NRL 2021: Manly vs Storm, Battle of Brookvale remembered ten years on

Ahead of the Manly vs Storm clash, those involved in the infamous Battle of Brookvale have broken their silence on the brawl after a decade.

Manly and Melbourne will go head to head in Round 21, almost 10 years on from the Battle of Brookvale. Picture: AAP.

It was a brawl so wild, even 10 years on some of the protagonists still can’t believe it happened.

“The crowd was begging for blood, like the old gladiator days,” Anthony Watmough said.

The crowd got what they wanted – a stink that has been immortalised in four words: The battle of Brookvale.

Manly v Melbourne, August 26, 2011.

A hatred years in the making.

And a fallout so dramatic that Manly players say it galvanised them to win the premiership that year.

A decade on, as Melbourne and Manly prepare to do battle again at Suncorp Stadium, The Daily Telegraph spoke to Manly’s Watmough, Kieran Foran, Brett Stewart and Daly Cherry-Evans, and the Melbourne Storm’s Adam Blair, Frank Ponissi and Craig Bellamy about that night of mayhem.

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Manly and Melbourne will go head to head in Round 21, almost 10 years on from the Battle of Brookvale. Picture: AAP.

THE LEAD-UP

The pre-match hype had been intense. This was first versus second and Brookvale Oval was heaving.

“Before the game, there were players saying ‘f..., if they do one more dirty thing, the first one that does it, just go, just start swinging’,” Watmough said. “It was the unwritten law.

Daly Cherry-Evans was a rookie sensation from Queensland who had not yet learned the meaning of true hostility.

“The boys would speak about how much they enjoyed beating Melbourne but I didn’t fully understand what a rivalry was until that night,” Cherry-Evans said.

“That was the night when all the emotions boiled over and it made for one memorable occasion.”

Watmough remembers the tribal nature of the feud.

“It had been built up in the media and was only going to end one way,’’ he said. “Whether we ever see that kind of thing again, I don’t know, it’s been outlawed now.

“When you play this type of sport, you have to expect things like that. Something has to snap every now and then.”

Ponissi, the Storm football manager, remembers walking into a northern beaches powder keg.

“There had been a massive build-up,” Ponissi said. “It was one v two on the ladder and two rounds to go. It was a massive game.

“They closed the gates and you could feel the tension before the game – it just had that feeling. You knew something was going to happen.”

Adam Blair and Glenn Stewart were sin-binned, after a scuffle broke out between Darcy Lussick and Ryan Hinchcliffe.

THE FIGHT

Just before halftime, a scuffle broke out between Manly’s Darcy Lussick and Melbourne’s Ryan Hinchcliffe, a stray elbow the cause.

Blair charged in and got Lussick with a crisp right uppercut, infuriating Manly forward Glenn “Gift” Stewart. The pair then ripped in. Moments later, referee Shayne Hayne sin-binned Blair and Stewart.

As they walked off, Stewart slowed, Blair caught up, words were exchanged and a ripping fight broke out, prompting all players – and members from both benches – to join a brawl that spilt over the sidelines.

Glenn Stewart and Adam Blair met again on the sidelines after bing sent to the sin bin.

Stewart and Blair then continued their fight, before backup arrived.

“I haven’t said much about it,” Blair said. “Everything happened really quickly that night.

“My recollection was Glenn and I throwing a couple of punches and, before you know, the rest of the Manly team was in there and I was on the bottom of the pile, doing my best from the ground.

“When you’re in that battle and the adrenaline is rushing, anything went back then and you could do a little bit of stuff like that.

“What we did on the field stayed on the field. That’s how it should be.”

Blair said it didn’t take much to set off Stewart.

“It was the heat of the battle, a swear word here and there,” Blair said.

“I actually can’t remember what was said on the night but it was most probably ‘what’s your problem, let’s go’. It wasn’t anything bad.

“There was tension off the field and then someone says something, you say something back and it went from there. Times have changed but there’s always a great contest when the two teams play because of that rivalry.”

Watmough said only the intensity of Origin battles matched that fight.

“It was bananas,” Watmough said. “I haven’t experienced anything except for Origin with all the hatred. It reached boiling point.

“I charged straight over to the fight. I turned around and started thinking, ‘everyone is into it, I’m just going to start swinging’.

“Then I got knocked on my arse and shouldered over the top of the melee. The intention was there. It’s still the greatest footage you’re ever going to see.”

Then NRL CEO David Gallop watched the action from a VIP box at Brookvale Oval.

THE YOUNG GUNS

Star five-eighth Foran summed it up simply: mates first, footballers second.

“A stack of us all came flying in, natural instincts took over,” Foran said. “The next minute the Melbourne boys followed.

“I charged in and helped tackle ‘Blairy’ to the ground. I got a week’s suspension, which was fair enough.

“Players were coming in off the bench because it happened right there in front of the tunnel. ‘Snake’ came flying in for his brother. Emotions were high.

“It summed up the rivalry between Manly and Melbourne at that time. Mates first, footballers second.”

Cherry-Evans isn’t afraid to admit he was in over his head.

“All of a sudden it just spilt over and the benches were up,” Cherry-Evans said. “I’ve never seen anything like that. It was pretty crazy.

“I’m not a fighter, so I was pretty scared. I was close enough to see what was going on but not close enough to get hurt.”

Manly teammates were the first to join the fray, led by Brett Stewart.

WHERE’S MY BROTHER

Brett Stewart had one thought: “Where’s my brother?”

“That was my only thought, where was Glenn?’’ he said. “I think the ref was Shayne Hayne. He called me out and I said I had to look after my brother.

“He said ‘I understand’. That was the first time a ref ever agreed with me. I was shocked.

“It was stacks on. It happened really fast. If people didn’t know how close we were as a team, they did after that. That galvanised us that night. No one doubted us after that night.

“That put us in good stead for the upcoming semi-finals and it let every other team know how close we were and what we were about.

“Blairy and Glenn didn’t lay a glove on each other and they swung about 20 punches.”

As the fight raged on, players from both benches also entered the fray. Picture: Getty Images.

TOOVES AND PONISSI

“When those two players were coming off, it was like slow motion,” Ponissi said. “You could just see something was going to happen.

“And then suddenly, it happened, and all our bench players – guys like Bryan Norrie and Sisa Waqa - went straight out. They were the first players to Adam Blair’s rescue because the Manly blokes got their first.

“I remember ‘Tooves’ (then Manly trainer Geoff Toovey) and I became involved in a heated argument. I had worked with ‘Tooves’. These days we laugh about it. It got pretty heated between ‘Tooves’ and myself.”

10 players and two officials were charged by the NRL over the all in brawl. Picture: AAP.

UNFORGETTABLE

Blair and Stewart were recalled from the dressing rooms where they were serving their 10 minutes and sent off. The NRL later charged 10 players and two officials.

“It wasn’t the way I wanted to finish my time at Melbourne Storm,” Blair said. “I didn’t get to play for them again after that incident.”

To this day, fans remind the players of that night.

“Mayhem is probably the word to describe it,” Foran said. “I remember on the field at the time thinking ‘this is unbelievable’.

“There was a genuine hatred between the players back then. It started like most games we played against Melbourne but it quickly turned.

“People still come and ask about the Battle of Brookie and say ‘how good was that?’ It was just crazy. It was mate protecting mate. I will never forget the crowd. That is the one thing that will always stay with me.

“I’ve been involved in some great games at 4 Pines over the years but I will never forget the noise that night after the fight erupted.

“There wasn’t a person with their bum on a seat – they were all on their feet, screaming, yelling. It was deafening, full-on.”

The incident dominated the headlines.

The fallout from the Battle of Brookvale was devastating for both teams.

THE FALLOUT

Manly won the match 18-4 and marched on to beat New Zealand in the grand final. Melbourne was eliminated in the preliminary final.

Both teams said that night sealed their fates.

“We were a tight bunch of players anyway but that galvanised our group and played a role in us winning the premiership that year,” Foran said.

Cherry-Evans said: “From memory, Des (Hasler) settled us really well at halftime. After that we went on to play some good footy. That was the night where my belief that we would win comp was at its peak.

“To beat Melbourne in an emotionally charged game, I came off thinking ‘this is the team, we’re going to win it’. It was a special night.”

Ponissi said the Storm never recovered.

“It was chaotic at halftime,” Ponissi said. “Emotions were running high. It was a matter of trying to calm everyone down.

“The Brookie crowd got even more frenzied after that – we were copping it big time on the sideline.

“We had a really good season up to that stage and we never really recovered. I think everyone was hoping we would play again in the grand final but we got beaten in the prelim final by the Warriors.”

BELLAMY’S REGRETS

Coach Bellamy said if it happened today the suspensions would be massive.

“I can’t remember a whole heap from 10 years ago – I can’t remember what happened yesterday,” Bellamy said.

“It probably wasn’t a great look for the game. There were some heavy suspensions dished out back then but if it happened today, they would be wiping blokes out for a fair bit.

“At that time, the rivalry between the Storm and Sea Eagles was strong. We played in some grand finals against each other and it just boiled over that night.

“I don’t think either club would be overly proud of what happened that night but things happen in contact sports.

“It was ugly for the game, especially when the two benches got involved. It wasn’t a good look and it’s not something that happens these days.”

Originally published as NRL 2021: Manly vs Storm, Battle of Brookvale remembered ten years on