Wynnum Manly Seagulls

The Wynnum Manly Seagulls are an Australian rugby league football club based at Kougari Oval, in Brisbane's bayside suburb of Manly West, which neighbours the suburb of Wynnum. They competed in the Brisbane Rugby League from 1951 to 1997. Since 1996 they have competed in the Queensland Cup. Their jersey is red, green and white. From 1995 to 2005 they were known as the Wynnum Seagulls.

History Wynnum-Manly entered the Brisbane premiership in 1931 but withdrew after two seasons due to the Great Depression. After World War II, the Seagulls re-entered in 1951 as the Wynnum-Manly District Rugby League Football Club, with Jim Cloherty as President until 1964. Before relocating to Kougari Oval in 1967, the club played at Kitchener Park, which now houses the Wynnum Manly Junior Rugby League Club.

Wynnum-Manly won only nine matches in their first three seasons, and it was widely thought they would disappear again in 1954 after they suffered numerous thrashings in first grade – including a 13–89 loss to Valleys when Norm Pope kicked nineteen goals'Pope’s Mighty Boot'; Truth, 12 July 1953, p. 15 – and forfeitures in the lower grades.Jefferies, Harry 'Wynnum Bid to Keep in BRL'; Brisbane Telegraph, 3 February 1954, p. 35 "The Seasiders", as they were known then, improved by 1959, when they achieved their first season with more wins than lossesHadden, Steve; Our Game: The Celebration of Brisbane Rugby League 1909-1987, p. 175 and defeated Valleys in the minor semi-final. Winger Lionel Morgan made history in 1960, becoming the first player from Wynnum-Manly and the first Aboriginal player to represent Australia when he debuted against France.

The team faced challenges in the 1960s and 1970s, collecting ten wooden spoons and never finishing higher than fifth in the eight-team competition. By 1980, their win-loss-draw record stood at 173-415-14 in 603 games.

Their fortunes began to turn around in 1981 under President Arthur Lovell. Having secured star players Gene Miles and Greg Dowling from north Queensland, Wynnum-Manly became a power for the first time,Hadden; Our Game, p. 299 winning the Brisbane premiership in 1982, 1984, and 1986, with a runner-up finish in 1985. Four Seagulls players, Miles, Dowling, Bob Lindner and Australian captain Wally Lewis, were part of the "Unbeatables" 1986 Kangaroo squad that completed an unbeaten tour of Great Britain and France. Lindner would be the last non-NSWRL player chosen for Australia.

Facing receivership in the early 1990s, the team rebranded as the Wynnum Seagulls, securing their fourth BRL premiership in 1995. The BRL was succeeded by the Queensland Cup in 1996.

In 2010, Paul Green became Wynnum's coach, leading the team to success in 2011 when they defeated Tweed Head Seagulls twice in the finals series, including in the grand final. The team defended its title in 2012, beating Redcliffe 20–10 in the decider.

Representative honours

Australia Lionel Morgan: 1960 Johnny Gleeson: 1963, 1964 John Wittenberg: 1963 Johnny Rhodes: 1975 Lew Platz: 1975 Gene Miles: 1982 Rod Morris: 1982 Colin Scott: 1983 Greg Dowling: 1984 Wally Lewis: 1984* Bob Lindner: 1986

* Wally Lewis who joined the club from Valleys in 1984, is the only Wynnum-Manly player to captain the Australia national rugby league team. Lewis captained the Kangaroos on 16 occasions while a member of the Seagulls from 1984-1987 including captaining the unbeaten 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France.

Personnel +NamePositionMathew HeadHead CoachDarren Nicholls Mat CameronAssistant CoachesTony GuilfoyleHigh Performance ManagerAndrew FieldsHead of StrengthSteve HeymerHead TrainerDarren McKenzieManager

Results

Year Ladder position Finals series result 1996 7th 1997 1st Semi-finalists 1998 6th Preliminary finalists 1999 9th 2000 11th 2001 6th 2002 8th 2003 4th Preliminary finalists 2004 5th Preliminary finalists 2005 6th 2006 9th 2007 9th 2008 4th Semi-finalists 2009 10th 2010 5th Semi-finalists 2011 2nd Premiers 2012 1st Premiers 2013 4th Semi-finalists 2014 2nd Preliminary finalists 2015 4th Semi-finalists 2016 10th 2017 10th 2018 12th 2019 2nd Runners-up 2020 N/A 2021 2nd Runners-up 2022 9th 2023 6th Preliminary finalists

Head-to-head records Current to 2023 season.

Current teams

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost Win % Burleigh 52 17 3 32 32.69 Central 48 35 2 11 72.92 Brisbane Tigers 179 75 4 100 41.90 Ipswich 71 39 3 29 54.93 Mackay 29 18 0 11 62.07 Northern Pride 30 16 0 14 53.33 Norths 175 69 4 102 39.43 Papua New Guinea 14 6 0 8 42.86 Redcliffe 158 57 4 97 36.08 Souths Logan 26 19 0 7 73.08 Sunshine Coast 26 16 0 10 61.54 Western Clydesdales 23 8 1 14 34.78 Townsville 12 5 0 7 41.67 Tweed Heads 44 27 0 17 61.36

Former teams

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost Win % Aspley 2 1 0 1 50.00 Broncos 4 2 0 2 50.00 Brothers 130 47 6 77 36.15 Brothers-Valleys 2 2 0 0 100.00 Bundaberg 3 3 0 0 100.00 Cairns 8 5 0 3 62.50 Crushers 4 2 0 2 50.00 Gold Coast 2 0 0 2 0.00 Logan City 29 18 3 8 62.07 Port Moresby Vipers 2 1 0 1 50.00South Coast 5 2 0 3 40.00 Souths 153 67 2 84 43.79 Valleys 126 32 2 92 25.40 Wests 135 55 4 76 40.44 Young Guns 12 5 1 6 41.67

Wynnum Manly Seagulls

Bron en licentie