The 75 series: Brent Kite

With the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles celebrating its 75th year in 2021, we take a look at some of the greatest players to wear the maroon and white jersey.

Brent Kite (#498)

A Queanbeyan junior, Brent Kite joined the Manly Sea Eagles in 2005 after making his NRL debut for the St George-Illawarra Dragons in 2002. He played 67 matches for the Dragons with Manly beating off the Canberra Raiders for his services.

Kite cemented himself as a starting prop in 2005, playing 22 games for the Sea Eagles in his first season at Brookvale under Coach Des Hasler.

A strong, aggressive prop who could also play lock and second-row, Kite became a cornerstone of the Manly pack, going on to play 221 games for the Sea Eagles. He also crossed for 12 tries for Manly.

Kite was awarded the prestigious Clive Churchill Medal as the man-of-the-match in Manly’s famous 40-0 premiership win over the Melbourne Storm in the 2008 Grand Final.

Kite then won his second premiership for Manly in the Sea Eagles' 24-10 win over the Warriors in the 2011 Grand Final.

After making his NSW debut in 2004, Kite’s strong performances for Manly saw him recalled to the NSW Blues team where he went on to play 10 matches overall for his state.

In 2006, Kite made his Test debut for Australia in the Tri-Nations series and would pull on the green and gold jersey five times in his career.

Kite also represented Tonga on five occasions at World Cup level in 2000 and 2013.

After leaving Manly, Kite joined the Penrith Panthers in the 2014 season where he played 25 games over two seasons before retiring. Kite played 313 first grade matches with 221 of them at Manly.

In 2018, Kite coached the Tweed Coast Raiders to win a Northern Rivers Regional premiership and the NSW Country Rugby League’s Clayton Cup.