Victory oh so sweet for local Manly fan STORY AND PHOTO: STUART CARLESS 13 Oct, 2011 YOU need to have broad shoulders to be a Manly supporter – just ask local milko Dave Rutherford. Mr Rutherford – a Manly supporter for the past 40 years - agrees it is the one team everybody loves to hate. He still can’t believe how many people threw their support behind the ‘Kiwis’ leading into the NRL grand final. Manly, he said, had been carrying hopes of a nation on their shoulders. Mr Rutherford started following Manly at the tender of five because he liked the colours – maroon and white – and has been a fan ever since. “Once a Manly supporter, always a Manly supporter,†he said. He admits to copping a hard time at school – particularly if Manly suffered a big loss – but has developed a thick skin over the years and is now out and proud about his passion for the Sea Eagles. He can list many of the region’s other ‘hard core’ Manly supporters. Mr Rutherford’s car is hard to miss around Milton-Ulladulla with its distinctive EA-33-LE number plates. It is decked out year-round with Manly stickers, seat covers, cushions and a bear in the backyard. In the lead up to grand final he also added side window covers, flags, a wedding strip – and anything else he could find in the Manly colours. "There were a few Manly supporters who were pretty impressed,†he said. Mr Rutherford travelled up to the grand final with fellow Manly supporter Marty Collins and said he was ecstatic with the win given that Manly hadn’t been given much hope at the start of the season. He blew his maroon and white-striped bugle so much that his lips started to crack by the time Monday came around. The club has now won two premierships in the space of a few years and is looking ‘solid’ for the next three to five years at least. Mr Rutherford celebrated the win for a week but started taking the decorations down over the weekend. Now, he said, it’s a case of sitting back patiently and waiting for season 2012. http://www.ulladullatimes.com.au/news/local/sport/general/victory-oh-so-sweet-for-local-manly-fan/2322755.aspx
