Welcome to Round 11

What a fantastic round we had last week! To top it off 5 of our boys were chosen to represent their State for the State of Origin games. Well done to Jamie Buhrer, Brett Stewart, Glenn Stewart and Tony Williams for being selected as part of the NSW team and our beloved Daly Cherry-Evans was called upon as 18^th man for QLD – we won’t hold that against him!

As happy and proud as I am for those team members, it does mean that a large chunk of our usual starting team is going to be missing for this Sunday’s clash against the Sydney Roosters. Fortunately we will see DCE on the field and the big news is that Kieran Foran will be back in the number 6 jersey after 6 weeks on the sideline due to a hamstring injury. Anthony ‘Choc’ Watmough was unfortunate to not be chosen, but aren’t we grateful that he will be part of the team on Sunday. Even though there is a large chunk – almost ¼ - out this week, we are fortunate to have great depth and many of the regular ‘work-horses’ will still be around and will be looking to get their fourth victory in a row.

There is some doubt about David ‘Wolfman’ Williams after a possible hamstring injury last week – according to twitter. That is yet to be confirmed by the Manly Sea Eagles and I am curious to see who might come in to take his position. Dean Whare will be playing fullback in the absence of Brett Stewart, so it won’t be him. Possibly, maybe Michael Oldfield? He has filled in on a number of occasions on the wing, although I have no knowledge of his current form or match fitness. I’m also hoping to see another appearance from Liam Foran, I think he did our team proud in the absence of his younger brother and I am interested to see if he might get more of a chance to play in the NRL in a different role.

So, our competition? Well the Roosters have done almost the exact opposite of us in this last month, we have won 3 out of 4 of our last matches and they have lost 3 out of the 4. They are also missing halfback Mitchell Pearce to origin, but other than that their lineup remains relatively the same. So who do I think will win? Well, while we are missing many of our key players, we see the return of Foran, and we are almost used to missing key players. However, our track record while we were missing those players isn’t so crash hot! I am confident we can beat the Roosters, but it depends on how they pull together without their playmaker. It could very well be another close game, a grinder as they’ve been calling them lately.

Follow me on twitter @MaroonWhiteBlog I'll be at the game on Sunday with live tweets.

Round 10 - Brisbane vs Manly - Suncorp stadium

Wow what a game. It was such a high quality football game that had both teams on the edge of their seats almost from the starting whistle.

In the opening 3 minutes a great play from Glenn Stewart to Jamie Lyon who ran through a gap and then passed to Wolfman and then back to Lyon ended in a try. A succesful conversion meant that we were 0-6 in front, a good way to start. A penalty to Manly in the 6th minute gave the Manly Sea Eagles a penalty goal and brought the score to 0-8.

It seemed to go all downhill from there and Manly conceded three penalties and the Broncos capitalised on that scoring a try off each awarded penalty. All three tries remained unconverted and the difference between the two teams stood at only 4 points.

With only three minutes before half time there was a brilliant play from Liam Foran to Brett Stewart and then to Steve Matai who reached over the line and planted the ball. It was a brilliant play that was just too quick for the Bronco's defence. Lyon, who converted 4/5 tonight, did not let us down and this brought the score to 12-14 to Manly just before half time.

Three minutes after half time Corey Norman kicked a ball high, landing straight into Gillet's arms. Gillet slipped through the gap with ease and placed the ball down. Their first try that did not come from a penalty. Corey Parker had an absolute shocker with the conversion kicks and this one was no exception. The try only landed Bronco's 2 points ahead on 16-14.

Corey Parker had me holding my breath for awhile as he plummeted toward the line, only to be held up by about 4 Sea Eagles. Another close call when the ball was kicked high to Reed only for it to slip through his arms and the ball rolled dead.

The Manly Sea Eagles had several close calls during a set in the 50th minute. Liam Foran almost got over, then Anthony Watmough and then a kick from Daly Cherry-Evans almost saw Wolfman over the line. If we can't score a try, we'll have a line drop out thanks Broncos! Another close set and a double knock on saw a scrum feed to Manly.

From the scrum feed another great play from Manly. Jamie Buhrer offloaded the ball and it went from the right hand side over to the left. A brilliant pass in front of a charging Jamie Lyon who passed the ball behind him to Wolfman and Wolfman went over the line. Another successful conversion brings the score to 16-20 to Manly Sea Eagles.

After a knock on from Manly gave a scrum feed to Broncos less than 10 metres from the Bronco's line the Bronco's set up well and scored a try on the 5th tackle. A change in kickers and Corey Norman converts the try brigning the score to 22-20 with less than 20 minutes left on the clock.

The clock was counting down and getting way too close to the 80th minute for my liking, and it had me sitting on the edge of my chair. I almost tuned out because I wasn't sure we could pull together and win this game. We had a couple of good chances that ended in handling errors or just stopped by the Bronco's defence. In saying that the Bronco's had a good chance in the 69th minute but Manly's defence held strong and an early kick was caught by Watmough who ran down to the 30 metre line.

The last three minutes brought out the crazy in me and I started yelling at the computer screen - unfortunately no live coverage. First Brett Stewart makes a rookie mistake - and here I was only minutes earlier exclaiming how he deserved the Blues jersey - and knocks on. It looked as though we were set up to score off that set so it was a moment of infuriation. Shortly after ,Liam Foran and Anthony Watmough  seem injured and are really not looking so good. Foran gets up, but Watmough is taken off the field.

Then, the reason why I love my Manly Sea Eagles, we keep playing our best football even though there are only 2 minutes left on the clock and it's not even our ball. We are pumped, surging, ready to go and A late pass from Buhrer to Matai who sneaks through the defence and brings us to just outside our 20 meter. Manly is ecstatic as some brilliant quick passes from Daniel Harrison and Glenn Stewart, then to Jamie Lyon who runs almost to the try line before offloading it to Wolfman, and we are in!! With less than a minute to go we have won the game. Jamie Lyon kicks his only unsuccessful conversion and leaves the score at 22-24 to Manly Sea Eagles.

Three wins in a row. We are back on a roll, back in form, this could very well be another brilliant year from our boys. Back to back premierships? Perhaps!

Game Day - Round 10

ROUND 10


Another highly anticipated match will be played tonight up at Suncorp Stadium. It's the week of the double header and I am very keen for the boys to come off with another win. Unfortunately, I won't be able to see the live action, lucky I have a wide-screen TV at home...


So this weeks lineup sees Kieran Foran out once more, but Liam has been doing a brilliant job in his absence. I miss seeing him out on the field, not gonna lie! Fortunately we have David 'Wolfman' Williams back on the wing, not that Dean Whare had a bad game with two tries in Round 9, it's just nice to see him back.

With the NSW Origin team set to be named on Sunday I expect big performances from the contenders within the team, this will be the final chance to impress for the first game.

Follow me on twitter @MaroonWhiteBlog for tonight's game!

Happy Game Day

Round 9 Sea Eagles vs Raiders - Brookvale Oval

It was a beautiful day down at Brookvale, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and there were over 15000 people there, most of which were Manly supporters. It was hard to spot the few Raiders supporters that were there amongst the sea of maroon and white. The crowd was in a brilliant mood and the air was almost electric leading up to the game.


The first half saw a fair few handling errors in critical points of the game, several tries may have been scored if it had not been for the fumbled offloads and poor passes that escaped many a hand. Nevertheless we were able to get one over the line in the opening 10 minutes. Glenn Stewart took the ball to the line then lobbed it over towards Dean Whare on the wing, and you should have heard the crowd! Let's just say it was loud!

The mighty Manly chant was heard echoing through the crowds several times throughout the game, and at some points it felt as though the entire crowd were partaking in the chant. It was magic! Every time we would get close to the line, or break through the Raiders defence, the crowd would be standing, cheering, chanting, shouting and fist-pumping, ok maybe the only one fist-pumping out there was me....





It was a tough first half and although we seemed to defend our line fairly well, we did let one slide through before half time. Josh McCrone attracted several defenders before passing the ball to Josh Papalii who managed to slip through the hole. The first half was not easy and there were several moments when either side could have scored once more but both sides defended well leaving the score 6-6 at the half time break.


Coming out for the second half the crowd was looking to see some good football and a win, and the Manly Sea eagles delivered just that. The first 16 minutes of the second half saw three tries as well as several try attempts. Liam Foran took on several defenders just metres from the line and carried the ball - and the defenders - well over the line before the ball was stripped by Josh Dugan and then grounded by Raiders Shaun Berrigan. Then moments later, another outstanding pass, this time from Brett Stewart to Jamie Lyon then to Dean Whare, saw Whare over the line once more right in the corner. An unsuccessful kick brought the score to an uncomfortable 4 point lead of 10-6.



Several sets later and Josh Dugan wriggles his arm free from about four defenders to put the ball down for a try. A Successful conversion by Jared Croker and the Raiders take the lead for the first time this game. It is now 10-12. In true Manly form the boys decide that they do NOT like being behind, especially at Fortress Brookvale and manage to get a try in a very entertaining fashion. Steve Matai brilliantly breaks through the line for what must be at least the third time in the game and goes for a run down the paddock, he manages to side-step around the lone Raider and then offloads to Whare, who then tries to pass it back but it hits Josh Dugan, then somehow manages to come off the boot of Daly Cherry-Evans who then chases it to the in goal area but Dugan doesn't let him near the ball, BUT THEN Jamie Lyon comes charging down and manages to put the ball down. It was an exciting play to watch, and with a successful conversion the Manly Sea Eagles were in front once more with a 16-12 lead.

The 4 point lead was not enough to calm the nerves of the edgy supporters. With still over 20 minutes to go we knew that anything could happen, and it did. For those who were on the Western Concourse it was clear that the ball had been taken into touch but the refs let it play on. We were in hysterics while the ball was still in play, then it looked as though the Raiders had scored a try from it all. Nobody could believe their eyes. Fortunately after a very thorough look by the video ref, the decision was no try. The crowd went wild, but we still had 18 minutes left.



Back and forth went the ball for almost 10 minutes before Manly was awarded a penalty due to a strip. We decide to take a penalty field goal ensuring the difference between the two sides would be one try, 6 points. Still not comfortable but at least the Raiders could not win with just one more try. The next 10 minutes passed painstakingly slow but when the siren sounded - just after an attempted field goal from Daly Cherry-Evans - we had won. Victory was ours and we were excited. We managed to pull together in a tough game and come through with the win, two wins in a row, we are on a roll!

Photos from the game 

Courtesy Jasiah Ulbricht Photography

Round 9

So, here we are less than 24 hours until kick off at Brookvale Oval. The Manly Sea Eagles will play the Canberra Raiders and they are looking for another win to add to their less than stellar start to the season. We have had 4 wins and 4 losses in the last 8 rounds, comparing it with last years start of the premiership-winning season seeing 5 wins and 3 losses we are still fairing ok.

Round 9 in 2011 saw the Manly Sea Eagles clash with the Canberra Raiders at Brookvale, the score, a 20-0 win for the boys, can we do the same again this year? If we do, it won't be the first time this season that we have sent the other team home void of a score. Round 6 saw a 30-0 win over the Penrith Panthers even though some of our key players were missing due to injury and suspension.

Our team for this week is without Kieran Foran once more but his brother Liam has been doing a good job in his absence, it must be in their genes to play good football! We are also still missing Tony Williams from the team out on a 7 week suspension due to a dangerous tackle in Round 3.

Sunday 2pm - Brookvale Oval. Follow the game on twitter @MaroonWhiteBlog.

Welcome to Round 9 - and 9 reasons why I love the Manly Sea Eagles.

Happy Round 9! Game Day is this Sunday 2pm back at Fortress Brookvale. The enemy? Canberra Raiders. Be there! It will be nice to head home once more and hopefully the boys will be able to back last weeks win up. Unfortunately it seems Kieran Foran will have another week off and his older brother Liam should take his place. More on the upcoming game later in the week...

So I am a massive Manly Sea Eagles supporter. I have been supporting this team since I was a little girl but these last few seasons have seen a notable increase in my interest of the game. Last year I went to as many games as I could but this year I wanted to "Earn my wings" so I did just that and it has been the best decision. The following are 9 (bias) reasons why I love the Manly Sea Eagles.

Reason 1: The Manly Sea Eagles all look good in maroon and white. Think about it. Every time one of the players dons a different coloured jersey, be it Australia's green and gold, NSW blue, QLD maroon or either of the City vs Country jerseys, it just looks plain wrong. Now don't get me wrong there is nothing I enjoy more than seeing one of the team chosen at a representative level!

Reason 2: When I was a little girl my mother, sister and I loved watching Geoff Toovey play, and now he is the coach! I love the fact that even though we lost a great coach when Des left we kept it "in the family" and our current coach is a former Sea Eagle himself. 

Reason 3: The Manly Sea Eagles are a tight-knit team who celebrate each others victories and support each other when needed. I love the fact that every time we score a try, the entire team runs over to the try scorer and celebrates with them as though they themselves had just scored a try. There is no 'I' in their team and each person plays their part in contributing to the overall result.

Reason 4: The Manly Sea Eagles appreciate their fans and supporters. Even when there is no victory to celebrate the majority of them manage to take a few minutes after the game to visit fans, say hello and even sign a few hats. It does not matter if it is a home game at Brookvale or an away game. One of my favourite moments of last week's game was when the team came over to the supporters bay and joined in the celebrations that were still underway long after the game ended.

Reason 5: Despite the Manly Sea Eagles having a not so hot start to the year, they do not seem as though they are stuck in rut. A losing streak can often have a degrading and demotivating effect on a team but I can see that although they are not exactly overjoyed with their efforts they know they can play better and that they will eventually overcome this rough patch in the season.

Reason 6: Each individual in the Manly Sea Eagles makes me love my Manly Sea Eagles even more! I cannot think of one single team member that I enjoy watching over any other. There is the undeniable talent of the two halves, the speed and consistency of the fullback, the sometimes unnoticed but hugely important efforts of the hooker, the two centres who often cross the line in a seemingly effortless attempt, the wingers who do an incredible job of returning the ball and gaining valuable metres after a kick, and the forward pack who defend tirelessly and are often the difference between winning or losing.

Reason 7: One thing I love about getting to a game is the atmosphere that is created by the Sea Eagles supporters. I've said it before and I will most definitely say it again, the atmosphere and spirit at those games are thrilling and like none that I have felt before. I feel very proud to be part of the crowd cheering our boys on.

Reason 8: The Manly Sea Eagles are the 2011 premiers... enough said! Watching them win game after game last year was brilliant. I watched my boys win that Grand Final from a small bar in Thailand where I was holidaying - where were my priorities! - and despite the many Australians hoping that the Warriors would win we dug deep and reaped the rewards for the efforts put in by every single team member. It was possibly the highlight of my year!

Reason 9: The Manly Sea Eagles NEVER give up. Even if there is only a few minutes left on the clock to score 3 tries nobody gives up or puts in less than their full amount of effort. The time on the clock does not seem to factor in to their game. They play football and play it until the last siren is sounded. I have seen numerous losing teams simply give up when the time draws closer to 80 minutes and often the other team will capitalise on that and score more. My team NEVER gives up!!!

So there it is. Bias, I know, although I would just like to point out that I am not suggesting that these traits are exclusive to the Manly Sea Eagles as I am sure there are many other teams out there in the NRL as well as other sporting teams, professional and non-professional, that probably possess many of the traits I have mentioned. I just love my team!

So Happy Round 9, and bring on this Sunday 2pm!!