On The Record: Sea Eagles vs Eels

Today, we take a look back at the 15 biggest wins by the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles over the Parramatta Eels at home.

Both clubs entered the NSWRL competition in 1947 and have been great rivals ever since. The Sea Eagles also beat the Eels in the 1976 NSWRL Grand Final.

Manly's first ever win came against Parramatta at Brookvale Oval came on May 31, 1947, with Johnny Bliss and Gordon Willoughby scoring two tries each for the Sea Eagles.

The Sea Eagles and the Eels were due to meet at Lottoland on Sunday, May 10,  but the round nine match has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

15 Biggest home wins over the Eels

57-10, Rd 14, 1951

Jack Herbert, Ron Rowles, and Warren Simmons bagged a double each in this 47 point win at Brookvale. Manly ran in 13 tries with Rowles also kicking nine goals.

36-14, Rd 3, 1956

A hat-trick to centre/five-eighth Rees Duncan was the highlight in Manly’s six tries to two win in this Saturday encounter.

41-14, Rd 3, 1958

Australian winger Ray Ritchie scored four tries much to the delight of Coach Ken Arthurson. Bill Lloyd also scored two tries for the Sea Eagles with Ron Willey kicking seven goals.

42-7 Rd 16, 1961

Exciting Manly full-back Bob Batty scored a hat-trick in Manly’s 10 tries to one win over the Eels. Barney McEvoy grabbed a double while Ron Willey scored a try and kicked six goals.

38-5 Rd 4, 1970

A four try haul from centre John McDonald was the highlight in this big win. The Sea Eagles ran in eight tries with Rob Cameron and Les Hanigan scoring two tries each.

McDonald was in his second season at Manly and captained the team from the wing in the  grand final loss to Souths that year

38-9 Rd 1, 1971

The Sea Eagles could not have been more impressive in their opening round win in front of more than 11,000 jubilant Manly fans at Brookvale.

Winger Ken Irvine crossed for a hat-trick with centre Bob Fulton (above) scoring a double. Fred Jones, Ian Martin, Derek Moritz, John McDonald and Dennis Ward also crossed for tries.

53-8 Rd 17, 1973

Champion full-back Graham Eadie recorded a personal haul of 23 points through a try and 10 goals in this massive win on a Sunday afternoon.

Manly ran in 11 tries to two to with Ken Irvine bagging three tries with Bob Fulton and Ian Martin scoring two each. Manly’s other tryscorers were Warren Evans, Johnny Mayes, and Peter Peters. 

44-8 Rd 2, 1974

Representative half-back Kevin Junee turned in an impressive performance in scoring three tries in just his second game for Manly.

Junee joined the Sea Eagles from Eastern Suburbs and finished the year as the season’s leading try-scorer with 20 tries.

26-4 Rd 4, 1987

Second-rower Ian Barkley had a day to remember, scoring two of Manly’s five tries.

Barkley played 12 games that season for the Sea Eagles, crossing for four tries. He played 26 first grade games for Manly.

40-10, Rd 18, 1988

Dual international centre Michael O’Connor scored three tries and kicked six goals in this 30 point win at home.

‘Snoz’ had a personal haul of 22 points while five-eighth Cliff Lyons crossed for two tries in a fine win for the defending premiers.

44-0 Rd 15, 1996

A crowd of over 15,000 saw the Sea Eagles turn in a polished performance with Kiwi international centre Craig Innes scoring three tries.

Nik Kosef, Cliff Lyons, Danny Moore, Matthew Ridge and Geoff Toovey scored a try each with Ridge kicking six from eight goals. The Sea Eagles would later go on to claim their sixth premiership title that season.

34-10 Rd 10, 2009

A dominant first half performance laid the platform for this big win at home in front of almost 16,000 fans.

The Sea Eagles led 22-4 at half-time with winger David Williams crossing for two tries. Chris Bailey, Matt Ballin, Shane Rodney and Anthony Watmough scored a try each. Centre Jamie Lyon kicked five from seven goals.

40-24, Rd 18, 2012

Popular winger David ‘Wolfman’ Williams added to his cult hero status in scoring four tries in this Sunday afternoon clash.

The Sea Eagles had the two competition points in the bag at half-time after a near perfect 40 minutes saw them lead 34-0 at the break.

Full-back Brett Stewart scored a double and half-back Daly Cherry-Evans one. Centre and captain Jamie Lyon had a great day out with the boot, kicking six from seven goals.

50-10 Rd 17, 2013

The Sea Eagles turned in a second half blitz in this Monday night match.

Winger Jorge Taufua crossed for a hat-trick in a game that saw the Sea Eagles lead only 20-6 at half-time.

Jamie Buhrer, Kieran Foran, Jamie Lyon, Brett Stewart, Tom Symonds, and David Williams also scored in the win. Lyon kicked seven from nine goals.

54-0, Rd 2, 2018

Sunday afternoon footy against the Eels at Lottoland has never been sweeter than this particular match for jubilant Manly fans.

The Sea Eagles left the field to an almighty cheer after a strong first half saw them lead 30-0 at half-time.

Manly scored nine tries with second-rower Curtis Sironen leading the way with two. Daly Cherry-Evans, Lachlan Croker, Addin Fonua-Blake, Api Koroisau, Lloyd Perrett, Jorge Taufua and Jake Trbojevic also scoring.

Cherry-Evans finished the game with 22 points through a try and nine goals.

Most Tries vs Parra at home

10 David Williams

6 Brett Stewart, Steve Matai, Ken Irvine, Gordon Willoughby

5 Ron Rowles, Ray Ritchie, Bob Fulton, Ian Martin, John McDonald,

4 Johnny Bliss, Jack Hubbard, Roy Bull, Graham Eadie, Russel Gartner, Jamie Lyon

3 Bob Batty, Frank Stanton, Nick Yakich, Des Hasler, Michael O’Connor, Cliff Lyons, Danny Moore, Daniel Gartner, Craig Innes, Geoff Toovey, Brett Stewart, Anthony Watmough, Daly Cherry-Evans, Reuben Garrick