Manly Leagues, the new Sea Eagles community team in 2024, has earned themselves plenty of respect in their debut season in the Sydney Shield competition.
A fourth tier men’s competition that feeds into the Ron Massey Cup for both emerging and senior players, the Sea Eagles have quickly established themselves as a club with a strong future in the Sydney Shield under rising coach Anthony Watmough.
The new team is supported by Manly Leagues, Manly Warringah Rugby League Football Club, Manly Warringah Junior Rugby League, and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.
For many of the young players in the Manly Leagues team, it is the first time they have played against more seasoned opponents with the experiences gained only further benefitting the Sea Eagles club in coming years as they build a path towards a stronger, more vibrant future for players on the Northern Beaches.
"Manly has always had tough juniors. Our opposition coaches often tell me about how tough we are to play against every week and how hard these guys are working,'' Watmough said.
"We are using this Sydney Shield platform to produce the next generation of young Manly players, which has been missing in previous years.
"When I was coming through, we had 8-12 local juniors in our first grade team playing and even more in our squad.
"We can now see the direction our juniors are taking through the work of our Pathways program.
"There are exciting times ahead for our community as we build the local rugby league competition back to what it was."
The opportunity for players to develop their game at a more established level has already paid off after Benjamin Keene-O'Keefe, Campbell Munn, Taulauniuotagaloa Mariota, and Jett Jackson were called into the Manly Jersey Flegg team in June.
It was a rise in class for Keene-O'Keefe, Munn, and Jackson after playing SG Ball Cup for Manly earlier this season.
This week, another local junior player in hooker Will Golden from the Harbord United Devils gets his chance to play for Manly in the Sydney Shield when the Sea Eagles tackle St Mary's.
"Will has put his hand up. He is a hard worker and has pushed his way into the squad,'' Watmough added.
The Sea Eagles will be chasing their fifth win of the season against St Marys at Lionel Watts Reserve, Belrose, on Sunday.
Match: Manly Leagues v Saints
Round 15 -
home Team
Manly Leagues
away Team
Saints
Venue: Lionel Watts Park, Sydney
Manly Leagues will be looking to make it two wins over the Saints this season after beating the then competition leaders 28-12 at 4 Pines Park in round seven in early May.
The Sea Eagles fielded 11 local Manly juniors in the win over the Saints that day.
he club builds a path towards a stronger, more vibrant future for players on the Northern Beaches.
"The continued growth in this team every week surprises me. The boys know that through the amount of hard work they put in every week,'' Watmough said.
"That's why I know when it turns for us, we will be very hard to beat against any team."
