Rex
Bencher
Here's my recollection of the 1978 premiership and the circumstances around the coining of the term "silvertails. My memory may be faulty. Can anyone help clarify?
In 1978 Roy Masters became coach of Wests. Manly had won the premiership three times in the previous 6 seasons, and Wests hadn't won a premiership since 1952.  Masters decided to motivate his team through feelings of hatred, inequity and jealousy. He coined the terms "silvertails" and "fibros", using language to suggest a class war. One of the most brutal sequence of games ever played followed between the teams.
Many supporters had feelings of jealousy and inequity and disempowerment in their lives - so Masters' imagery struck a cord and the terms and the imagery became fixed in the collective mindset of huge proportions of supporters. Manly became the target for venting those feelings. This attack on them galvanised the Manly team.
Despite an horrific run of injuries and having to play 6 finals matches in 24 days including mid-week replays of a semifinal and the grand final due to draws after extra time, Manly won the premiership 16-0 that year. For Manly the Silvertails attack on them became a symbol of their fight against all odds and against adversity. It was the premiership used to motivate the current team to win 40-0 against the Storm.
In 1978 Roy Masters became coach of Wests. Manly had won the premiership three times in the previous 6 seasons, and Wests hadn't won a premiership since 1952.  Masters decided to motivate his team through feelings of hatred, inequity and jealousy. He coined the terms "silvertails" and "fibros", using language to suggest a class war. One of the most brutal sequence of games ever played followed between the teams.
Many supporters had feelings of jealousy and inequity and disempowerment in their lives - so Masters' imagery struck a cord and the terms and the imagery became fixed in the collective mindset of huge proportions of supporters. Manly became the target for venting those feelings. This attack on them galvanised the Manly team.
Despite an horrific run of injuries and having to play 6 finals matches in 24 days including mid-week replays of a semifinal and the grand final due to draws after extra time, Manly won the premiership 16-0 that year. For Manly the Silvertails attack on them became a symbol of their fight against all odds and against adversity. It was the premiership used to motivate the current team to win 40-0 against the Storm.