NRL Finals Series: History against Manly after losing nine straight games at ANZ Stadium
The last time Manly walked out of ANZ Stadium as winners, the Stewart brothers were still playing and Julia Gillard was still PM. Now the Sea Eagles are hoping records are there to be broken.
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From a fortress in Brookvale to a graveyard in Western Sydney.
That’s the reality for a Manly side that will have to end a worrying losing run at ANZ Stadium in an elimination final against South Sydney.
The Sea Eagles have not won at the ground since September 27, 2013 — 2184 days ago.
However, they can take solace from the fact that 30-20 triumph was in a preliminary final against the Rabbitohs.
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On that night, Geoff Toovey was coach, David Williams and Matt Ballin scored tries, Daly Cherry-Evans was halfback, Jamie Lyon captain and the Stuart brothers, Brett and Glenn, the key playmakers.
Now-Manly five-eighth Dylan Walker was in the Souths side.
Since then, the Sea Eagles have lost nine consecutive games in five years, 11 months and 23 days.
It is the second-worst losing streak at a ground in Manly’s 72-year history behind their 10 successive defeats against Cronulla at Shark Park between 1987 and 2006, although they were also known as the Northern Eagles during part of that time.
Inspirational lock Jake Trbojevic is among the Manly players never to have won an NRL match at the venue.
The Sea Eagles overcame a worrying trend under lights last week when they beat Cronulla at Lottoland. However, they have still only won 27 of their past 72 night games.
Manly coach Des Hasler now wants to bury the ANZ Stadium hoodoo.
“There’s not much we can do about that now,” Hasler said.
“You just have to keep looking forward.
“I like the stadium, ANZ. It is where the big ones are played. For our players, it’s another step closer to that. Two games away.
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“I think someone else said we couldn’t win night games at Lottoland but we won there last week.
“Hopefully we can do that again. If we play well, you have to be a chance.
“At this stage, we just need to control what we need to control; to do what we need to do and see what happens from there. That’s the only answer you can give.”
Manly will again start underdogs without star players Tom Trbojevic, Curtis Sironen and Joel Thompson, although they will have in-form prop Marty Taupau back from suspension.
“We’re in good shape,” Hasler said.
“We have trained well this week and are looking forward to stepping up again and enjoying the experience.
“Marty was one of the most relieved people at Lottoland on Saturday. He gets to come back in and play finals footy, which is one of the pinnacles for any rugby league player.
“Our front row (Taupau and Addin Fonua-Blake) is pretty important. They have given us great momentum.
“We have been able to play off the back of them and the players get a bit of space. They have been really consistent this year, so we need to maintain that this week.
“A lot of our players are revelling in the opportunity. They have worked damn hard and deserve everything they get.”
Originally published as NRL Finals Series: History against Manly after losing nine straight games at ANZ Stadium
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