MANLY 1978 Season

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

And I thought replaced by another Manly player?

Bruce Walker I think. Terry Randall also said he was unavailable.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Harry Jacobs. Wasn’t that Zorba’s nom de plume?

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Bruce Walker I think. Terry Randall also said he was unavailable.

Correct.

Harvey was selected but withdrew for ‘personal reasons’, aka joining Eastern Suburbs. Walker took his place.*

One upshot, Manly junior Harvey is not officially an international. He was selected as a reserve forward in the third test of that year’s series vs. NZ, but never took the field.

Coach Stanton did that to several players - including Randall in the first test of that series - over the course of his international coaching career. In the three test home series vs. GB in 1979, he did not use any of his reserve players.

*Randall withdrew from selection beforehand, because (from memory) he was concerned about his niggling injuries. He has since stated that he wished he had gone.

 

[Nuttybott]

Round 2 Wills Cup v NS
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"...Coventry, his home town in the north of England".
This journalist needed to stop drooling over John Gray for a minute, and do her research a bit more carefully...Coventry isn't in the north of England, it's
in the Midlands, not far from Birmingham.

 

[Nuttybott]

Round 4 v CB
Loss to 1st grade. Wins to 2nds and U23
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I don't know how Won Casey could have "outrated" Rex Mossop in calling rugby league for Channel 9 in 1971...that was the year of the TV blackout, when no Sydney Premiership matches were televised at all. Even the Grand Final between Souths and St. George wasn't shown live that year...merely a one hour highlights package shown later that Saturday night. And that was shown on Channel Ten, if I remember correctly...

 

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

I don't know how Won Casey could have "outrated" Rex Mossop in calling rugby league for Channel 9 in 1971...that was the year of the TV blackout, when no Sydney Premiership matches were televised at all. Even the Grand Final between Souths and St. George wasn't shown live that year...merely a one hour highlights package shown later that Saturday night. And that was shown on Channel Ten, if I remember correctly...

Hard to imagine a time with no footy on the telly.

 

[eagle66]

I don't know how Won Casey could have "outrated" Rex Mossop in calling rugby league for Channel 9 in 1971...that was the year of the TV blackout, when no Sydney Premiership matches were televised at all. Even the Grand Final between Souths and St. George wasn't shown live that year...merely a one hour highlights package shown later that Saturday night. And that was shown on Channel Ten, if I remember correctly...

Channel 2 was one the stations that televised the GF in 1971 as that is the copy I have.
in the week leading up to the GF, the NSWRL offered live telecasting to all stations, exclusive or on a jount basis.

 

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

I loved seeing the white jersey last night's trial game. A gold badge like 1978 would make it ace! (and if the players pulled their socks up too, but like Johnny Gibbs that's asking for too much!)

John Harvey – 1978 Manly Poster

Rugby League collectable shop, featuring Rugby League trading cards, magazines, and much more.

www.dansnrlcollectables.com

 

[Shoe1]

In the first post on this thread under Newtown it says that the Dawson twins had both signed with Gosford. Pity they didn’t stay there, both showed up at northern beaches schools within a couple of years.

 

[Nuttybott]

Channel 2 was one the stations that televised the GF in 1971 as that is the copy I have.
in the week leading up to the GF, the NSWRL offered live telecasting to all stations, exclusive or on a jount basis.

Well if Channel 2 showed the Grand Final that year, they certainly didn't show it live. I remember the day well...because the game wasn't on TV, my family went down to Balmoral Beach, where I listened to Frank Hyde's 2SM broadcast on my transistor radio instead.
Believe me, as a 10 year old rugby league obsessive, If the game HAD been available live on TV I would have known about it...

 

[Nuttybott]

Well if Channel 2 showed the Grand Final that year, they certainly didn't show it live. I remember the day well...because the game wasn't on TV, my family went down to Balmoral Beach, where I listened to Frank Hyde's 2SM broadcast on my transistor radio instead.
Believe me, as a 10 year old rugby league obsessive, If the game HAD been available live on TV I would have known about it...

ADDENDUM: Of course, it is always possible that the GF that year was shown live outside of Sydney (in regional NSW, etc. on ABC Channel 5A) but if it was I wouldn't have known about that at the time...

 

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

Score is 0-0 about 30 minutes into the 1978 Manly vs Sharks semi final. Johnny Gibbs steps up and kicks a field goal to give Manly a 1-0 lead. (About 14m 10s in the video). He tries for another shortly after, but the football smashes into the upright & no goal.

The only other times since 1971 (when field goals dropped from 2 points to 1) that a team has led 1-0 were both kicked very late in the game - Newtown bt St George 1-0 in 1973, plus in 2006 Parramatta went up 1-0 but lost to StG-Illw 8-1.

 

[TheSoaringEagle2023]

Imagine the uproar in today's world if there was a "League Queen" competition ?
How times have changed.

Great walk down memory lane. Thanks Eagle66.

Depends on what type of queen it is.

 

[eagle66]

Score is 0-0 about 30 minutes into the 1978 Manly vs Sharks semi final. Johnny Gibbs steps up and kicks a field goal to give Manly a 1-0 lead. (About 14m 10s in the video). He tries for another shortly after, but the football smashes into the upright & no goal.

The only other times since 1971 (when field goals dropped from 2 points to 1) that a team has led 1-0 were both kicked very late in the game - Newtown bt St George 1-0 in 1973, plus in 2006 Parramatta went up 1-0 but lost to StG-Illw 8-1.

In the 1971 GF, Eric Simms kicked a FG to open the scoring against St George

 

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

In the 1971 GF, Eric Simms kicked a FG to open the scoring against St George

Thanks! I did not know about that earlier one. Was still 1-0 at halftime, which likely is the only time that's ever happened I guess. In 1978 the Manly 1-0 was added to by a Manly try before halftime for a 4-0 lead.

 

[manly al]

Score is 0-0 about 30 minutes into the 1978 Manly vs Sharks semi final. Johnny Gibbs steps up and kicks a field goal to give Manly a 1-0 lead. (About 14m 10s in the video). He tries for another shortly after, but the football smashes into the upright & no goal.

The only other times since 1971 (when field goals dropped from 2 points to 1) that a team has led 1-0 were both kicked very late in the game - Newtown bt St George 1-0 in 1973, plus in 2006 Parramatta went up 1-0 but lost to StG-Illw 8-1.

That "s the first time that i have seen a replay or exerts from that 78 semi against the Sharks ., so thanks for that post
Really quite noticeable after that loss and a bit of ordinary defence at times that the side was able to really improve in that area quite considerably in the remainder of that epic run then into the G F and of course winning the replay .
John Gray was a pretty fair footy player as was John Gibbs and even more so of course but still thought that a fully fit John Harvey up front and then Steve Martin at half back seemed to give the side or offer the side just a bit more all round or better input in the remaining final "s games .
Sharks did show some lively attack in that semi but again helped by some very average Manly defensive structure at times and again a real tribute to those players who then went all the way on that remarkable and hugely courageous winning run and to really lift in that defensive department in particular

 

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

That "s the first time that i have seen a replay or exerts from that 78 semi against the Sharks ., so thanks for that post
Really quite noticeable after that loss and a bit of ordinary defence at times that the side was able to really improve in that area quite considerably in the remainder of that epic run then into the G F and of course winning the replay .
John Gray was a pretty fair footy player as was John Gibbs and even more so of course but still thought that a fully fit John Harvey up front and then Steve Martin at half back seemed to give the side or offer the side just a bit more all round or better input in the remaining final "s games .
Sharks did show some lively attack in that semi but again helped by some very average Manly defensive structure at times and again a real tribute to those players who then went all the way on that remarkable and hugely courageous winning run and to really lift in that defensive department in particular

Same for me. I had never seen anything from that game. I just remember Manly being beaten. Though Manly lost, I did enjoy watching the game this week and the style of footy from both teams and the referee.

 

[sheridanstand78]

Here is a link for that semi that we lost.

What happened after that game goes down in folklore at our club. What they team overcame to win that title was phenomenal and for an 11 year old boy like me, so inspirational, Manly are my first love and that season sealed that!

 

[manly al]

Showed again in this game what great acceleration , speed and anticipation Russel Gartner had . Very classy centre for his time.
Also Bruce Walker in the 2 nd row , would have to have been one of the best open field runners and cover defenders in that era also . Excellent speed and finishing ability .. Understandable why Arko rated him one of his best ever acquisitions
Great side all round and these two no exception to that rating

 

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

The next game Manly vs Parra isn't on Youtube as far as i can tell. Eadie apparently missed five goal attempts, so it probably should never have been a draw.

I watched the replay semi Manly vs Parra a few days ago. If not for Steve Martin, John Harvey, Randall, Gartner, Eadie's goals and halftime replacement Ray Branighan there's no way Manly win. I presume Alan Thompson was injured and that's why Branighan came on, but at 11-2 down his two perfect bomb kicks (1:00:35 & 1:10:00) created tries that won Manly the game, even though Gartner's runway try (1:05:25) is the one everyone remembers.