In the build up to Thursday night’s clash with the Sydney Roosters at 4 Pines Park, we take a look at one of Manly’s early pioneers in captain-coach Wally O’Connell and his legacy at Brookvale.
Wally O’Connell should forever be remembered as a man of principle in the rich history of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.
Following three tough seasons since their entry into the 1947 NSWRL competition, Manly chased O’Connell for the role of captain-coach.
An Eastern Suburbs junior, O'Connell played 89 first grade games at the Sydney Roosters, winning a premiership in 1945. He made his Test debut on the Kangaroo tour of England in 1948-49.
It was left to Manly’s first international in young prop Roy Bull to help convince five-eighth O’Connell and hooker Kevin Schubert to come to Brookvale during their time together on Australia’s tour of New Zealand in 1949.
Á Trust Fund was established to help lure the Australian players to Manly, with more than 1000 pounds raised for the cause.
Upon his return home from England, O’Connell wanted to coach at Easts but was overlooked, leaving him to accept a player-coach position with Christian Brothers in Wollongong in 1949.
Impressed by the extraordinary dedication by the Manly officials to secure his services, O’Connell agreed to join the Sea Eagles on a three-year contract as player-coach from 1950.
However, Eastern Suburbs contested the contract, claiming that O’Connell had not fulfilled the NSWRL’s Residential Qualification rule.
The rule stated players joining country clubs had to reside there for 12 months and then an extra 28 days at their city club before being qualified to play.
In April, 1950, the NSWRL ruled O’Connell could only play for Easts, not Manly. It left one of rugby league’s biggest stars with a tough choice to make.
Furthermore, O’Connell knew he would miss three guaranteed Tests for Australia against Great Britain after representing his country nine times previously.
In the end, O’Connell made the decision to sacrifice his Test jersey after being impressed with the dealings of the Manly club.
“I had to make a decision whether to play for Easts and carry on my career or stand down for a whole season and just coach Manly and player-coach them from the following season, which I decided to do,’’ O’Connell recalled.
"They were very immature because they weren’t long out of the juniors, but they were fair dinkum and the district paid a lot of money for me.
“And to find all of that down the drain would have been a disaster, so I would sacrifice it and see what came out of it, and I was pleased I did.”
Manly finally got their man when O’Connell signed a coaching contract on April 21, 1950. O'Connell played two seasons with Manly as captain-coach from 1951-52, scoring 11 tries in 34 games.
He led Manly to the club’s first Grand Final in 1951 but a wrist injury ruled him out, with Souths winning the premiership decider.
O’Connell returned to coach Manly in 1966 where he quickly promoted a talented 17-year-old Illawarra junior by the name of Bob Fulton.
Fulton would go on to become the club’s only Immortal, and greatest ever player.
