Manly NRL legend Darrell Williams’ calls for teammates to help son, Toby, at the polls

Former Sea Eagles fullback Darrell Williams is dialling in a few favours, hitting up the likes of Fatty Vautin and Cliff Lyons to support his son Tony’s run for parliament.

Ex-Manly fullback Darrell Williams has flown back to his old stomping ground to help son Toby fight for his political life. Toby is hoping to replace Brad Hazzard in Wakehurst at the State Election. Picture: David Swift

Former Manly fullback Darrell Williams is trying to get the 1987 premiership team back together – to help secure a similar victory for his son Toby.

With three weeks to go before voters head to the polling booths, Williams has been calling his ex-teammates – including former captain Paul “Fatty” Vautin and Cliff Lyons as well as Geoff Toovey – to see if they can help out on March 25.

A staffer for retiring Health Minister Brad Hazzard, Toby Williams is fighting to keep the veteran Liberal’s Northern Beaches seat of Wakehurst in Coalition hands against independent challenger and local mayor Michael Regan.

“I was with Paul Vautin and Dale Shearer on the Gold Coast recently and they said if they were down here, they’d help,” Darrell said.

“I’m pulling out all stops. Whether they want or not, I’m co-opting them.

Darrell Williams is tackled by Ivan Henjak during the 1987 Manly versus Canberra grand final. Picture: News Corp

“(But) footballers notoriously bad in answering calls.”

Not that his son Toby needs an introduction to the Wakehurst community – the 28-year-old has not only worked for a long-serving minister, but sat on the Board of Directors at Dee Why RSL Club, was vice-chair of the Harbord Bowling and Recreation Club, president of the football referees association among other sporting committees.

“Everyone on the Northern Beaches knows Toby. and what is freakish is he knows all of them by name,” Darrell said.

“His mother and I guessed he would end up in this position so when Brad said he was retiring and said ‘it’s there if you want it’, he said I want it.”

While a 21.9 per cent margin would ordinarily render a seat “safe”, the electorate falls in the federal former Coalition seats of Warringah and Mackellar which both have gone to independents.

Toby, who believes he can win, said cost of living was the most important issue among Wakehurst constituents, many of whom had mortgages or were renters.

Some of the team from Manly's 1987 grand final-winning side at a reunion lunch in 2007: Top row: Darrell Williams, Ron Gibbs, David Ronson, Noel Cleal, Paul Vautin and Bob Fulton. In the front row are Stuart Davis, Paul Shaw, Mal Cochrane and Phil Daley.

“While Pittwater in the north and Manly in the south are more well-to-do, I describe Wakehurst as a middle-of-the-road electorate,” he said.

“There are lots of families here who are trying to work out how to pay the bills and that’s why the Perrottet’s government’s cost of living measures such as the Back To School vouchers are important and why the Coalition needs to continue to govern.

“A lot of people also say seats like Wakehurst get taken for granted, but there has been so much infrastructure here such as the Northern Beaches Hospital and the Warringah Road Underpass and this will continue if the Coalition government remains in power.”

As for his political rival, Mr Williams reminded voters how the influence of independents was limited as they were not “in the tent”.