So Long & Thanks For All The Hits - RLW 23/6/16

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The selfish side of me still wants him back next year but if he genuinely feels it's the right time then I respect his decision .

Thanks for all the memories Steve. In a golden decade you were a Champion among Champions !
His decision? Read the article. If the article is accurate then you are way off the mark.

"Matai, 31, has a year to run on his contract but RLW has learned that Manly officials want to cut him loose for 2017.
Sources close to the veteran centre have revealed that Matai is prepared to retire- if Manly pay him for his final season next year."
 
His decision? Read the article. If the article is accurate then you are way off the mark.

"Matai, 31, has a year to run on his contract but RLW has learned that Manly officials want to cut him loose for 2017.

So that's how we treat "inaugural" life members then? Fair enough.
 
So that's how we treat "inaugural" life members then? Fair enough.
That's 3 out of the 4 from the very exclusive club of MWSE life members that look like they won't be kitting up next year. Snake must be nervous that he has also sipped from that poison chalice.
 
I always thought Cliff Lyons would forever be my favourite player of all time. But I never counted on someone like Steve Matai coming along and having the career he has had. Sorry Cliffy, but you have dropped back to second place.
Absolute Champion.
 
Haha show turbo this article will be good for laugh to see his reaction once again that tommy is primed for the centre position
Tom will only play centre for 2017 which I am fine with, he is our best option there for 2017. 2018 he will become our fulltime fullback with snake retiring and we will go and recruit a quality centre. But if snake retires Tom will be moved to fullback next year and the club will recruit a low budget centre. And then spend big on one in 2018. I'm happy for him to play there but he will b fullback in no time good to see him learning a lot of position though to develop his game .
 
Tom will only play centre for 2017 which I am fine with, he is our best option there for 2017. 2018 he will become our fulltime fullback with snake retiring and we will go and recruit a quality centre. But if snake retires Tom will be moved to fullback next year and the club will recruit a low budget centre. And then spend big on one in 2018. I'm happy for him to play there but he will b fullback in no time good to see him learning a lot of position though to develop his game .
I'm just guessing but don't be surprised if we end up with Mead at fullback and Walker and Tom T as our permanent centres.
 
Tom will only play centre for 2017 which I am fine with, he is our best option there for 2017. 2018 he will become our fulltime fullback with snake retiring and we will go and recruit a quality centre. But if snake retires Tom will be moved to fullback next year and the club will recruit a low budget centre. And then spend big on one in 2018. I'm happy for him to play there but he will b fullback in no time good to see him learning a lot of position though to develop his game .
You say things as if they are carved in rock, all that is your opinion and may not come to fruition so don't get you hopes up mate.
 
Brookie bash artist Steve Matai at long odds to play for Manly again.
Tony Adams - RLW 23/6/16

Cult-hero centre Steve Matai has almost certainly played his last game for Manly.
The big hitter has been a favourite with the Brookvale faithful for over a decade and was ruled out for the season last week with a persistent neck injury.
Matai, 31, has a year to run on his contract but RLW has learned that Manly officials want to cut him loose for 2017.
Sources close to the veteran centre have revealed that Matai is prepared to retire- if Manly pay him for his final season next year.
Manly believe that Matai's problems with injury- he has struggled with neck problems for several seasons and bravely played on- have finally caught up with him. Matai played only eight games this season before club officials decided his neck needs surgery.
The hard-hitting centre also has a long judiciary record and is known to be a player targeted by referees because of his extremely aggressive, take-no-prisoners defensive style.
With star centre Jamie Lyon also retiring at the end of this season, it'll be very much the end of an era at Manly.
Sea Eagles recruit Dylan Walker, who's been uncomfortable at five-eighth, will fill one centre spot, while Tom Trbejovic, a superstar in the making who has played mainly wing and fullback this season, is likely to take the other.
Matai has been a loyal one-club man with 230 games for Manly since making his debut in 2005, scoring 91 tries.
The Kiwi-born hard man is one of the most respected - and feared - centres in the NRL with his hard running and brutal defence, but his body has taken a pounding and he has struggled to recover.
Several English clubs are keen on his services but he's established with his family on Sydney's northern beaches and doesn't want to make the big move to the northern hemisphere.
Steve Matai would surely have to qualify for an insurance pay out? His neck problem has been evident for years, and chronic to boot. Truly one of our great players. Along with Jamie Lyon and Justin Hodges, the best centre over the past decade. Champion Matai.
 
So that's how we treat "inaugural" life members then? Fair enough.
Unfortunately the Sea Eagles management are a pack of dismissive and arrogant try hards who could not manage a piss up in a brewery. With that said, every time I have seen Steve Matai reach for his neck after a jarring tackle, or his trade mark hard run to get us out of trouble, I fear the worst. I hope for his sake that it is the end to a super career. I believe that he would also meet the criteria for an insurance payout, given the longevity of his injury. Steve Matai is truly a Manly champion, and should be eternally celebrated as one.
 
Haven't we been blessed with some absolute champions though - Matai, Tooves, Lyons, Lyon, Snake, Menzies, Eadie, Fulton, Krilich, Randall - and then there's the next level down - Kite, Watmough, Thompson, Kosef, Reilly, Gibbs, Harvey, Boustead, Gartner, Mooney, etc etc - I'm sure I've missed plenty, but what a collection - can any other club match us for constantly turning out champions across multiple eras?
The Stewart Bros?
 
I'm just guessing but don't be surprised if we end up with Mead at fullback and Walker and Tom T as our permanent centres.
if we get a reserve grader in David mead to play anywhere in the side don't expect a premiership for the next 10 years
 
I don't know if he is coming to Manly but I do know he is to good to be labeled a reserve grader.
 
if we get a reserve grader in David mead to play anywhere in the side don't expect a premiership for the next 10 years
Hardly a reserve grader, he has played fg consistently for years now. And mead won't be around for 10years mate.. I'm surprised you didn't refer him to a northern eagles purchase?? Like you have about Fogarty.A type of purchase that was made before you were born
 
Are talking about the same David Mead?

139 1st Grade games and 63 tries in what is his 8th season.

I'd imagine he has never played reserve grade, he is almost 28 years old.
 
Team P W L PD Pts
3 3 0 48 6
4 3 1 28 6
3 2 1 10 6
4 2 2 39 4
3 2 1 28 4
3 2 1 15 4
3 2 1 14 4
2 1 1 13 4
2 1 1 6 4
3 2 1 -3 4
3 1 2 0 2
3 1 2 -5 2
3 1 2 -15 2
3 1 2 -22 2
3 1 2 -36 2
2 0 2 -56 2
3 0 3 -64 0
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