern Suburbs Roosters | 11 – 30 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney | |
Tries: Bill Mullins, Bob O'Reilly Goals: Kevin Stevens (2/4) | [23] | Tries: Simon Booth, Graham Eadie, John Gray, Stephen Knight Goals: John Gray (3) Field Goals: Graham Eadie (1) Johnny Gibbs (1) | Attendance: 22,049 Referee: Greg Hartley |
Saturday 26 August | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 17 – 12 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | |
Tries: Eric Archer, Mick Mullane, Steve Rogers Goals: Steve Rogers (4) | [24] | Tries: Simon Booth, Russel Gartner, Ian Martin Goals: Graham Eadie (1) Field Goals: Johnny Gibbs (1) | Attendance: 17,718 Referee: Jack Danzey |
Sunday 3 September | Parramatta Eels | 13 – 13 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | |
Tries: Michael Cronin, Geoff Gerard, Graham Murray Goals: Michael Cronin (2/5) | [25] | Tries: Simon Booth, Russel Gartner, Bruce Walker Goals: John Gray (2/2) | Attendance: 30,850 Referee: Greg Hartley |
Wednesday 6 September | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 17 – 11 | Parramatta Eels | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | |
Tries: Russel Gartner, John Harvey, Steve Martin Goals: Graham Eadie (4) | [26] | Tries: Geoff Gerard, Glenn West, Neville Glover Goals: Michael Cronin (1/3) | Attendance: 42,678 Referee: Greg Hartley |
Saturday 9 September | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 14 – 7 | Western Suburbs Magpies | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | |
Tries: Alan Thompson (2) Goals: Graham Eadie (4) | [27] | Tries: Ron Giteau Goals: Peter Rowles (2) | Attendance: 27,345 Referee: Greg Hartley |
Saturday 16 September |
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 11 – 11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
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Tries: Tom Mooney Goals: Graham Eadie (4/6) | [28] | Tries: Steve Edmonds Goals: Steve Rogers (4/4) |
Manly-Warringah | Cronulla-Sutherland |
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In the Grand Final, Cronulla went to a 9-4 lead in the second half before Manly came back to hit the front 11-9. A Steve Rogers penalty squared it at 11-all but he then missed a desperate late field-goal attempt and at full-time the scores remained locked. For the second consecutive season the weary Grand Finalists were required to play a mid-week rematch three days later (the NSWRFL were forced to play the replay on the Tuesday and not the following weekend due to the upcoming 1978 Kangaroo tour, with the Australian team due to leave that weekend for their tour. The drawn GF also forced the Australian Rugby League to hold off on naming the touring squad until after the GF replay with as many as 12 players from Manly and Cronulla in contention to be selected).
Tuesday 19 September |
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 16 – 0 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
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Tries: Russel Gartner (2) Graham Eadie Goals: Graham Eadie (3/8) Field Goals: Graham Eadie (1) | [29] | Tries: Goals: |
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Attendance: 33,552 Referee: Greg Hartley Player of the Match: Graham Eadie |
Manly-Warringah | Cronulla-Sutherland |
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The Tuesday rematch in front of 33,552 was Manly's sixth game in twenty-four days. It was the second Grand Final in a row to end up going into a mid-week replay with the 1977 Grand Final between St George and Parramatta also needing a re-match to decide the Premiers after the original game had been a 9-all draw.
In the first half Cronulla had no answer to Graham Eadie's blind-side bursts. His display completely routed the hapless Sharks and Manly went to the break holding a 15-0 lead thanks to a try by Eadie in the scoreboard corner, one he set up for centre Russel Gartner in the same corner, and another 65 metre effort by Gartner after a sweeping backline movement saw him run into open space and easily outpace the Sharks defence to score in front of the Sheridan Stand.
The only points in the second half came from a field goal by Eadie.
In the replay, as throughout their extraordinary finals campaign, Manly were inspired by the leadership of captain Max Krilich and coach Frank Stanton, their iron-man Terry Randall who had required numerous pain killing injections before every game of the finals just to be able take the field in what Frank Stanton called sheer mind over matter, their cool five eighth Alan Thompson and classy fullback and Man of the Match Graham Eadie.
As of the 2016 NRL Grand Final, no player since Eadie has scored the combination of a try, a goal and a field-goal in a Grand Final.
The refereeing of Greg "Hollywood" Hartley in the replay and throughout the 1978 Finals series attracted criticism from coaches Roy Masters (Western Suburbs), Jack Gibson (South Sydney) and Terry Fearnley (Parramatta), all of whom appealed to the NSWRFL to prohibit Hartley from refereeing their clubs' matches the following season. [30]
Note: Games and (sub) show total games played, e.g. 1 (1) is 2 games played.
Player | Games (sub) | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
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David Adams | |||||
Tony Ashworth | |||||
Simon Booth | 8 | 24 | |||
Ray Branighan | 3 | 9 | |||
Greg Gross | |||||
Lindsay Drake | 1 | 3 | |||
Graham Eadie | 6 | 52 | 2 | 124 | |
Russel Gartner | 10 | 30 | |||
Johnny Gibbs | 9 | 2 | 29 | ||
John Gray | 4 | 61 | 134 | ||
John Harvey | 1 | 3 | |||
Mick Healey | |||||
Ray Higgs | 1 | 3 | |||
Stephen Knight | 5 | 15 | |||
Max Krilich (c) | 3 | 9 | |||
Ian Martin | 2 | 6 | |||
Steve Martin | 7 | 1 | 22 | ||
Chris Montgomery | 1 | 3 | |||
Tom Mooney | 11 | 33 | |||
Ed Planten | |||||
Terry Randall (vc) | 2 | 6 | |||
Wayne Springall | 1 | 3 | |||
Alan Thompson | 5 | 15 | |||
Ian Thomson | 6 | 18 | |||
Gary Thoroughgood | |||||
Bruce Walker | 6 | 18 | |||
TOTAL | 93 | 113 | 5 | 510 |
Rugby League Week was the highest selling Australian rugby league magazine, ahead of major competitor Big League. It was published weekly during the Australian rugby league season, which runs from March to late September. The magazine was headquartered in Sydney.
Graham "Wombat" Eadie, is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been named amongst Australia's finest of the 20th century. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative fullback, he played in Australia during Manly-Warringah's dominance of the NSWRFL competition during the 1970s. He won four premierships with them and his 1,917 points in first grade and 2,070 points in all grades were both records at the time of his retirement. Eadie also played in England for Halifax, winning the Challenge Cup Final of 1987 with them. He also won World Cups with Australia and collected awards such as the Rothmans Medal and Lance Todd Trophy.
Terry William "Igor" Randall is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played for the Manly-Warringah club in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership. He is regularly named in all-time great teams and polls. He also represented New South Wales and Australia. He began his career in 1970 as a Centre, but soon after in 1972 was switched to the forwards by coach Ron Willey, primarily playing in the second-row. His nickname was Igor.
Max Krilich is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a hooker for the Australia national team, playing in thirteen Tests from 1978 to 1983 and as captain on ten consecutive occasions in 1982 and 1983. He was the captain of the 1982 “Invincibles” Australian touring side. Krilich received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours for service to rugby league.
The 1974 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 67th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundation clubs and another six from across Sydney, competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a grand final match for the WD & HO Wills Cup between the Eastern Suburbs and Canterbury-Bankstown clubs. This season NSWRFL teams also competed for the inaugural Amco Cup.
The 1983 NSWRFL season was the 76th season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Fourteen teams competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in a replay of the previous year's grand final between the Parramatta and Manly-Warringah clubs. During the season, NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1983 KB Cup.
Geoff Gerard is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football with Sydney clubs Parramatta, Manly Warringah and Penrith, and also spent time with English clubs Wakefield Trinity and Hull FC. From the time of his retirement in early 1989 to mid-1994 he held the record for the most career New South Wales Rugby League premiership first-grade games until overtaken by Terry Lamb. He holds the distinction of playing in the most first-grade grand finals (five) without ever winning one.
The 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 69th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundation clubs and another six from around Sydney, competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Manly-Warringah and Parramatta clubs. NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1976 Amco Cup.
The 1978 NSWRFL season was the 71st season of the NSWRFL Premiership, Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, and Australia's first. Twelve clubs, including six of 1908's foundation teams and another six from around Sydney competed for the J.J. Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Manly-Warringah and Cronulla-Sutherland clubs that was drawn and had to be re-played. NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1978 Amco Cup.
The history of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles dates back to 1932 when the Manly-Warringah Junior Rugby Football League was founded. In 1947 the New South Wales Rugby Football League included two additional teams: Manly-Warringah DRLFC and Parramatta DRLFC. The new club adopted the nickname "Sea Eagles" and went on to compete in every season of top-level rugby league until merging with the nearby North Sydney Bears to form the Northern Eagles club at the end of 1999. After three years the joint-venture team was disbanded with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles returning as a sole entity once more to the National Rugby League.
Tom Mooney is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s. He played in Sydney's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership as a wing for the Manly-Warringah and South Sydney clubs. Mooney won the 1976 and 1978 premierships with Manly.
Russel Gartner, also known by the nickname of "Frog eyes", is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An international representative three-quarter, He played for Manly, Balmain and Easts in the NSWRFL premiership.
Allan Kevin Thomson is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1980s. He played for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition.
The 2008 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 62nd in the club's history. Coached by Des Hasler and captained by Matt Orford, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2008 Telstra Premiership.
The 1972 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 26th in the club's history since their entry into the then New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in 1947. After 5 previous Grand Final losses, the Sea Eagles broke through for their first premiership win.
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.
The 1976 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 30th in the club's history since their entry into the then New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in 1947.
The 1987 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 41st in the club's history since their entry into the then New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in 1947.