DCE Memories

Phobia said:
It's so disappointing that it ended this way... Quite a bit of sadness but also anger, especially when you remember it all.

I'm on the younger side (probably a massive outlier compared to the lot of you) so I remember a bit of Orford, but for nearly as long as I can truly remember, DCE has been our halfback. The one constant, for better or worse. Across ups and downs in my life, good times, bad times, bloody lying women who have BPD... All of it, he's been there in the background.

As others has said, his headless chook plays have probably costed us some boring wins... But FMD, when they come off, they come off!

The past five years of miracle passes out to Saab on the wing have been a favourite of mine. The I don't think anyone will replicate those, and I don't think anyone else currently in the NRL can. The one against the Eels last year, with Turbo backing up, was probably my favourite of the lot. He threw the pass before the gap had even appeared. ****ing incredible.


Of course his golden point finishers, here's a good compilation:


This absolutely brilliant try:

And then, his hand in the best try I've ever seen by Manly:


Ultimately, I think the club failed DCE, more than he failed us. I think bringing back Watmough was a mistake, and DCE would've stayed, had it not happened.

It's not on DCE that he was never a great game manager, it was on us for expecting him to be one. It was on the club for letting Foran go. It was on the club for letting Green go. It was on the club, for yet again, letting Foran go, for ****ing Schuster of all players.

He's done some stupid things, but so has the club. I remember reading that DCE wanted to stay in 2015, but he thought he wasn't wanted as we targeted Foran... What if we went with DCE to begin with? What if he was on a lower contract, which would've allowed our talent to stay? Allowed Foran to backflip instead?

What if the club kept Api? What if the club kept Gutho? What if the club kept AFB?

DCE's shortcomings don't match that of the club. It's been a rough decade, but that rests on Scott Penn, more than the man who put his blood, sweat, and tears out for our team.
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Do you remember a pass to Saab in 2021 in Darwin against the Eels? Was absolute magic. That same year he threw a non spiral cut out pass to Saab that was about 30m long in the 66-0 drubbing.
 
LeonardCohen said:
Do you remember a pass to Saab in 2021 in Darwin against the Eels? Was absolute magic. That same year he threw a non spiral cut out pass to Saab that was about 30m long in the 66-0 drubbing.
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I think there was also a brilliant one that year against the Broncos as well, bounced off the ground after travelling a bloody long distance.

That was an incredible year to watch. Even if we didn't get the premiership, everything went our way. Nearly every 1% opportunity paid off. Turbo and DCE will always be Manly legends, removed from anything else, just for the sheer enjoyability of that year.

I've seen some statistics, that if you remove the first four rounds of that year, that was both the greatest individual season of all time for Turbo, and the greatest attacking season of any team, of all time. Nuts.
 
I wish I was a little dog and Daly was a tree
496859546_4046572655577972_8871846216387218743_n.webp
 
andyeagle said:
He was always good at backing up. My best memory of him doing that was when he was in the right spot to take a miracle Brett Stewart pass against Brisbane.
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Have a look at all those champions in that vision. What an awesome team that was. An era that Des and Delmege built from the grass roots up. Never to be seen again until we find owner and coach who bleed maroon and white again.
 
Apart from round 24 & 25 this year, DCE has been very astute with the captains challenges.
Correct me if I am wrong he had the 1st successful one when it was introduced circa 2020 whilst those dummos from the cheating thoroughbreds took a long while to get one correct.
Shame it wasn't around in 2013.....
 
Phobia said:
It's so disappointing that it ended this way... Quite a bit of sadness but also anger, especially when you remember it all.

I'm on the younger side (probably a massive outlier compared to the lot of you) so I remember a bit of Orford, but for nearly as long as I can truly remember, DCE has been our halfback. The one constant, for better or worse. Across ups and downs in my life, good times, bad times, bloody lying women who have BPD... All of it, he's been there in the background.

As others has said, his headless chook plays have probably costed us some boring wins... But FMD, when they come off, they come off!

The past five years of miracle passes out to Saab on the wing have been a favourite of mine. The I don't think anyone will replicate those, and I don't think anyone else currently in the NRL can. The one against the Eels last year, with Turbo backing up, was probably my favourite of the lot. He threw the pass before the gap had even appeared. ****ing incredible.
Click to expand...
Some incredible highlights in your selections, Phobia. Great to watch those again.

And you make a good point about just how long DCE has been the Manly half. Younger Manly fans, like my kids, have never known anyone else.
 
LeonardCohen said:
Do you remember a pass to Saab in 2021 in Darwin against the Eels? Was absolute magic. That same year he threw a non spiral cut out pass to Saab that was about 30m long in the 66-0 drubbing.
Click to expand...

When did we play in Darwin because we certainly didn't in 2021.....

The 66-0 win was over the Bulldogs at what was then Bankwest Stadium.
 
HoldenV8 said:
When did we play in Darwin because we certainly didn't in 2021.....

The 66-0 win was over the Bulldogs at what was then Bankwest Stadium.
Click to expand...
Just checked and it was Sunshine Coast stadium; it was during the COVID impacted period and I think I just assumed it was Darwin because it wasn't an NRL ground and the Eels usually take a game to Darwin:
 
The best Manly half ever?

Its a matter of opinion but Toovey and Des are probably the only serious contenders, both played other positions. Games selected at half is interesting;

352 DCE
169 Toovey
152 Des

Almost every time we lost he frustrated the daylights out of me. Often when we won it was on his boot with those clutch field goals.

Must admit I felt a bit sorry for him having his defence questioned in those last 2 games we lost. Short memories people? He dropped that massive human, Nelson Asofa-Solomona from the Storm, in a one on one situation to save a try in round 19.

Any player who has played 26 Origin games must sit high in tree of the greatest players of their era.

I am not sad to see him going the way he has played this out, but will be interested to watch him play with the Chooks.

Maybe he will return with his Manly DNA in the future and help make this club great again. Maybe not.

Good luck DCE (just not too much).

(Oh and one of my all time favourites, Fozzie, bows out next week).
 
LeonardCohen said:
Just checked and it was Sunshine Coast stadium; it was during the COVID impacted period and I think I just assumed it was Darwin because it wasn't an NRL ground and the Eels usually take a game to Darwin:
Click to expand...

I think the last time we played in Darwin it was a pre-season game and Bozo was still our coach. He seemed to have this thing about going there in the off season. I think he believed if we could handle the conditions up there (and remember, league's pre-season is still the wet season up north), they could handle them anywhere.

IIRC we actually unearthed Frank Stokes on one of those pre-season trips to the NT.
 
HoldenV8 said:
I think the last time we played in Darwin it was a pre-season game and Bozo was still our coach. He seemed to have this thing about going there in the off season. I think he believed if we could handle the conditions up there (and remember, league's pre-season is still the wet season up north), they could handle them anywhere.

IIRC we actually unearthed Frank Stokes on one of those pre-season trips to the NT.
Click to expand...

Those thighs 😍
 
Its interesting to see how much our team has, and hasn't, changed since 2021.

The team that night was:

Turbo, Saab, Parker, Harper, Reubs, Foz, DCE, Kurt de Luis, Froggy, Kapow, Haumole, Schu and Jake. Bench - Aloiai, Dylan Walker, Lawton, Siro, Suli (18th came on for Parker).

Reubs scored an equal club record 30 that night (3 tries, 8/10 goals).

Only 5 players from that game - Turbo, Saab, Reubs, Haumole and Jake, are likely to turn out for Manly in 2026. Maybe Froggy too (though I think he'll be like Aloiai, retired hurt), and definitely Paseka who was out injured in that game.

Brad Parker, Morgan Harper, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Kurt de Luis, Martin Taupau, Josh Schuster, Josh Aloiai, Dylan Walker, Karl Lawton, Curtis Sironen and Moses Suli will either be long gone or recently departed from Manly by the time Round 1, 2026 rolls around.
 
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