1987 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season

Rugby league team season

1987 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season

NSWRL champions

NSWRL Rank| 1st
1987 record| Wins: 20; draws: 1; losses: 5
Points scored| For: 581; against: 370
Team information
Secretary|  Doug Daley
Coach|  Bob Fulton
Assistant coach|  Alan Thompson (Reserve Grade)
Captains|

* Paul Vautin
* Noel Cleal (vice-captain)

Stadium| Brookvale Oval
Top scorers
Tries|  Dale Shearer (13)
Goals|  Mal Cochrane (59)
Points|  Mal Cochrane (138)
| ← 1986 |  | 1988 →

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|

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.

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

[edit]

| Team  | Pld  | W  | D  | L  | B  | PF  | PA  | PD  | Pts

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1 |  Manly-Warringah | 24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 553 | 356 | +197 | 41
2 |  Eastern Suburbs | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 390 | 353 | +37 | 35
3 |  Canberra | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 441 | 325 | +116 | 34
4 |  Balmain | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 469 | 349 | +120 | 33
5 |  South Sydney | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 310 | 342 | -32 | 31
6 |  Canterbury-Bankstown | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 353 | 316 | +37 | 30
7 |  Parramatta | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 417 | 411 | +6 | 28
8 |  Cronulla-Sutherland | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 390 | 433 | -43 | 27
9 |  St. George | 24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 394 | 409 | -15 | 26
10 |  North Sydney | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 368 | 401 | -33 | 26
11 |  Illawarra | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 372 | 449 | -77 | 20
12 |  Penrith | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 274 | 399 | -125 | 17
13 |  Western Suburbs | 24 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 339 | 527 | -188 | 16

## Regular season

[edit]

Sunday 1 March  | St. George Dragons | 4 – 4 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney |

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| Tries:

Goals:
Bronko Djura (2/3)  | [2]
| Tries:

Goals:
Mal Cochrane (2/2)  |
Attendance: 10,650
Referee: Giles O'Donnell

* * *

Sunday 8 March  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 42 – 18 |  Penrith Panthers | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Dale Shearer (3), Mal Cochrane, Des Hasler, Martin Meredith, David Ronson
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (6/9)
Michael O'Connor (1/1)  | [3]
| Tries:
Craig Connor, Ben Gonzales, Matt Goodwin
Goals:
Mark Bevan (3/3)  |
Attendance: 6,374
Referee: Graham Annesley

* * *

Sunday 15 March  | Western Suburbs Magpies | 11 – 22 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Orana Park, Sydney |

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| Tries:
John Allanson
Goals:
Ian Schubert (3/6)  | [4]
| Tries:
Des Hasler, Michael O'Connor, David Ronson, Dale Shearer
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (3/5)  |
Attendance: 8,822
Referee: Mick Stone

* * *

Sunday 22 March  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 16 – 13 |  Parramatta Eels | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Ian Barkley, Mal Cochrane, Des Hasler, Steve Park
Goals:
Michael O'Connor (2/3)
Mal Cochrane (1/3)  | [5]
| Tries:

Goals:
John Muggleton (2/2)  |
Attendance: 17,757
Referee: Mick Stone

* * *

Bye

* * *

Sunday 5 April  | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 18 – 6 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Michael Hagan, Steve Mortimer
Goals:
Terry Lamb (5/6)  | [6]
| Tries:
Jeremy Ticehurst
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (1/3)  |
Attendance: 13,553
Referee: Mick Stone

* * *

Sunday 12 April  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 18 – 28 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Ian Barkley, Cliff Lyons, Michael O'Connor
Goals:
Michael O'Connor (3/4)  | [7]
| Tries:
David Boyle, Wayne Chisholm, Mario Fenech, Steve Mavin, Ian Roberts
Goals:
Michael Andrews (4/7)  |
Attendance: 14,601
Referee: Graham Annesley

* * *

Monday 20 April  | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 18 – 13 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Caltex Field, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Greg Nixon, Ron Quinn, Sean Watson
Goals:
Sean Watson (3/7)  | [8]
| Tries:
Des Hasler, Dale Shearer
Goals:
Michael O'Connor (2/3)
Field Goals:
Cliff Lyons (1)  |
Attendance: 10,931
Referee: Bill Harrigan

* * *

Saturday 25 April  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 18 – 10 |  Eastern Suburbs Roosters | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Chris Close, Mark Pocock, Paul Vautin
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (3/4)  | [9]
| Tries:
Wayne Portlock
Goals:
Tony Melrose (3/4)  |
Attendance: 10,247
Referee: Mick Stone

* * *

Saturday 2 May  | Canberra Raiders | 10 – 18 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Seiffert Oval, Queanbeyan |

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| Tries:
Sam Backo, Ashley Gilbert
Goals:
Phil Carey (1/2)  | [10]
| Tries:
Greg Austin, Noel Cleal, Cliff Lyons
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (3/4)  |
Attendance: 4,885
Referee: Greg McCallum

* * *

Sunday 10 May  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 22 – 12 |  Illawarra Steelers | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Stuart Davis (2), Dale Shearer, Jeremy Ticehurst
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (3/6)  | [11]
| Tries:
Graeme Bradley, Perry Haddock
Goals:
Dean Carney (2/4)  |
Attendance: 7,053
Referee: Kevin Roberts

* * *

Sunday 17 May  | North Sydney Bears | 22 – 30 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | North Sydney Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Mark Cannon, Greg Florimo, Ian French
Goals:
John Dorahy (5/5)  | [12]
| Tries:
Noel Cleal (2), Ian Barkley, Dale Shearer
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (7/7)  |
Attendance: 11,391
Referee: Greg McCallum

* * *

Sunday 24 May  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 48 – 14 |  Balmain Tigers | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Darrell Williams (3), Ron Gibbs (2), Mal Cochrane, Stuart Davis, Michael O'Connor, David Ronson
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (6/9)  | [13]
| Tries:
Benny Elias, Russel Gartner
Goals:
Lee Crooks (3/3)  |
Attendance: 25,448
Referee: Kevin Roberts

* * *

Sunday 7 June  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 20 – 6 |  St. George Dragons | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Des Hasler, Dale Shearer, Darrell Williams
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (3/6)
Michael O'Connor (1/1)  | [14]
| Tries:
Graeme Wynn
Goals:
Ricky Walford (1/2)  |
Attendance: 12,041
Referee: Mick Stone

* * *

Sunday 14 June  | Penrith Panthers | 10 – 12 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Penrith Park, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Mark Robinson
Goals:
Andrew Fitzhenry (3/4)  | [15]
| Tries:
Stuart Davis
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (4/4)  |
Attendance: Barry Barnes
Referee: 8,287

* * *

Sunday 21 June  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 26 – 25 |  Western Suburbs Magpies | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Stuart Davis (2), Cliff Lyons, Michael O'Connor, David Ronson
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (3/7)  | [16]
| Tries:
John Allanson, Trevor Cogger, Ian Naden, Paul Sheahan
Goals:
Ian Schubert (3/6)
Hew Rees (1/1)
Field Goals:
Ian Naden (1)  |
Attendance: 10,732
Referee: Bill Harrigan

* * *

Sunday 28 June  | Parramatta Eels | 22 – 30 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Tony Chalmers, Michael Erickson, Brett Kenny, Bob Lindner, John Muggleton
Goals:
John Muggleton (1/5)  | [17]
| Tries:
Dale Shearer (2), Des Hasler, Cliff Lyons, Michael O'Connor, David Ronson
Goals:
Michael O'Connor (3/6)  |
Attendance: 25,139
Referee: Kevin Roberts

* * *

Bye

* * *

Sunday 12 July  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 32 – 2 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Greg Austin, Noel Cleal, Ron Gibbs, Des Hasler, Martin Meredith
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (6/8)  | [18]
| Tries:

Goals:
Terry Lamb (1/2)  |
Attendance: 16,252
Referee: Greg McCallum

* * *

Sunday 19 July  | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 13 – 16 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Redfern Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Craig Coleman, Steve Mavin
Goals:
Mark Ellison (2/3)
Field Goals:
Mark Ellison (1)  | [19]
| Tries:
Ron Gibbs, Cliff Lyons
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (4/6)  |
Attendance: 23,257
Referee: Mick Stone

* * *

Sunday 26 July  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 30 – 8 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Michael O'Connor (2), Dale Shearer (2), Mal Cochrane, Stuart Davis
Goals:
Michael O'Connor (3/6)  | [20]
| Tries:
Jonathan Docking
Goals:
Sean Watson (1/3)
Alan Wilson (1/1)  |
Attendance: 14,323
Referee: Graham Annesley

* * *

Sunday 2 August  | Eastern Suburbs Roosters | 26 – 16 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Henson Park, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Steve Morris (2), Brendan Hall, David Smith
Goals:
David Smith (5/5)  | [21]
| Tries:
Noel Cleal, Michael O'Connor, Darrell Williams
Goals:
Michael O'Connor (2/3)  |
Attendance: 6,573
Referee: Graham Annesley

* * *

Sunday 9 August  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 20 – 18 |  Canberra Raiders | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Mal Cochrane, Martin Meredith, Kevin Ward
Goals:
Mal Cochrane (4/5)  | [22]
| Tries:
Sam Backo, Ashley Gilbert, Kevin Walters
Goals:
Matthew Corkery (3/5)  |
Attendance: 9,114
Referee: Bill Harrigan

* * *

Sunday 16 August  | Illawarra Steelers | 17 – 28 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Wollongong Showground, Wollongong |

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| Tries:
Steve Larder (2), Graeme Bradley
Goals:
Dean Carney (2/5)
Field Goals:
Chris Withall (1)  | [23]
| Tries:
Noel Cleal (2), Paul Shaw, Michael O'Connor
Goals:
Michael O'Connor (4/4)  |
Attendance: 10,740
Referee: Giles O'Donnell

* * *

Sunday 23 August  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 30 – 32 |  North Sydney Bears | Brookvale Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
Stuart Davis, Michael O'Connor, David Ronson, Dale Shearer, Martin Meredith
Goals:
Michael O'Connor (5/7)  | [24]
| Tries:
Mark Cannon (2), John McArthur (2), Ian French, Kevin Marr
Goals:
John McArthur (4/7)  |
Attendance: 13,913
Referee: Bill Harrigan

* * *

Sunday 30 August  | Balmain Tigers | 8 – 26 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Leichhardt Oval, Sydney |

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| Tries:
John Davidson, Garry Schofield
Goals: | [25]
| Tries:
Des Hasler (2), Cliff Lyons, David Ronson
Goals:
Michael O'Connor (5/5)  |
Attendance: 13,557
Referee: Graham Annesley

## Finals

[edit]

### Major Semi-Final

[edit]

Sunday 3 September  | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 10 – 6 |  Eastern Suburbs Roosters | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney |

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| Tries:
David Ronson
Goals:
Michael O'Connor (3/3)  | [26]
| Tries:
David French
Goals:
David Smith (1/2)  |
Attendance: 36,399
Referee: Greg McCallum

### Grand final

[edit]

Sunday 27 September

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 18 – 8  |  Canberra Raiders

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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
Player of the Match: Cliff Lyons

Manly-Warringah

Canberra

|

|  |

|

FB | 1 | Dale Shearer
RW | 2 | David Ronson
CE | 3 | Darrell Williams
CE | 4 | Michael O'Connor
LW | 5 | Stuart Davis
FE | 6 | Cliff Lyons
HB | 7 | Des Hasler
LK | 8 | Paul Vautin (c)
SR | 9 | Noel Cleal
SR | 10 | Ron Gibbs
PR | 11 | Kevin Ward
HK | 12 | Mal Cochrane
PR | 13 | Phil Daley
Substitutions:
IC | 20 | Paul Shaw
IC | 24 | Mark Pocock
Coach:
Bob Fulton
|  |

|

FB | 1 | Gary Belcher
RW | 2 | Chris Kinna
CE | 3 | Mal Meninga
CE | 4 | Peter Jackson
LW | 5 | Matthew Corkery
FE | 6 | Chris O'Sullivan
HB | 7 | Ivan Henjak
LK | 8 | Dean Lance (c)
SR | 9 | Gary Coyne
SR | 10 | Ashley Gilbert
PR | 11 | Sam Backo
HK | 12 | Steve Walters
PR | 13 | Brent Todd
Substitutions:
IC | 14 | Kevin Walters
IC | 15 | Terry 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 after Lyons had initially dummied to O'Connor, then proceeded to run around Peter Jackson and head 30 metres downfield. It all came to naught however when Lyons' reverse pass to O'Connor was put to ground after O'Connor had thought Lyons would dummy to him again, with Lyons actually having what TV replays showed to be an unimpeded run to the try line had he looked ahead and not tried to pass.

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 though it could have been much greater had they taken advantage of the opportunities Cliff Lyons had been creating. Other than the Lyons try, the closest Manly actually got to scoring again in the first half ended with a ball-and-all tackle by Belcher on Dale Shearer just two metres from the Canberra try line. For their part, Canberra rarely threatened the Manly line with a midfield break by Mal Meninga stopped by a good Des Hasler tackle, while Shearer repaid his opposite when he took down Belcher who had taken an inside pass from a Peter Jackson break.

From the second half 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 not 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 did not 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" (Ch.10's television replays would prove inconclusive, however a wider shot shown on the ABC showed that O'Connor was actually onside). However, what counted was that 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).

Manly centre Darrell Williams became the first ever New Zealander to win the Sydney Premiership, while Paul Vautin became the first, and so far only Queenslander to captain the Sea Eagles to a winning Grand Final.

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 in 1982. Furner, a 1956–57 Kangaroo tourist, had been coaching in the Sydney Premiership since taking over as Easts coach in 1970 (losing the 1972 Grand Final to Manly), and along the way had also coached the undefeated 1986 Kangaroo Tour squad known as "The Unbeatables". For his partner, Queensland's 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

[edit]

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
Player of the Match: Shaun Wane

Wigan

Manly-Warringah

|

|  |

|

FB | 1 | Steve Hampson
RW | 2 | Richard Russell
CE | 3 | Darrell Williams
CE | 4 | Joe Lydon
LW | 5 | Henderson Gill
SO | 6 | Shaun Edwards
SH | 7 | Andy Gregory
PR | 8 | Brian Case
HK | 9 | Nicky Kiss
PR | 10 | Shaun Wane
SR | 11 | Andy Goodway
SR | 12 | Ian Potter
LF | 13 | Ellery Hanley (c)
Substitutions:
IC | 14 | Ged Byrne
IC | 15 | Graeme West
IC | 16 | Ian Gildart
IC | 17 | Ian Lucas
Coach:
Graham Lowe
|  |

|

FB | 1 | Dale Shearer
RW | 2 | David Ronson
CE | 3 | Darrell Williams
CE | 4 | Michael O'Connor
LW | 5 | Stuart Davis
FE | 6 | Cliff Lyons
HB | 7 | Des Hasler
LK | 8 | Paul Vautin (c)
SR | 9 | Owen Cunningham
SR | 10 | Ron Gibbs
PR | 11 | Ian Gately
HK | 12 | Mal Cochrane
PR | 13 | Phil Daley
Substitutions:
IC | 14 | Mark Brokenshire
IC | 15 | Jeremy Ticehurst
IC | 16 | Mark Pocock
IC | 17 | Paul 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 to 1992.

## Player statistics

[edit]

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

Player | Games (sub) | Tries | Goals | FG | Points

|
|
|
|
|

Greg Austin | 1 (3) | 2 |  |  | 8
Ian Barkley | 11 (1) | 4 |  |  | 16
Mark Brokenshire | 12 |  |  |  |
Noel Cleal (vc) | 14 (1) | 7 |  |  | 28
Chris Close | 8 (2) | 1 |  |  | 4
Mal Cochrane | 25 | 5 | 59/92 |  | 138
Mitchell Cox | (2) |  |  |  |
Peter Cullum | (3) |  |  |  |
Owen Cunningham | 4 (2) |  |  |  |
Phil Daley | 18 |  |  |  |
Stuart Davis | 15 (1) | 8 |  |  | 32
Ian Gately | 4 (3) |  |  |  |
Ron Gibbs | 26 | 4 |  |  | 16
Marty Gurr | 3 (1) |  |  |  |
Charlie Haggett | (1) |  |  |  |
Des Hasler | 24 | 9 |  |  | 36
Matthew Loft | (1) |  |  |  |
Cliff Lyons | 21 (1) | 7 |  | 1 | 29
Martin Meredith | 7 (4) | 3 |  |  | 12
Michael O'Connor | 21 | 11 | 39/51 |  | 122
Steve Park | 7 | 1 |  |  | 4
Mark Pocock | 6 (12) | 1 |  |  | 4
David Ronson | 22 (2) | 8 |  |  | 32
Glenn Ryan | (3) |  |  |  |
Paul Shaw | 2 (9) | 2 |  |  | 8
Dale Shearer | 20 | 13 |  |  | 52
Jeremy Ticehurst | 9 (4) | 3 |  |  | 12
Paul Vautin (c) | 23 | 1 |  |  | 4
Kevin Ward | 11 | 1 |  |  | 4
Darrell Williams | 22 | 5 |  |  | 20
TOTAL |  | 96 | 98/143 | 1 | 581

## Representative Players

[edit]

### International

[edit]

* Australia – Michael O'Connor, Dale Shearer
* New Zealand – Darrell Williams

### State

[edit]

Main article: 1987 State of Origin series

* New South Wales – Noel Cleal, Phil Daley, Des Hasler, Cliff Lyons, Michael O'Connor
* Queensland – Dale Shearer, Paul Vautin

### City vs Country

[edit]

* City Origin – Des Hasler, Michael O'Connor
* City Firsts – Phil Daley
* City Seconds – Mark Brokenshire
* Country Origin – Noel Cleal, Mal Cochrane, Ron Gibbs

## References

[edit]

1. ^ NSWRL 1987 - Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
2. ^ "1987 NSWRL Rd.1 - St George vs Manly". Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
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". Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
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". Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
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"[dead link] 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. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.

## External links

[edit]

* Manly Warringah Sea Eagles official website
* National Rugby League official website

* v
* t
* e

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

Est. 1947 in Sydney, New South Wales

The Club|

* History (Northern Eagles)
* Records
* Players
* Coaches

Culture|

* Rivalry with Melbourne Storm (Battle of Brookvale)
* Manly Seabirds

Home ground|

* Brookvale Oval

Important
figures|

* Roy Bull
* Ken Arthurson
* Rex Mossop
* Frank Stanton
* Fred Jones
* Bob Fulton
* Ron Willey
* Mal Reilly
* Graham Eadie
* Max Krilich
* Terry Randall
* Paul Vautin
* Des Hasler
* Cliff Lyons
* Geoff Toovey
* Steve Menzies
* Stewart brothers
* Jamie Lyon
* Daly Cherry-Evans
* Trbojevic brothers

League|

* NSWRL
* ARL
* NRL

Titles|

Premierships (8)
1972
1973
1976
1978
1987
1996
2008
2011

World Club Challenges (1)
2009

Seasons (72)|

* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949

* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Other
competitions|

Current
S. G. Ball Cup
Harold Matthews Cup
New South Wales Cup
NRL Nines

Past
National Youth Competition
Amco Cup
Jersey Flegg Cup
World Sevens

Affiliations|

* Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles
* Manly-Warringah/North Sydney District Rugby League

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