Sea Eagles say Seasons greetings with Sea food

I was fortunate to be invited (courtesy of my daughter Natalie) to the Sea Eagles xmas party this afternoon put on for sponsors & their families, a sea food bbq at their picturesque Narrabeen headquarters.

I had prepared a prominent sign saying "I am not personally a sponsor" in case I ran into Choc but I think he & the others involved in the 4-nations are still on a break

Having supported the club for many years, from a distance so to speak, it was a great experience to mingle with the players and get to meet some of them. All the players I approached were very open, friendly & good humoured, and happy to sign a footy & pose for photos.

The players were very relaxed & candid, special thanks to Brent Kite, Chris Bailey, Brett Stewart, Wolfman, Killer, & Robbo who were all happy to chat, and also the others who patiently gave autographs & posed for photos. And the mighty Ox, I got the chance to thank him for his deeds for Manly, he looks so relaxed I almost didn't recognise him at first. And also Des. What a guy, one in a million our Des

Look out for Brent to have a very big year, and the mood of everyone semed to be a quiet determination to get back on top in 2010. The ability to have a full off season preparation, with only 3 away on tour and no WCC, was cited by several players as a big advantage compared to last year.

I know they would have been reminded to be on their best behaviour but they all impressed me as a really decent bunch of young blokes. There was a pretty good spirit evident, as I guess you would expect in a club that has had such success over the past few years, but after today I am even more confident of a very strong showing in 2010.

Thanks also to Vidmar who made a point of catching up with an out-of-towner and his daughter, he also gave me some tips on how to write longer posts