Berkeley_Eagle
Current Status: 24/7 Manly Fan
David Perry's assertion of authority at Manly has not been without bloodshed but there has also been a premiership, writes Adrian Proszenko.
Daisy has just one speaking line in the film The Final Winter. The Newtown halfback, with his nose taped up from yet another belting, is told to feed the ball into the scrum.
Daisy glares back at the ref before turning to his opponents. ''This one ain't going in,'' he says. Microseconds later, an uppercut is thrown and it's on like Donkey Kong. The part of Daisy was played by David Perry.
Much like the Jets' No.7, Perry has been bashed, at least figuratively, in his first 12 months at the helm of the Sea Eagles. In the space of a year he has won a premiership, punted the coach who achieved the feat, moved on club stalwart Peter Peters and, through the process, copped enough blows to make even Daisy curl into the foetal position.
Since the Northern Eagles debacle, Manly have churned through a plethora of chief executives - Ian Thomson, Paul Cummings (two stints), Pat Wilson, Grant Mayer and Graham Lowe - before Perry jumped into the biggest political hotbed in the NRL. Perry has copped more than the lot combined but has stood tall, to the point where he is on the verge of signing a three-year deal as the club's general manager. It's the same title as the one bestowed upon Penrith counterpart Phil Gould.
''He's got some backbone,'' said friend and screenwriter Matt Nable, who cast Perry in the cameo film role. ''I'm really proud of him, it's such a tough job and not many people would be brave enough to do what he's done.''
What Perry has done is significant. While most powerbrokers can go a career without premiership success, the Sea Eagles did the lap of honour just four months into his tenure. And then he did the unthinkable by moving on Peters, the club's veteran media manager. And then Des Hasler. This from a man maligned in some sections of the media as a club boss on his L-plates. The backlash was brutal.
http://m.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/perry-emerges-from-first-year-battle-hardened-20120714-222t6.html
