Best Ever Manly juniors ??

[Chip and Chase]

Ian Martin came from the north coast, but was at Manly from a very young age.
Bull was well before my time but I would have Randall and Krilich as up there with Menzies.
Krilich captained the Kangaroos which is a rare honour.

Pretty sure he was a local junior. Narraweena rings a bell

 

[Rambo1987]

Adam MacDougall played for harbord diggers before moving to Cronulla Caringbah where his brothers played.

Yakich came from Qld I think.

 

[Bubbler]

John Hopoate - best fingers of any Manly junior by a country mile.

 

[40 years an eagle]

Pretty sure he was a local junior. Narraweena rings a bell

Ian Martin


Years played with manly:
1969-1978
Appearances for manly:
199
Rep honors:

Junior club:
Narraweena & Harbord Diggers

 

[manly al]

Wonder if big Bill [ Herman ] Hamilton was a Manly junior. If so, he should really rate a mention also and pretty sure he did make a kangaroo tour once . Not ranking in the very best list of Manly juniors but i always did rate guys and local juniors in the nineties like John Jones and David O"Donnell as good value also with their solid input and good work ethic . That is one irony that really stands out and particularly during the so called 'Silver Tails " era for Manly during the 70 's , 80 's and 90 "s in that there were always a good sprinkling of local Manly juniors in the sides then also .

 

[The Wheel]

Ian Martin


Years played with manly:
1969-1978
Appearances for manly:
199
Rep honors:

Junior club:
Narraweena & Harbord Diggers

Shame he couldn’t have played one more game to get to 200

 

[40 nil]

Wonder if big Bill [ Herman ] Hamilton was a Manly junior. If so, he should really rate a mention also and pretty sure he did make a kangaroo tour once.

Joined Manly at age 20 from Kurri Kurri. A whole hearted player with wonderful handling and passing skills for such a big man.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Shame he couldn’t have played one more game to get to 200

That’s all his Manly appearances. His first grade premiership total was around 157.

His relationships at Brookvale with certain people was (apparently) occasionally fraught. If he had played with us in 1975, rather than going to Sawtell and then hung around for another 2-3 seasons post-1978, he should easily have made it into the ranks of the 200 FG games’ club.

We certainly needed him during 1975 and 1979-80.

On occasion (i.e. 1978) and once Thommo had pushed him out of 5/8 role a few years earlier, he had to fight his way back into FG. Big name imports like Ray Higgs and Bruce Walker joined the club, pushing him back to the reserves for the start of that season. Something which many capable Manly juniors have had to cope with.

 

[Chip and Chase]

Let's not forget Moose - dual international

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

An interesting one in terms of being a Manly junior is former Test wing speedster Johnny Bliss. This is from his Wiki entry:

"... Born in Queensland but raised on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Bliss, nicknamed Blistering for his outstanding speed, was a scrawny Manly district junior who started out as a Hooker with the North Narabeen Surf Club. He was shifted to the Wing as 16-year-old after his coach Tom Ballard saw him packing into a scrum and then showing incredible pace in general play. Ballard told him "You're too fast for a hooker boy - you're now on the wing".[citation needed]

"As the Manly club wouldn't have a first grade team until 1947, he was graded with Balmain in 1939. He went to North Sydney in 1941 but the Tigers claimed him on residence grounds for the 1942 and 1943 seasons (at the time a player was bound to play for the club in whose city zone he lived and a transfer involved proving residence for 12 months prior).[citation needed]

"Bliss's general play, speed and try scoring ability was first recognised in 1945 when he was chosen for City firsts in the annual City vs Country match. He would go on to play four games for City (1945, 1947, 1948 and 1951), scoring three tries.

"In 1947 he moved to Manly and played on the wing in their first ever premiership match against Western Suburbs at Brookvale Oval, scoring a try in the teams hard fought 13-15 loss to Wests...."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Bliss

 

[Bearfax]

Tom Trbojevic
Craig Hancock
Russell Gartner
Steven Knight
John Hopoate
Phil Blake
Geoff Toovey
Jake Trbojevic
Steve Menzies
Danny Gartner
Terry Randall
Max Krilich
Jason King

Reserves
Will Hopoate
Clint Gutherson
Anthony Watmough
John Gibbs
Roy Bull
John Harvey
David Ronson
Jack Elsegood
Adam Macdougall was a junior

Coach Frank Stanton
Manager Ken Arthurson
Commentators Rex Mossop & Matt Nable

Good group, but no way would you leave Roy Bull out of the top side. Manly's first international, he played 23 tests and 26 NSW representations and was instrumental in assisting Manly to their '51, '57 and '59 grand final appearances. He was recognised in 2008 in the Rugby League Hall of Fame. He was Manly's first giants and recognised as one of the best props of all time. Randall was never a prop, and King for all his worth was not in the same league as Bull. He's one of the first local juniors I would pick. Also Watmough was far better than Danny Gartner

 

[Bearfax]

Yes not sure Ian Martin was a local Manly junior but wow what a player. Sooo underrated.

Not sure if he was a junior though graded at Manly at 16. He was so effective at five eighth, he pushed Fulton to centre. Tough as teak, probably most comparable as Manly's five eighth with Des Hasler. He was one of my favourites as a teenager along with Billy Bradstreet.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Ian Martin was a Manly junior, end of story.

If you’re ‘not sure’ about Martin et al, do some research (before you burst into print).

And technically, Mossop was not a local junior, just a local. He did not play junior league growing up in the Manly district.

 

[40 nil]

And technically, Mossop was not a local junior, just a local. He did not play junior league growing up in the Manly district.

Mossop attended Christian Brothers Manly and played Union for Manly. Similarly, Stephen Knight attended Manly Boys High (I think) & played Union for Manly. Is he also technically not a Manly junior? Is it possible that either could have played League as well as Union in their youth?

 

[EaglesDontTweet]

Good group, but no way would you leave Roy Bull out of the top side. Manly's first international, he played 23 tests and 26 NSW representations and was instrumental in assisting Manly to their '51, '57 and '59 grand final appearances. He was recognised in 2008 in the Rugby League Hall of Fame. He was Manly's first giants and recognised as one of the best props of all time. Randall was never a prop, and King for all his worth was not in the same league as Bull. He's one of the first local juniors I would pick. Also Watmough was far better than Danny Gartner

I recall Terry Randall playing at prop often. He started at prop in the 1976 GF. Also later in his career. Are you just suggesting it wasn't his best position Bearfax?

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Mossop attended Christian Brothers Manly and played Union for Manly. Similarly, Stephen Knight attended Manly Boys High (I think) & played Union for Manly. Is he also technically not a Manly junior? Is it possible that either could have played League as well as Union in their youth?

Knight was a Manly junior in league because under the 13 import rule that spanned much of his league career, he was listed as a Manly junior during his time at Brookvale (1978-79).* As an aside, Manly was twinned with Norths under the 13 import rule, so their juniors and ours were considered as local juniors at either club.

*That means that at some point growing up Knight played junior league in the district.

Imports were denoted by an asterix in the programme.

I believe Mossop was CofE, so attendance at a Catholic school seems unlikely.

 

[40 nil]

Knight was a Manly junior in league because under the 13 import rule that spanned much of his league career, he was listed as a Manly junior during his time at Brookvale (1978-79).*

Thank you for this information

I believe Mossop was CofE, so attendance at a Catholic school seems unlikely.

I remember reading in his biography, The Moose That Roared, an anecdote about him learning "the gentle art of sex" at age fifteen with a lady teacher at Christian Brothers Manly (were there female teachers there then?) Elsewhere, it is stated he attended Manly B.H.S. Was mentioning CBC a method to deflect from the teacher's identify? If anyone has the book, maybe they can clarify this 'pertinent issue'

 

[HoldenV8]

My juniors vs non-juniors.....and I've taken a liberty or two with positions because I can.

Juniors:
Tom Trbojevic, Craig Hancock, Russel Gartner, Gordon Willoughby, John Hopoate, Phil Blake, Geoff Toovey (vc), Roy Bull, Max Krilich (c), Phil Daley, Terry Randall, Daniel Gartner, Steve Menzies. Res - Fred Jones, Anthony Watmough, Rex Mossop, Jake Trbojevic

Coach - Frank Stanton


Non-Juniors:
Graham Eadie, Ken Irvine, Jamie Lyon (vc), Michael O'Connor, Brett Stewart, Bob Fulton (c), Cliff Lyons, Brent Kite, Matt Ballin, John O'Neill, Glenn Stewart, Paul Vautin, Mal Reilly. Res - Kevin Ward, Dale Shearer, Noel Cleal, Nik Kosef

Coach - Des Hasler

 

[Harvies elbow]

My juniors vs non-juniors.....and I've taken a liberty or two with positions because I can.

Juniors:
Tom Trbojevic, Craig Hancock, Russel Gartner, Gordon Willoughby, John Hopoate, Phil Blake, Geoff Toovey (vc), Roy Bull, Max Krilich (c), Phil Daley, Terry Randall, Daniel Gartner, Steve Menzies. Res - Fred Jones, Anthony Watmough, Rex Mossop, Jake Trbojevic

Coach - Frank Stanton


Non-Juniors:
Graham Eadie, Ken Irvine, Jamie Lyon (vc), Michael O'Connor, Brett Stewart, Bob Fulton (c), Cliff Lyons, Brent Kite, Matt Ballin, John O'Neill, Glenn Stewart, Paul Vautin, Mal Reilly. Res - Kevin Ward, Dale Shearer, Noel Cleal, Nik Kosef

Coach - Des Hasler

The battle of the forwards would be epic, but the non junior backs would triumph.
That's a great backline.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

The battle of the forwards would be epic, but the non junior backs would triumph.
That's a great backline.

Hasn't anyone mentioned that elbow guy?

edit: I see @Rambo1987 mentioned him, and gave him a spot on an extended bench