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]
1973 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season | ||||
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NSWRFL champions | ||||
NSWRFL Rank | 1st | |||
1973 record | Wins: 19; draws: 1; losses: 4 | |||
Points scored | For: 524; against: 237 | |||
Team information | ||||
Secretary | ![]() | |||
Coach | ![]() | |||
Assistant coach | ![]() | |||
Captain | ||||
Stadium | Brookvale Oval | |||
Top scorers | ||||
Tries | ![]() | |||
Goals | ![]() | |||
Points | ![]() | |||
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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
editTeam | 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
editSunday 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
editMajor Semi-Final
editSaturday 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
editSaturday 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) |
Manly-Warringah
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Cronulla-Sutherland
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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
editNote: Games and (sub) show total games played, e.g. 1 (1) is 2 games played.
Player | Games (sub) | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Barber | |||||
Bill Bradstreet | |||||
Ray Branighan | 6 | 18 | 54 | ||
Max Brown | 9 | 27 | |||
John Bucknall | 1 | 3 | |||
Bill Clare | |||||
Graham Eadie | 4 | 69 | 150 | ||
Warren Evans | 1 | 3 | |||
Bob Fulton | 18 | 3 | 57 | ||
Bill Hamilton | 2 | 6 | |||
Terry Hill | |||||
Ken Irvine | 13 | 39 | |||
Rod Jackson | 4 | 12 | |||
Fred Jones (c) | 5 | 15 | |||
Max Krilich | 1 | 3 | |||
Ian Martin | 9 | 27 | |||
Johnny Mayes | 16 | 1 | 49 | ||
Bob Moses | 1 | 3 | |||
John O'Neill | 1 | 3 | |||
Peter Peters | 7 | 13 | 37 | ||
Norm Pounder | |||||
Terry Randall | 1 | 3 | |||
Mal Reilly | 4 | 1 | 14 | ||
Alan Thompson | 3 | 9 | |||
Gary Thoroughgood | 2 | 6 | |||
Mark Willoughby | |||||
TOTAL | 106 | 101 | 4 | 524 |
Representative Players
editInternational
editState
edit- New South Wales – Ray Branighan, Graham Eadie, Bob Fulton, Bill Hamilton, Fred Jones, Ian Martin, Terry Randall
City vs Country
editCity under 23 Chris Ryan
References
edit- ^ NSWRFL 1972 - Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
- ^ NSWRFL 1973 - Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.1 - Manly vs Canterbury-Bankstown
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.2 - St George vs Manly
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.3 - Manly vs Newtown
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.4 - North Sydney vs Manly
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.5 - Manly vs Eastern Suburbs
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.6 - Parramatta vs Manly
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.7 - Manly vs South Sydney
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.8 - Manly vs Penrith
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.9 - Western Suburbs vs Manly
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.10 - Manly vs Cronulla-Sutherland
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.11 - Balmain vs Manly
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.12 - Canterbury-Bankstown vs Manly
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.13 - Manly vs St. George
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.14 - Newtown vs Manly
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.15 - Manly vs North Sydney
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.16 - Eastern Suburbs vs Manly
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.17 - Manly vs Parramatta
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.18 - South Sydney vs Manly
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.19 - Penrith vs Manly
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.20 - Manly vs Western Suburbs
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.21 - Cronulla-Sutherland vs Manly
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Rd.22 - Manly vs Balmain
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL major semi-final – Manly vs Cronulla-Sutherland
- ^ 1973 NSWRFL Grand Final – Manly-Warringah vs Cronulla-Sutherland
- ^ Sydney Sunday Telegraph 16 Sept 1973
- ^ Sydney Sun Herald 16 Sept 1973
- ^ 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.
- ^ Harker, Jon (25 September 1993). "I'll walk off, says Referee". The Sun-Herald. Australia: Fairfax Media. p. 72. Retrieved 12 February 2011.