The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles is an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches
Rugby league football club
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles is an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches
The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). The club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League season and currently host the majority of its home games from Brookvale Oval in Brookvale, while training at the New South Wales Academy of Sport in Narrabeen. The club hold the record of longest period in Australian Rugby League history without a wooden spoon.
The club has competed in either the NSWRL, ARL, or NRL competitions in all respective seasons from 1947 until 1999. At the end of 1999 they entered into a joint venture with the North Sydney Bears to form the Northern Eagles, which Rugby League statisticians regard as a separate club. The Northern Eagles competed in the 2000 and 2001 NRL seasons, after which the joint venture collapsed. The Manly Warringah club (who held the NRL licence) competed in the NRL as the Northern Eagles for a further season in 2002, before abandoning the name and identity to return to what they are known as today.
Since winning their first premiership in 1972, the club has won a further seven first grade titles, with their most recent being in 2011. The club's eight titles span five consecutive decades. Since their first Grand Final appearance in 1951, the club has appeared in 19 Grand Finals across seven consecutive decades.
Cliff Lyons holds the club record for most first grade games (309). Steve Menzies played 349 first grade games, however 69 were with the Northern Eagles. The club record for most career points is held by Graham Eadie (1,917), Matthew Ridge held the highest season total with 257 (1995) which has since been overtaken by Reuben Garrick with a season total of 304 (2021). Brett Stewart is the top try scorer with 163, which eclipsed the record previously held by Steven Menzies. Menzies' scored 151 tries playing for Manly Warringah, and a further 29 during the Northern Eagles venture. Menzies is regarded as being the highest try scoring forward in the history of the game, however there is some contention to the exact try tally, as he started some games playing in the centres. There is contention too over Manly's career try scoring record with respect to Menzies and the Northern Eagles venture.