1987 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season

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.

1987 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season
NSWRL champions
NSWRL Rank1st
1987 recordWins: 20; Draws: 1; Losses: 5
Points scoredFor: 581; Against: 370
Team information
Secretary Doug Daley
Coach Bob Fulton
Assistant coach Alan Thompson (Reserve Grade)
Captains
StadiumBrookvale Oval
Top scorers
Tries Dale Shearer (13)
Goals Mal Cochrane (59)
Points Mal Cochrane (138)
< 1986 1988 >

The 1987 Sea Eagles were coached by triple Manly premiership player and former Kangaroo Tour captain Bob Fulton. Captaining the side was Queensland back rower Paul Vautin. The club competed in the New South Wales Rugby League's 1987 Premiership season and played its home games at the 27,000 capacity Brookvale Oval.[1]

Ladder
Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Manly-Warringah 2418152553356+19741
2 Eastern Suburbs 2415182390353+3735
3 Canberra 2415092441325+11634
4 Balmain 2414192469349+12033
5 South Sydney 24131102310342-3231
6 Canterbury-Bankstown 24130112353316+3730
7 Parramatta 24120122417411+628
8 Cronulla-Sutherland 24111122390433-4327
9 St. George 24102122394409-1526
10 North Sydney 24110132368401-3326
11 Illawarra 2480162372449-7720
12 Penrith 2461172274399-12517
13 Western Suburbs 2452172339527-18816

Regular season

Bye

Bye

Finals

Major Semi-Final

Grand Final
Sunday 27 September
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 18 – 8 Canberra Raiders
Tries:
Cliff Lyons
Michael O'Connor
Goals:
Michael O'Connor (5/5)		 [27] Tries:
Chris O'Sullivan

Goals:
Mal Meninga (1/1)
Gary Belcher (1/1)
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 50,201
Referee: Mick Stone
Man of the Match: Cliff Lyons
Manly-Warringah
Canberra
FB1Dale Shearer
RW2David Ronson
CE3Darrell Williams
CE4Michael O'Connor
LW5Stuart Davis
FE6Cliff Lyons
HB7Des Hasler
LK8Paul Vautin (c)
SR9Noel Cleal
SR10Ron Gibbs
PR11Kevin Ward
HK12Mal Cochrane
PR13Phil Daley
Substitutions:
IC20Paul Shaw
IC24Mark Pocock
Coach:
Bob Fulton
FB1Gary Belcher
RW2Chris Kinna
CE3Mal Meninga
CE4Peter Jackson
LW5Matthew Corkery
FE6Chris O'Sullivan
HB7Ivan Henjak
LK8Dean Lance (c)
SR9Gary Coyne
SR10Ashley Gilbert
PR11Sam Backo
HK12Steve Walters
PR13Brent Todd
Substitutions:
IC14Kevin Walters
IC15Terry Regan
Coach:
Don Furner and Wayne Bennett

From the outset Manly's Cliff Lyons attempted to find gaps out wide in Canberra's defence and kept the Raiders hemmed in on their own side of half-way with his astute kicking. Lyons stepped inside the Raiders' defence and after a seventy-metre burst found Noel Cleal stampeding on to the ball but Cleal's final pass to Des Hasler was ruled forward. Another promising Manly raid broke down when Lyons' reverse pass to O'Connor was put to ground.

Manly continued to put pressure on the Raiders defence with both speedsters Michael O'Connor and Dale Shearer trying to catch the Raiders out with long range kicks to their in-goal area in front of the SCG hill, but both were only just beaten to the ball each time by Gary Belcher and Gary Coyne respectively.

In the 27th minute Lyons eventually broke through on his third threatening attempt. Scurrying from a scrum win on the Canberra quarter-line, Lyons brushed off the tackle of Chris O'Sullivan and stepped inside Belcher to score.

The Sea Eagles led 6-0 at half-time, with a ball-and-all tackle by Belcher on Dale Shearer just two metres from the Canberra tryline preventing the lead being greater.

From the restart kick-off Belcher fielded the ball in his in-goal but was penalised for shepherding behind Chris O'Sullivan as he ran the ball out. It was a gift penalty for O'Connor to take Manly out to an 8-0 lead.

The Sea Eagles kept the pressure on Canberra by charging down two attempted clearing kicks by a tiring Mal Meninga. Only occasionally did the Raiders break through. After a run by Peter Jackson, Manly's Phil Daley was penalised for a high tackle and Meninga's goal finally put Canberra on the scoreboard.

Fatigue and the heat began to take a toll on the players, though one of the more surprising efforts was Manly's English prop Kevin Ward who ran and tackled strongly all day. Meninga, who had only played 60 minutes of football since breaking his arm in a game against Manly almost two months earlier, was replaced by Kevin Walters after 15 minutes of the second half and Manly's Gibbs, Cleal and Cochrane all went down hurt at different stages as the pace of the match slowed (for his part, Cochrane still can't remember the second half). Soon after a successful penalty goal from O'Connor, a Dale Shearer cross field kick from the Raiders 22m line was grounded over the line by O'Connor in the Paddington corner. While Manly winger David Ronson was thought to be offside (though he didn't get involved in the play, he was still within 10 metres of O'Connor), many claim that the Manly centre should have been ruled offside as he got the ball "rather quickly" (television replays would prove inconclusive as there was no footage of where O'Conner was when Shearer kicked). However, referee Mick Stone ruled that Manly's international centre was onside and O'Connor was awarded the try. He converted his own try (giving him 4/4 goals at that point) and Manly had a premiership winning 16-2 lead.

A brief hope of a fightback loomed after an ingeniously constructed "trojan horse" move by Canberra. Chris O'Sullivan went down "injured" after being tackled and then miraculously popped up in the next passage of play to take the inside pass from Ivan Henjak and score. With Meninga off the ground, Gary Belcher converted to narrow the scores to 16-8.

Ron Gibbs' return from the head-bin helped snap the Sea Eagles out of their complacency. Daley's tackle on Canberra replacement Terry Regan and Dale Shearer's try-saving tackle on Ashley Gilbert three minutes from full-time ended any chance of a Canberra fightback. Paul Vautin led the charge back up-field with Hasler being bundled into the corner post after a run-around movement with O'Connor. The Manly centre also had a try taken off him just minutes after his previous try when Mick Stone ruled a pass from Cliff Lyons had gone forward.

Right on full-time, O'Connor landed his fifth goal from five attempts after the Raiders were penalised in front of their own posts for being offside after a tap-kick restart. The 18-8 scoreline was a fair indication of Manly's supremacy on the day and a just result considering the Sea Eagles' consistency throughout the year.

Manly became the first team other than Canterbury-Bankstown or Parramatta to win the grand final during the 1980s (Manly had been beaten Grand Finalists in 1982 and 1983, losing both times to Parramatta).

For Manly coach Bob Fulton, premiership glory in a nine-year coaching career was finally achieved. For the dual Canberra coaches it marked a milestone. It was a sad ending to the long club coaching career of Don Furner, the man who brought Canberra into the competition. For his partner Wayne Bennett, the tactician behind the side, it was a disappointing exit but another door was about to open on his own stellar coaching career with the Brisbane Broncos and a continuing career as Queensland Origin coach.

1987 World Club Challenge
Main article: 1987 World Club Challenge

1987 saw the second World Club Challenge game between the reigning New South Wales Rugby League premiers and the reigning Rugby Football League (England) champions. This game was held in England less than two weeks following the 1987 NSWRL Grand Final.

The match was played at 7:45pm on a dry Wednesday night, 7 October at the Central Park ground in Wigan. A crowd of 36,895 was in attendance for the game, though unofficial estimates from those present put the attendance as high as 50,000.[28] The game was refereed by RFL international referee John Holdsworth. Former four-time Manly premiership winning Fullback Graham Eadie, who at the time was playing in England with 1987 Challenge Cup winners Halifax, was on hand as a match commentator as was dual Manly premiership player (and captain of the 1978 team) and the skipper of the 1982 Invincibles, Max Krilich.

Wednesday, 7 October
Wigan 8 – 2 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Tries:

Goals:
David Stephenson (4)		 [29] Tries:

Goals:
Michael O'Connor (1)
Central Park, Wigan
Attendance: 36,895
Referee: John Holdsworth
Man of the Match: Shaun Wane
Wigan
Manly-Warringah
FB1Steve Hampson
RW2Richard Russell
CE3Darrell Williams
CE4Joe Lydon
LW5Henderson Gill
SO6Shaun Edwards
SH7Andy Gregory
PR8Brian Case
HK9Nicky Kiss
PR10Shaun Wane
SR11Andy Goodway
SR12Ian Potter
LF13Ellery Hanley (c)
Substitutions:
IC14Ged Byrne
IC15Graeme West
IC16Ian Gildart
IC17Ian Lucas
Coach:
Graham Lowe
FB1Dale Shearer
RW2David Ronson
CE3Darrell Williams
CE4Michael O'Connor
LW5Stuart Davis
FE6Cliff Lyons
HB7Des Hasler
LK8Paul Vautin (c)
SR9Owen Cunningham
SR10Ron Gibbs
PR11Ian Gately
HK12Mal Cochrane
PR13Phil Daley
Substitutions:
IC14Mark Brokenshire
IC15Jeremy Ticehurst
IC16Mark Pocock
IC17Paul Shaw
Coach:
Bob Fulton

No tries were scored in what was a closely fought and, at times, spiteful encounter. Michael O'Connor opened the scoring for Manly with a successful penalty kick in only the second minute, which would turn out to be the only time the Sea Eagles scored. Tempers flared as the match went on, punctuated by more penalties and a few unsavoury incidents:

  • Manly forward Ron Gibbs became the first person to be sent off in a World Club Challenge match for illegal use of the elbow when taking out Joe Lydon high after he attempted a drop-goal;
  • An all-in brawl erupted after Dale Shearer was lifted in a tackle then started a punch-up in the ruck with Brian Case;
  • After taking Manly captain Paul Vautin over the touchline, a group of Wigan defenders went on to take him over the fence causing another all-in brawl;
  • Later, when Shearer brought down Lydon in defence, he appeared to step on the Great Britain international's head as he got up after making the tackle.

Amongst all of these incidents Wigan's David Stephenson kicked four penalty goals, which in the end would prove decisive. The score was 8 - 2 in favour of the home side as the final whistle blew,[30] prompting the overjoyed Wigan supporters to flood onto the field to celebrate with the players.

In his biography The Strife and Times of Paul Vautin written by Mike Coleman and released in 1992, the Manly captain told that the Sea Eagles players were so convinced that they would beat Wigan after their Grand Final win over the Canberra Raiders and after the undefeated 1986 Kangaroo Tour, that they treated the trip to England more as a holiday than anything serious and continued celebrating their GF win while there. Vautin and the other Manly players believe that their poor attitude is what ultimately cost them the game. Wigan on the other hand, led by their Kiwi coach Graham Lowe and featuring 11 Great Britain and one New Zealand international (compared to 5 Australian and one New Zealand international for Manly), took the game very seriously with pride their main motivation after the Great Britain Lions had been humiliated by the Australian's with 4 straight 3-0 Ashes series losses since the disastrous 1979 Australasian tour and the popular belief that the NSWRL Premiership was superior to the RFL's.

In a twist, after leading Wigan to numerous cup titles over the next two seasons, Graham Lowe would become Manly's head coach from 1990-1992.

Player statistics

Note: Games and (sub) show total games played, e.g. 1 (1) is 2 games played. List does not include World Club Challenge.

PlayerGames (sub)TriesGoalsFGPoints
Greg Austin1 (3)28
Ian Barkley11 (1)416
Mark Brokenshire12
Noel Cleal (vc)14 (1)728
Chris Close8 (2)14
Mal Cochrane25559/92138
Mitchell Cox(2)
Peter Cullum(3)
Owen Cunningham4 (2)
Phil Daley18
Stuart Davis15 (1)832
Ian Gately4 (3)
Ron Gibbs26416
Marty Gurr3 (1)
Charlie Haggett(1)
Des Hasler24936
Matthew Loft(1)
Cliff Lyons21 (1)7129
Martin Meredith7 (4)312
Michael O'Connor211139/51122
Steve Park714
Mark Pocock6 (12)14
David Ronson22 (2)832
Glenn Ryan(3)
Paul Shaw2 (9)28
Dale Shearer201352
Jeremy Ticehurst9 (4)312
Paul Vautin (c)2314
Kevin Ward1114
Darrell Williams22520
TOTAL9698/1431581

Representative Players

International

State
Main article: 1987 State of Origin series

City vs Country
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References
  1. NSWRL 1987 - Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
  2. 1987 NSWRL Rd.1 - St George vs Manly
  3. 1987 NSWRL Rd.2 - Manly vs Penrith
  4. 1987 NSWRL Rd.3 - Western Suburbs vs Manly
  5. 1987 NSWRL Rd.4 - Manly vs Parramatta
  6. 1987 NSWRL Rd.6 - Canterbury-Bankstown vs Manly
  7. 1987 NSWRL Rd.7 - Manly vs South Sydney
  8. 1987 NSWRL Rd.8 - Cronulla-Sutherland vs Manly
  9. 1987 NSWRL Rd.9 - Manly vs Eastern Suburbs
  10. 1987 NSWRL Rd.10 - Canberra vs Manly
  11. 1987 NSWRL Rd.11 - Manly vs Illawarra
  12. 1987 NSWRL Rd.12 - North Sydney vs Manly
  13. 1987 NSWRL Rd.13 - Manly vs Balmain
  14. 1987 NSWRL Rd.14 - Manly vs St George
  15. 1987 NSWRL Rd.15 - Penrith vs Manly
  16. 1987 NSWRL Rd.16 - Manly vs Western Suburbs
  17. 1987 NSWRL Rd.17 - Parramatta vs Manly
  18. 1987 NSWRL Rd.19 - Manly vs Canterbury-Bankstown
  19. 1987 NSWRL Rd.20 - South Sydney vs Manly
  20. 1987 NSWRL Rd.21 - Manly vs Cronulla-Sutherland
  21. 1987 NSWRL Rd.22 - Eastern Suburbs vs Manly
  22. 1987 NSWRL Rd.23 - Manly vs Canberra
  23. 1987 NSWRL Rd.24 - Illawarra vs Manly
  24. 1987 NSWRL Rd.25 - Manly vs North Sydney
  25. 1987 NSWRL Rd.26 - Balmain vs Manly
  26. 1987 NSWRL Major Semi-final - Manly vs Eastern Suburbs
  27. 1987 NSWRL Grand Final - Manly-Warringah vs Canberra
  28. AAP (25 January 2001) "World Club Championship Factbox" AAP Sports News (Australia)
  29. 1987 World Club Challenge - Wigan vs Manly
  30. Wilson, Zack (24 February 2011). "Wigan heroes of 1987 to parade before PROBIZ World Club Challenge". code13rugbyleague.com. UK: Code13 Sports Media. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
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