Manly Warringah Sea Eagles debuted in the New South Wales Rugby Football League on April 12, 1947, as did the other debutant club, Parramatta Eels.
Six weeks later these new chums met at Brookvale Oval, with an estimated 3200 fans turning out to see the home team win 15-7, five-tries-to-one, with unconverted three-point tries to Johnny Bliss (2), George Willoughby (2) and Keith Kirkwood, while the Eels’ Keith Gersbach scored Parramatta’s only try, and Les Bell kicked two goals.
And in post-war Sydney, it was all mighty good entertainment.
It’s been this way ever since, as the two clubs went so many hammers and tongs, and forged one of league’s great rivalries.
To help commemorate the anniversary of that first season, and every one since, local sportswriter and Manly Observer contributor, Matt Cleary, is looking to publish a book called Here We Go Again, detailing the great games, characters, colour and controversy.
And you can be a part of it. You could even be in it.
For Here We Go Again Cleary will talk to the likes of Paul Vautin, Nathan Hindmarsh and Steve Menzies. Men like Anthony Watmough, Jamie Lyon, Peter “Zorba” Peters, and Clint “King Gutho” Gutherson turned out for both clubs and will tell their tales.
He will cover the great games, from that first one at Brookvale, to the grand finals in the 1980s, to Brett Stewart‘s Monday night massacre in 2013.
Special mention will be made of the game in 1984 that formed the backdrop of the famous Tooheys advertisement, the opening lyrics of which were “Here we go again, Manly and Parra”, and which inspired the title of the book.
Cleary will talk to locals, fans of the two clubs, about great games, great players, home games at Brookie, away days in the west. He wants locals’ memories chronicled in the book. He wants your view from Brookie hill.
All you have to do is buy a book.
And do it by August 28.
It works like this: through the magic of the Kickstarter app, what Cleary calls “the starving artist’s crowd-funding app of choice”, you would pre-purchase a copy of the book “effectively off the plan,” according to Cleary.
The campaign has 16 more days to run. If the goal of $12k is reached by August 28, the book goes ahead. If not, no book.
“It’s like a community-funded bit of kit,” Cleary tells The Manly Observer. “What happens is you make a ‘pledge’ to pre-purchase a copy, though nothing comes off your card unless we reach the goal.
“The pay-off for backers is an advance copy of a book about their local footy club, with their memories in it, delivered to their post-box. It’ll be signed by the author, with a personal dedication and their name printed in the acknowledgements.”
Other value bundles include merchandise from Brookvale business FootyTees Australia, the outfit who make ‘#Fozball’ shirts, hats and hoodies, pictured below.
“The three bits of kit in the bundle – shirt, hat and hoodie – retail online for $220,” Cleary says. “Through this campaign, you get them for $149 – plus a copy of the book.”
Cleary adds that those who’d back the project with “The Big Monty” for $880 can enjoy:
- Five (5) copies of the book;
- Their own memories of games chronicled in the book with their names in quotes;
- Dinner and drinks for two with legends from both clubs;
- A legend-signed copy of the book;
- All the merchandise;
- A random selection of books and old League Week magazines from Cleary’s publishing house, Long Room Press, “otherwise known as the garage in Allambie,” he says.
“It’s an idea that’s been fermenting for a while now, a book about 80 years of games between Manly and Parra, and all the great characters and players,” Cleary says.
“There’s so much great old stuff in archives, and there’s so much new stuff we can dig up from players, local media, and fans.
“Fans are such an under-utilised source of story-telling in footy.
“We want that view from the hill.”
Click here for detail about Here We Go Again
