1987 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season

September 2017 September 2017 1987 NSWRL NSWRL 1st 20 1 5 581 370 Secretary AUS Doug Daley AUS Bob Fulton AUS Alan Thompson (Reserve Grade) AUS Paul Vautin AUS Noel Cleal (vice-captain) Brookvale Oval AUS Dale Shearer (13) AUS Mal Cochrane (59) AUS Mal Cochrane (138) 1986 1988 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.NSWRL 1987 - Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Ladder TeamPldWDLBPFPAPDPts1 16x16px Manly-Warringah2418152553356+19741 2 16x16px Eastern Suburbs2415182390353+37353 16x16px Canberra2415092441325+116344 16x16px Balmain2414192469349+120335 16x16px South Sydney24131102310342-32316 16x16px Canterbury-Bankstown24130112353316+37307 16x16px Parramatta24120122417411+6288 16x16px Cronulla-Sutherland24111122390433-43279 16x16px St. George24102122394409-152610 16x16px North Sydney24110132368401-332611 16x16px Illawarra2480162372449-772012 Old Penrith 16 Penrith2461172274399-1251713 16x16px Western Suburbs2452172339527-18816 Regular season Sunday 1 March St. George Dragons St George 16 4 – 4 http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nswrl-1987/round-1/st-george-vs-manly-warringah/summary.html 1987 NSWRL Rd.1 - St George vs Manly 12 May 2017 1 April 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180401023909/http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nswrl-1987/round-1/st-george-vs-manly-warringah/summary.html dead Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Goals: Bronko Djura (2/3) Tries: Goals: Mal Cochrane (2/2) Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney 10,650 Giles O'Donnell Sunday 8 March Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 42 – 18 1987 NSWRL Rd.2 - Manly vs Penrith Old Penrith 16 Penrith Panthers Tries: Dale Shearer (3), Mal Cochrane, Des Hasler, Martin Meredith, David Ronson Goals: Mal Cochrane (6/9) Michael O'Connor (1/1) Tries: Craig Connor, Ben Gonzales, Matt Goodwin Goals: Mark Bevan (3/3) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 6,374 Graham Annesley Sunday 15 March Western Suburbs Magpies Western Suburbs 16 11 – 22 1987 NSWRL Rd.3 - Western Suburbs vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: John Allanson Goals: Ian Schubert (3/6) Tries: Des Hasler, Michael O'Connor, David Ronson, Dale Shearer Goals: Mal Cochrane (3/5) Orana Park, Sydney 8,822 Mick Stone Sunday 22 March Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 16 – 13 http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nswrl-1987/round-4/manly-warringah-vs-parramatta/summary.html 1987 NSWRL Rd.4 - Manly vs Parramatta 12 May 2017 26 April 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180426003305/http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nswrl-1987/round-4/manly-warringah-vs-parramatta/summary.html dead Parramatta 16 Parramatta Eels Tries: Ian Barkley, Mal Cochrane, Des Hasler, Steve Park Goals: Michael O'Connor (2/3) Mal Cochrane (1/3) Tries: Goals: John Muggleton (2/2) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 17,757 Mick Stone Bye Sunday 5 April Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Bulldogs 16 18 – 6 1987 NSWRL Rd.6 - Canterbury-Bankstown vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Michael Hagan, Steve Mortimer Goals: Terry Lamb (5/6) Tries: Jeremy Ticehurst Goals: Mal Cochrane (1/3) Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney 13,553 Mick Stone Sunday 12 April Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 18 – 28 1987 NSWRL Rd.7 - Manly vs South Sydney Souths 16 South Sydney Rabbitohs Tries: Ian Barkley, Cliff Lyons, Michael O'Connor Goals: Michael O'Connor (3/4) Tries: David Boyle, Wayne Chisholm, Mario Fenech, Steve Mavin, Ian Roberts Goals: Michael Andrews (4/7) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 14,601 Graham Annesley Monday 20 April Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Cronulla 16 18 – 13 1987 NSWRL Rd.8 - Cronulla-Sutherland vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Greg Nixon, Ron Quinn, Sean Watson Goals: Sean Watson (3/7) Tries: Des Hasler, Dale Shearer Goals: Michael O'Connor (2/3) Field Goals: Cliff Lyons (1) Caltex Field, Sydney 10,931 Bill Harrigan Saturday 25 April Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 18 – 10 1987 NSWRL Rd.9 - Manly vs Eastern Suburbs Easts 16 Eastern Suburbs Roosters Tries: Chris Close, Mark Pocock, Paul Vautin Goals: Mal Cochrane (3/4) Tries: Wayne Portlock Goals: Tony Melrose (3/4) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 10,247 Mick Stone Saturday 2 May Canberra Raiders Canberra 16 10 – 18 1987 NSWRL Rd.10 - Canberra vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Sam Backo, Ashley Gilbert Goals: Phil Carey (1/2) Tries: Greg Austin, Noel Cleal, Cliff Lyons Goals: Mal Cochrane (3/4) Seiffert Oval, Queanbeyan 4,885 Greg McCallum Sunday 10 May Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 22 – 12 1987 NSWRL Rd.11 - Manly vs Illawarra Illawarra 16 Illawarra Steelers Tries: Stuart Davis (2), Dale Shearer, Jeremy Ticehurst Goals: Mal Cochrane (3/6) Tries: Graeme Bradley, Perry Haddock Goals: Dean Carney (2/4) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 7,053 Kevin Roberts Sunday 17 May North Sydney Bears North Sydney 16 22 – 30 1987 NSWRL Rd.12 - North Sydney vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Mark Cannon, Greg Florimo, Ian French Goals: John Dorahy (5/5) Tries: Noel Cleal (2), Ian Barkley, Dale Shearer Goals: Mal Cochrane (7/7) North Sydney Oval, Sydney 11,391 Greg McCallum Sunday 24 May Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 48 – 14 1987 NSWRL Rd.13 - Manly vs Balmain Balmain 16 Balmain Tigers Tries: Darrell Williams (3), Ron Gibbs (2), Mal Cochrane, Stuart Davis, Michael O'Connor, David Ronson Goals: Mal Cochrane (6/9) Tries: Benny Elias, Russel Gartner Goals: Lee Crooks (3/3) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 25,448 Kevin Roberts Sunday 7 June Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 20 – 6 1987 NSWRL Rd.14 - Manly vs St George St George 16 St. George Dragons Tries: Des Hasler, Dale Shearer, Darrell Williams Goals: Mal Cochrane (3/6) Michael O'Connor (1/1) Tries: Graeme Wynn Goals: Ricky Walford (1/2) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 12,041 Mick Stone Sunday 14 June Penrith Panthers Old Penrith 16 10 – 12 1987 NSWRL Rd.15 - Penrith vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Mark Robinson Goals: Andrew Fitzhenry (3/4) Tries: Stuart Davis Goals: Mal Cochrane (4/4) Penrith Park, Sydney Barry Barnes 8,287 Sunday 21 June Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 26 – 25 1987 NSWRL Rd.16 - Manly vs Western Suburbs Western Suburbs 16 Western Suburbs Magpies Tries: Stuart Davis (2), Cliff Lyons, Michael O'Connor, David Ronson Goals: Mal Cochrane (3/7) Tries: John Allanson, Trevor Cogger, Ian Naden, Paul Sheahan Goals: Ian Schubert (3/6) Hew Rees (1/1) Field Goals: Ian Naden (1) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 10,732 Bill Harrigan Sunday 28 June Parramatta Eels Parramatta 16 22 – 30 1987 NSWRL Rd.17 - Parramatta vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Tony Chalmers, Michael Erickson, Brett Kenny, Bob Lindner, John Muggleton Goals: John Muggleton (1/5) Tries: Dale Shearer (2), Des Hasler, Cliff Lyons, Michael O'Connor, David Ronson Goals: Michael O'Connor (3/6) Parramatta Stadium, Sydney 25,139 Kevin Roberts Bye Sunday 12 July Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 32 – 2 1987 NSWRL Rd.19 - Manly vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 16 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Tries: Greg Austin, Noel Cleal, Ron Gibbs, Des Hasler, Martin Meredith Goals: Mal Cochrane (6/8) Tries: Goals: Terry Lamb (1/2) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 16,252 Greg McCallum Sunday 19 July South Sydney Rabbitohs Souths 16 13 – 16 1987 NSWRL Rd.20 - South Sydney vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Craig Coleman, Steve Mavin Goals: Mark Ellison (2/3) Field Goals: Mark Ellison (1) Tries: Ron Gibbs, Cliff Lyons Goals: Mal Cochrane (4/6) Redfern Oval, Sydney 23,257 Mick Stone Sunday 26 July Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 30 – 8 1987 NSWRL Rd.21 - Manly vs Cronulla-Sutherland Cronulla 16 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Tries: Michael O'Connor (2), Dale Shearer (2), Mal Cochrane, Stuart Davis Goals: Michael O'Connor (3/6) Tries: Jonathan Docking Goals: Sean Watson (1/3) Alan Wilson (1/1) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 14,323 Graham Annesley Sunday 2 August Eastern Suburbs Roosters Easts 16 26 – 16 1987 NSWRL Rd.22 - Eastern Suburbs vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Steve Morris (2), Brendan Hall, David Smith Goals: David Smith (5/5) Tries: Noel Cleal, Michael O'Connor, Darrell Williams Goals: Michael O'Connor (2/3) Henson Park, Sydney 6,573 Graham Annesley Sunday 9 August Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 20 – 18 1987 NSWRL Rd.23 - Manly vs Canberra Canberra 16 Canberra Raiders Tries: Mal Cochrane, Martin Meredith, Kevin Ward Goals: Mal Cochrane (4/5) Tries: Sam Backo, Ashley Gilbert, Kevin Walters Goals: Matthew Corkery (3/5) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 9,114 Bill Harrigan Sunday 16 August Illawarra Steelers Illawarra 16 17 – 28 1987 NSWRL Rd.24 - Illawarra vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: Steve Larder (2), Graeme Bradley Goals: Dean Carney (2/5) Field Goals: Chris Withall (1) Tries: Noel Cleal (2), Paul Shaw, Michael O'Connor Goals: Michael O'Connor (4/4) Wollongong Showground, Wollongong 10,740 Giles O'Donnell Sunday 23 August Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 30 – 32 http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nswrl-1987/round-25/manly-warringah-vs-north-sydney/summary.html 1987 NSWRL Rd.25 - Manly vs North Sydney 12 May 2017 26 April 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180426012033/http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nswrl-1987/round-25/manly-warringah-vs-north-sydney/summary.html dead North Sydney 16 North Sydney Bears Tries: Stuart Davis, Michael O'Connor, David Ronson, Dale Shearer, Martin Meredith Goals: Michael O'Connor (5/7) Tries: Mark Cannon (2), John McArthur (2), Ian French, Kevin Marr Goals: John McArthur (4/7) Brookvale Oval, Sydney 13,913 Bill Harrigan Sunday 30 August Balmain Tigers Balmain 16 8 – 26 1987 NSWRL Rd.26 - Balmain vs Manly Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Tries: John Davidson, Garry Schofield Goals: Tries: Des Hasler (2), Cliff Lyons, David Ronson Goals: Michael O'Connor (5/5) Leichhardt Oval, Sydney 13,557 Graham Annesley Finals Major Semi-Final Sunday 3 September Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 10 – 6 1987 NSWRL major semi-final – Manly vs Eastern Suburbs Easts 16 Eastern Suburbs Roosters Tries: David Ronson Goals: Michael O'Connor (3/3) Tries: David French Goals: David Smith (1/2) Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 36,399 Greg McCallum Grand final #eeeeee Sunday 27 September Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 18 – 8 1987 NSWRL grand final – Manly-Warringah vs Canberra Canberra 16 Canberra Raiders Tries: Cliff Lyons Michael O'Connor Goals: Michael O'Connor (5/5) Tries: Chris O'Sullivan Goals: Mal Meninga (1/1) Gary Belcher (1/1) Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 50,201 Mick Stone Cliff Lyons Manly 16 _manly _2whitestripes 800000 800000 800000 FFFFFF 800000 Manly-Warringah _Canberra1990s _Canberra1980s _Canberra1990s _Canberra1990s BFFF00 BFFF00 BFFF00 FFFFFF BFFF00 Canberra FB 1Dale ShearerRW 2David RonsonCE 3Darrell WilliamsCE 4Michael O'ConnorLW 5Stuart DavisFE 6Cliff LyonsHB 7Des HaslerLK 8Paul Vautin (c)SR 9Noel ClealSR 10Ron GibbsPR 11Kevin WardHK 12Mal CochranePR 13Phil DaleySubstitutions:IC 20Paul ShawIC 24Mark PocockCoach:AUS Bob Fulton FB 1Gary BelcherRW 2Chris KinnaCE 3Mal MeningaCE 4Peter JacksonLW 5Matthew CorkeryFE 6Chris O'SullivanHB 7Ivan HenjakLK 8Dean Lance (c)SR 9Gary CoyneSR 10Ashley GilbertPR 11Sam BackoHK 12Steve WaltersPR 13Brent ToddSubstitutions:IC 14Kevin WaltersIC 15Terry ReganCoach:AUS 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, the premiership was his first in nine years as a coach. Canberra co-coach Don Furner had brought the club into the competition in 1982. Furner, a member of the 1956–57 Kangaroo tour, had coached in the Sydney Premiership since taking charge of Easts in 1970 and led the club to the 1972 Grand Final, where it lost to Manly. He later coached the undefeated 1986 Kangaroo Tour team. Canberra's other co-coach, Wayne Bennett, subsequently became coach of the Brisbane Broncos and continued as Queensland's State of Origin coach. 1987 World Club Challenge 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.AAP 25 January 2001 World Club Championship Factbox AAP Sports News The game was refereed by RFL international referee John Holdsworth. Former four-time Manly premiership winning FB 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. #eeeeee Wigan Wigan 16 Manly 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 8 – 2 1987 World Club Challenge - Wigan vs Manly Tries: Goals: David Stephenson (4) Tries: Goals: Michael O'Connor (1) Wednesday, 7 October Central Park, Wigan 36,895 John Holdsworth ENG Shaun Wane Wigan 16 _butcher stripes white _butcher stripes white _butcher stripes white _color_3_stripes_red FF0000 FF0000 FF0000 FFFFFF FFFFFF Wigan _manly _2whitestripes 800000 800000 800000 FFFFFF 800000 Manly-Warringah FB 1Steve HampsonRW 2Richard RussellCE 3Darrell WilliamsCE 4Joe LydonLW 5Henderson GillSO 6Shaun EdwardsSH 7Andy GregoryPR 8Brian CaseHK 9Nicky KissPR 10Shaun WaneSR 11Andy GoodwaySR 12Ian PotterLF 13Ellery Hanley (c)Substitutions:IC 14Ged ByrneIC 15Graeme WestIC 16Ian GildartIC 17Ian LucasCoach:NZL Graham Lowe FB 1Dale ShearerRW 2David RonsonCE 3Darrell WilliamsCE 4Michael O'ConnorLW 5Stuart DavisFE 6Cliff LyonsHB 7Des HaslerLK 8Paul Vautin (c)SR 9Owen CunninghamSR 10Ron GibbsPR 11Ian GatelyHK 12Mal CochranePR 13Phil DaleySubstitutions:IC 14Mark BrokenshireIC 15Jeremy TicehurstIC 16Mark PocockIC 17Paul ShawCoach:AUS 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, Wilson Zack Wigan heroes of 1987 to parade before PROBIZ World Club Challenge code13rugbyleague.com UK Code13 Sports Media 24 February 2011 http://www.code13rugbyleague.com/2011/02/24/wigan-heroes-of-1987-to-parade-before-probiz-world-club-challenge/ 26 February 2011 8 July 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708174019/http://www.code13rugbyleague.com/2011/02/24/wigan-heroes-of-1987-to-parade-before-probiz-world-club-challenge/ dead 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 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 PointsAUS Greg Austin 1 (3) 2 8AUS Ian Barkley 11 (1) 4 16AUS Mark Brokenshire 12 AUS Noel Cleal (vc) 14 (1) 7 28AUS Chris Close 8 (2) 1 4AUS Mal Cochrane 25 5 59/92 138AUS Mitchell Cox (2) AUS Peter Cullum (3) AUS Owen Cunningham 4 (2) AUS Phil Daley 18 AUS Stuart Davis 15 (1) 8 32AUS Ian Gately 4 (3) AUS Ron Gibbs 26 4 16AUS Marty Gurr 3 (1) AUS Charlie Haggett (1) AUS Des Hasler 24 9 36AUS Matthew Loft (1) AUS Cliff Lyons 21 (1) 7 1 29AUS Martin Meredith 7 (4) 3 12AUS Michael O'Connor 21 11 39/51 122AUS Steve Park 7 1 4AUS Mark Pocock 6 (12) 1 4AUS David Ronson 22 (2) 8 32AUS Glenn Ryan (3) AUS Paul Shaw 2 (9) 2 8AUS Dale Shearer 20 13 52AUS Jeremy Ticehurst 9 (4) 3 12AUS Paul Vautin (c) 23 1 4 ENG Kevin Ward 11 1 4NZL Darrell Williams 22 5 20TOTAL 96 98/143 1 581 Representative Players International Australia – Michael O'Connor, Dale Shearer New Zealand – Darrell Williams State 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 City Origin – Des Hasler, Michael O'Connor City Firsts – Phil Daley City Seconds – Mark Brokenshire Country Origin – Noel Cleal, Mal Cochrane, Ron Gibbs References 30em External links Manly Warringah Sea Eagles official website National Rugby League official website 1987 Category:1987 in Australian rugby league Category:1987 in rugby league by club Category:1987 in sport in Sydney