Frank Stokes 1990 to 1994

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The Wheel

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Frank Stokes came to Manly as a raw 17 year old kid after been spotted by Bob Fulton on an end of season trip to Darwin.



The visiting Sea Eagles played a came of footy against a loca
epp-stokes.jpg
l invitational side and a young aboriginal boy used all his natural skills of evasion and pace to bamboozle the visiting professionals from Sydney.


 

This boy was Frank Stokes and Frankie made the bold move to leave his family and ancestral home of the Northern Territory to chase fame and fortune in the big city as a professional footballer.

 

Frank was solid as a rock and built pretty close to the ground.  His thighs resembled Choppy Close’s legs i.e. something like tree trunks.  Despite his nuggetty stature he had blinding pace and could step off both feet.

 

After finishing school at St Pauls Manly, Stokes made his way through the ranks at the Sea Eagles and eventually made his first grade debut in 1990 under the coaching of Graham Lowe.

 

He had now found a permanent position on the wing and although he never really cemented a spot in first grade he played 51 games over the next 5 seasons.  He occasionally was used at fullback or even 5/8 and proved to be a worthy back up player for a star studded Sea Eagles back line of era which included players of the calibre of Cliff Lyons, Michael O’Connor and Matthew Ridge.

 

Frank scored 17 tries in first grade for the Sea Eagles during his career but his most memorable would have been at Parramatta Stadium when he took a Parramatta kick in the Manly in goal area and after beating a number of Parra defenders raced over 100 metres to score a try which not only devastated the Eels team but also about 17,000 of their supporters.

 

As Manly started to build up for their Golden era of the mid nineties, Frank was released after 5 seasons playing the top grade for the club, he was still quite young, only in his mid twenties.

 

He could have continued his career in the Sydney competition but he always wanted to return to his home in Darwin and he eventually made his way there finishing his career playing for the Brothers club in the NTRL competition.

 

Frank Stokes – tree trunks for legs
 
Frank Stokes came to Manly as a raw 17 year old kid after been spotted by Bob Fulton on an end of season trip to Darwin.


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Loved Frankie, stocky but with surprising speed.

He was mainly a reserve grade player, but still a crowd favourite at Brookie :angel:
 
Great little player. About half his size, but bigger thighs than Mal Meninga! Also just about the only player of his generation who regularly took bombs, AFL style, ie hands over his head.
 
His career didn't end well unfortunately - http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2007/09/01/1943_ntsport.html

Great player to watch in his day though.
 
Jax24 said:
Still remember Frankie scoring a hundred meter try against Parra!!!

Was there are Parra stadium that game. Think it was a Friday night? Got the ball from the in-goal area, found space down the sideline, pinned the ears back and got those legs powering.
 
Was playing a drinking game with 13 mates the night Stokes scored that 100 meter try, where every time a players name was mentioned by the commentators, you had to chug down your drink. I have never forgotten that try, because the name I had to drink to was "Stokes", and the try was replayed about 15 times. Needless to say I didn't end up looking too pretty, but I will always remember that try.
 
Recall one very wet Sunday game at Brookie. The opposing team (can't recall who) took a drop out in the first half of the game. Cliffy Lyons caught the kick about 40m out in midfield & heads towards the hill touchline. Suddenly he kicks the ball towards the corner post & Frankie Stokes comes screaming in, dives, scoops up the ball & slams it down for a try. Keeps sliding while celebrating.

Was an insane first tackle kick from Cliffy, but he saw the space & Stokes somehow knew what Cliffy was thinking. Magic stuff.
 
andyeagle said:
Was playing a drinking game with 13 mates the night Stokes scored that 100 meter try, where every time a players name was mentioned by the commentators, you had to chug down your drink. I have never forgotten that try, because the name I had to drink to was "Stokes", and the try was replayed about 15 times. Needless to say I didn't end up looking too pretty, but I will always remember that try.

Just checked the game stats and noted Stokes scored a hat-trick of tries!!! Do you even remember the game? :D
 
would always pay attention to the game when Franky came on as a replacement, he would lift the side as soon as he got on the field, always something happening, thanks for the memories frank..!!
 
Team P W L PD Pts
3 3 0 48 6
4 3 1 28 6
3 2 1 10 6
4 2 2 39 4
3 2 1 28 4
3 2 1 15 4
3 2 1 14 4
2 1 1 13 4
2 1 1 6 4
3 2 1 -3 4
3 1 2 0 2
3 1 2 -5 2
3 1 2 -15 2
3 1 2 -22 2
3 1 2 -36 2
2 0 2 -56 2
3 0 3 -64 0
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