1973 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season

Rugby Football Team March 2024 1973 NSWRFL NSWRFL 1st 19 1 4 524 237 Secretary AUS Ken Arthurson AUS Ron Willey AUS Frank Stanton (Reserve Grade) AUS Fred Jones Brookvale Oval AUS Bob Fulton (18) AUS Graham Eadie (69) AUS Graham Eadie (150) 1972 1974 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.NSWRFL 1972 - Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 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 25,000 capacity Brookvale Oval.NSWRFL 1973 - Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Ladder TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts1 16x16px Manly-Warringah221714500226+274352 16x16px Cronulla-Sutherland221705389219+170343 16x16px St. George221507372213+159304 16x16px Newtown221408358224+134285 16x16px Canterbury-Bankstown221219369269+100256 16x16px Eastern Suburbs2212010415314+101247 16x16px South Sydney2211110345367-22238 16x16px North Sydney227114239350-101159 16x16px Western Suburbs227015310414-1041410 16x16px Balmain227015254495-2411411 16x16px Parramatta226016275492-2171212 Old Penrith 16 Penrith225017272525-25310 Regular season Sunday 25 March Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 12 – 12 1973 NSWRFL Rd.1 - Manly vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 16 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Tries: Bob Fulton, Ken Irvine Goals: Graham Eadie (3) Tries: Bernard Lowther, Terrence Murphy Goals: Henry Tatana (3) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 14,154 Keith Holman Saturday 31 March St. George Dragons St George 16 0 – 13 1973 NSWRFL Rd.2 - St George vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Goals: Tries: Max Krilich, Johnny Mayes Goals: Ray Branighan (3) Field Goals: Johnny Mayes (1) Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney 14,444 Keith Holman Saturday 7 April Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 10 – 20 1973 NSWRFL Rd.3 - Manly vs Newtown Newtown 16 Newtown Bluebags Tries: Max Brown, Johnny Mayes Goals: Ray Branighan (2) Tries: Paul Dawson, Dennis Gardiner, Neil Pringle, Mark Robertson Goals: Ken Wilson (4) Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 10,850 Keith Holman Sunday 15 April North Sydney Bears North Sydney 16 7 – 30 1973 NSWRFL Rd.4 - North Sydney vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Mal McLachlan Goals: Barry Glasgow (2) Tries: Johnny Mayes (3), Bob Fulton, Ken Irvine, Fred Jones Goals: Ray Branighan (6) North Sydney Oval, Sydney 8,824 Keith Holman Sunday 22 April Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 22 – 13 1973 NSWRFL Rd.5 - Manly vs Eastern Suburbs Easts 16 Eastern Suburbs Roosters Tries: Max Brown (3), Bob Fulton, Ken Irvine Goals: Ray Branighan (3) Field Goals: Bob Fulton (1) Tries: Bill Mullins (2), Jim Porter Goals: Allan McKean (2) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 17,616 Keith Page Sunday 29 April Parramatta Eels Parramatta 16 10 – 0 1973 NSWRFL Rd.6 - Parramatta vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Owen Frith, Garry Thomas Goals: Garry Thomas (2) Tries: Goals: Cumberland Oval, Sydney 6,988 Barry Barnes Sunday 6 May Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 24 – 11 1973 NSWRFL Rd.7 - Manly vs South Sydney Souths 16 South Sydney Rabbitohs Tries: Bob Fulton (2), Ian Martin, Gary Thoroughgood Goals: Peter Peters (6) Tries: Denis Pittard Goals: Eric Simms (4) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 18,205 Barry Barnes Sunday 13 May Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 41 – 5 1973 NSWRFL Rd.8 - Manly vs Penrith Old Penrith 16 Penrith Panthers Tries: Ken Irvine (3), Ray Branighan, Fred Jones, Ian Martin, Johnny Mayes, Mal Reilly, Gary Thoroughgood Goals: Peter Peters (7) Tries: Phillip Capper Goals: Reg Walton (1) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 9,630 Richie Humphreys Sunday 20 May Western Suburbs Magpies Western Suburbs 16 13 – 17 1973 NSWRFL Rd.9 - Western Suburbs vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Barry Bryant Goals: Tony Ford (5) Tries: Ray Branighan, Ken Irvine, Johnny Mayes, Mal Reilly, Peter Peters Goals: Ray Branighan (1) Lidcombe Oval, Sydney 4,923 Jack Danzey Sunday 27 May Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 12 – 8 1973 NSWRFL Rd.10 - Manly vs Cronulla-Sutherland Cronulla 16 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Tries: Bob Fulton (2), Ray Branighan, Max Brown Goals: Tries: Fred Dennehy (2) Goals: Barry Andrews (1) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 14,065 Keith Page Sunday 3 June Balmain Tigers Balmain 16 13 – 33 1973 NSWRFL Rd.11 - Balmain vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Greg Fryer, Tim Murphy, Jeff Shield Goals: Mark Tonks (2) Tries: Bob Fulton (2), Rod Jackson (2), Fred Jones, Ian Martin, Johnny Mayes Goals: Graham Eadie (5) Mal Reilly Leichhardt Oval, Sydney 6,066 Jack Danzey Monday 11 June Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Bulldogs 16 9 – 17 1973 NSWRFL Rd.12 - Canterbury-Bankstown vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Bernard Lowther Goals: Henry Tatana (3) Tries: Ray Branighan, Graham Eadie, Fred Jones Goals: Graham Eadie (4) Belmore Oval, Sydney 18,216 Keith Holman Saturday 16 June Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 4 – 3 1973 NSWRFL Rd.13 - Manly vs St. George St George 16 St. George Dragons Tries: Goals: Graham Eadie (2) Tries: Ted Goodwin Goals: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 21,682 Laurie Bruyeres Sunday 24 June Newtown Bluebags Newtown 16 11 – 13 1973 NSWRFL Rd.14 - Newtown vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Paul Dawson, John Floyd Goals: Ken Wilson (2) Field Goals: Ken Wilson (1) Tries: Ken Irvine, Rod Jackson, Mal Reilly Goals: Ray Branighan (2) Henson Park, Sydney Keith Holman 9,633 Saturday 1 July Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 14 – 12 1973 NSWRFL Rd.15 - Manly vs North Sydney North Sydney 16 North Sydney Bears Tries: Max Brown, Johnny Mayes Goals: Graham Eadie (4) Tries: Phil Giersch, Barry Glasgow Goals: Barry Glasgow (3) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 12,344 Laurie Bruyeres Saturday 7 July Eastern Suburbs Roosters Easts 16 15 – 10 1973 NSWRFL Rd.16 - Eastern Suburbs vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Terry Stevens Goals: John Brass (6) Tries: Graham Eadie, Rod Jackson Goals: Graham Eadie (2) Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 13,465 Keith Page Sunday 15 July Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 53 – 8 1973 NSWRFL Rd.17 - Manly vs Parramatta Parramatta 16 Parramatta Eels Tries: Ken Irvine (3), Bob Fulton (2), Ian Martin (2), Graham Eadie, Warren Evans, Johnny Mayes, Peter Peters Goals: Graham Eadie (10) Tries: Barry Payne, Terry Reynolds Goals: Keith Campbell (1) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 12,082 Keith Page Saturday 21 July South Sydney Rabbitohs Souths 16 24 – 31 1973 NSWRFL Rd.18 - South Sydney vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Keith Edwards, Tom Mooney, Herbie Timms, Jeff Withers Goals: Eric Simms (6) Tries: Graham Eadie, Ken Irvine, Fred Jones, Ian Martin, Johnny Mayes Goals: Graham Eadie (8) Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 24,693 Laurie Bruyeres Sunday 29 July Penrith Panthers Old Penrith 16 7 – 70 1973 NSWRFL Rd.19 - Penrith vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Dave Irvine Goals: Reg Walton (2) Tries: Johnny Mayes (4), Alan Thompson (3), Bob Fulton (2), Ray Branighan, John Bucknall, Ian Martin, Peter Peters, Max Brown, Goals: Graham Eadie (14) Penrith Park, Sydney 6,750 Keith Holman Sunday 5 August Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 25 – 13 1973 NSWRFL Rd.20 - Manly vs Western Suburbs Western Suburbs 16 Western Suburbs Magpies Tries: Ian Martin (2), Peter Peters (2), Max Brown Goals: Graham Eadie (4) Max Brown (1) Tries: John Heyward, Russell Mullins, John O'Bryan Goals: Stephen Satterley (2) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 12,472 Don Macdonald Saturday 11 August Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Cronulla 16 9 – 7 1973 NSWRFL Rd.21 - Cronulla-Sutherland vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Pete O'Brien Goals: Steve Rogers (3) Tries: Bob Moses Goals: Graham Eadie (2) Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 8,831 Jack Danzey Sunday 19 August Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 42 – 3 1973 NSWRFL Rd.22 - Manly vs Balmain Balmain 16 Balmain Tigers Tries: Bob Fulton (2), Peter Peters (2), Ray Branighan, Ken Irvine, Johnny Mayes, John O'Neill, Terry Randall, Mal Reilly Goals: Graham Eadie (6) Tries: Geoff Starling Goals: Brookvale Oval, Sydney 12,501 Keith Page Finals Major Semi-Final Saturday 1 September Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 14 – 4 1973 NSWRFL major semi-final – Manly vs Cronulla-Sutherland Cronulla 16 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Tries: Max Brown, Bob Fulton Goals: Graham Eadie (3) Field Goals: Bob Fulton (2) Tries: Goals: Steve Rogers (2) Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 41,898 Keith Page Grand Final #eeeeee Saturday 15 September Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 10 – 7 1973 NSWRFL Grand Final – Manly-Warringah vs Cronulla-Sutherland Cronulla 16 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Tries: Bob Fulton (2) Goals: Graham Eadie (2/6) Tries: Rick Bourke Goals: Steve Rogers (2/5) Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 52,044 Keith Page Bob Fulton Manly 16 _manly _2whitestripes 800000 800000 800000 FFFFFF 800000 Manly-Warringah _blackborder _cronulla _blackborder _hoops_sky 87CEEB 87CEEB 87CEEB 000000 000000 Cronulla-Sutherland FB 1Graham EadieLW 2Ken IrvineCE 3Ray BranighanCE 4Bob FultonRW 5Max BrownFE 6Ian MartinHB 7Johnny MayesLK 8Mal ReillySR 9Terry RandallSR 10Peter PetersPR 11John O'NeillHK 12Fred Jones (c)PR 13Bill HamiltonSubstitutions:IC 14John BucknallIC 15Coach:AUS Ron Willey FB 1Warren FisherLW 2Ray CorcoranCE 3Steve RogersCE 4Eric ArcherRW 5Bob WearFE 6Chris WellmanHB 7Tommy Bishop (c)LK 8Greg PierceSR 9John MaguireSR 10Ken MaddisonPR 11Grahame BowenHK 12Ron TurnerPR 13Cliff WatsonSubstitutions:IC 14Rick BourkeIC 15Coach:ENG Tommy Bishop 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.Sydney Sunday Telegraph 16 Sept 1973 Alan Clarkson wrote in the Sun Herald The fare served up in the first half belonged in the Colosseum.Sydney Sun Herald 16 Sept 1973 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 coach Ron Willey told him that he was going to be on the bench for the first grade game. 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. Coady Ben Grand final dramas WA Today Australia Fairfax Digital 2009-09-28 http://blogs.watoday.com.au/executive-style/sportandstyle/bencoady/2009/09/28/grandfinaldra.html 2010-01-15 https://web.archive.org/web/20181004074123/http://blogs.watoday.com.au/executive-style/sportandstyle/bencoady/2009/09/28/grandfinaldra.html 2018-10-04 dead 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 Harker Jon I'll walk off, says Referee The Sun-Herald Australia 72 Fairfax Media 25 September 1993 http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&docID=news930925_0312_2162 12 February 2011 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 Note: Games and (sub) show total games played, e.g. 1 (1) is 2 games played. Player Games (sub) Tries Goals FG PointsAUS John Barber AUS Bill Bradstreet AUS Ray Branighan 6 18 54AUS Max Brown 9 27AUS John Bucknall 1 3AUS Bill Clare AUS Graham Eadie 4 69 150AUS Warren Evans 1 3AUS Bob Fulton 18 3 57AUS Bill Hamilton 2 6AUS Terry Hill AUS Ken Irvine 13 39AUS Rod Jackson 4 12AUS Fred Jones (c) 5 15AUS Max Krilich 1 3AUS Ian Martin 9 27AUS Johnny Mayes 16 1 49AUS Bob Moses 1 3AUS John O'Neill 1 3AUS Peter Peters 7 13 37AUS Norm Pounder AUS Terry Randall 1 3ENG Mal Reilly 4 1 14AUS Alan Thompson 3 9AUS Gary Thoroughgood 2 6AUS Mark Willoughby TOTAL 106 101 4 524 Representative Players International 1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France Australia – Ray Branighan, Graham Eadie, Bob Fulton, Bill Hamilton, John O'Neill State New South Wales – Ray Branighan, Graham Eadie, Bob Fulton, Bill Hamilton, Fred Jones, Ian Martin, Terry Randall City vs Country City Firsts – Bob Fulton, Ray Branighan City Seconds – Bill Hamilton (c), Ian Martin, Johnny Mayes, Max Krilich, Terry Randall City U/23 – Chris Ryan References 30em External links Manly Warringah Sea Eagles official website National Rugby League official website 1973 Category:1973 in Australian rugby league Category:1973 in rugby league by club Category:1973 in sport in Sydney