- 7 Jul 2016
- Manly Daily
- Andrew Prentice
Blacktown under wing of Sea Eagles
Some league figures seething after partnership with Workers
IT WAS the joint venture the Sea Eagles felt they had to make to ensure they are sustainable as a club long term.
The Sea Eagles have formed a joint venture with Blacktown Workers, starting next season.
As from next season, Manly will form a partnership in the Intrust Super Premiership with Blacktown Workers.
Final details still need to be ratified with the NSW Rugby League but Sea Eagles chief executive Joe Kelly is excited about what potentially awaits.
“We expect our application to be favourably considered,’’ he told the Manly
Daily yesterday. “It is a model which has worked well for other NRL clubs – look at Canberra with Mounties and Parramatta with Wentworthville.
“Blacktown (Workers) have stability on and off the field and facilities in place for success. “It’s also a huge growth area in Sydney, a market we are keen to tap into.”
Negotiations began in February, with the likes of Kelly, Bob Fulton, Brett Fulton and chief financial officer Neil Bare, all heavy players behind the scenes.
Manly first grade coach Trent Barrett and his assistant John Cartwright also had important roles.
News of the joint venture has not pleased everyone, with Peninsula Seagulls cocoach Scott Pethybridge quick to voice his disappointment.
“As an ex Manly player and local resident, as well as my connection with the Seagulls, I think it is disgraceful,’’ he said.
“It makes our junior rugby league irrelevant.
“I also think the (Manly) heirarchy involved need to take a good, hard look at themselves.
“No thought has gone into local players, and I think we will struggle to survive as a team (in the Sydney Shield) beyond this year.
“What is the point if the (Manly) club is going in a different direction?”
A similar feeder club partnership with the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles produced halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, who cut his teeth in the Queensland Cup before his NRL debut in 2011
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