Manly have had some great centre pairings over the past 40+ years. Bozo and Branighan, Bozo and Frog Eyes, Snoz and Williams, Innes and Hill, Killer and Skivvy.
They all enjoyed great success and we won at least one premiership with each pair. But none lasted as long together as Killer and Skivvy.
Steve Matai was never the fastest centre. Even at his quickest the likes of James Roberts would leave him for dead in a foot race. But Skivvy's running game was based on power, not leg speed and he didn't need to be a player who could score a length of the field try. He had the strength to break tackles, but he was also good enough to be able to use his supports very well. Robbo and Jorge scored many tries because of lead up work inside of them by Skivvy. And then there was his defence. Our left edge with Skivvy and Jorge was arguably the most feared left edge in the NRL simply because of the hits they were capable of.
You know what I think one of the big things was that we loved so much about Skivvy? He would give his all out there. He could be bandaged up like an Egyptian mummy and he would still run and hit as hard as ever with no thought to self preservation.
I wish I could be there on Saturday to farewell the guys but I'll have to settle for watching it online instead.
C'mon Manly fans, this game (with what it means to our season) and these guys deserve nothing less than a full house on Saturday. Anything less than 20,000 would be a disappointment.