Fans show their true colours as matter of pride

Seven rainbow flags stood in the Brookvale fence. Fans cloaked themselves in the pride flag on the hill, while the Manly cheerleaders waved rainbow pompoms.

Fans show their support for the Manly seven who decided to stand down. Picture: AAP

Seven rainbow flags were placed into the Brookvale fence as a statement. Some fans cloaked themselves in the pride flag as the Manly cheerleaders waved their rainbow-coloured pom poms.

Manly were seven footballers down – they had chosen to boycott the match because they did not want to wear the Sea Eagles pride jersey for religious and cultural beliefs – but the leftover Sea Eagles put up a fight.

Manly was absolutely understrength, inexperienced but gallant in defeat to the Roosters in front of 12,187 fans at 4Pines Park.

For a moment or two in the second half of the game, it felt like the weakened Sea Eagles side might just have a hope. Trailing 6-20, it, all seemed a bit flat until Manly great Bob Fulton’s grandson Zac ran on for the first time in Sea ­Eagles colours. Cheers boomed through the Bob Fulton stand. Manly dialled up the pressure.

With two minutes and 10 seconds to go, Alfred Smalley scored in the northwestern corner - but it wasn’t enough, with the Roosters winning 20-10.

Manly players in the rainbow jersey. Picture: AAP

Despite the chaos of the week, Fulton relished the night.

“It was special just to do it for my family up in my grandfather’s stand,” he said. “[The boys who stood down] I respect their decision … I was just stoked [to be ­selected].”

The ­furore over the pride jumper has divided Manly fans. Some backed the players’ decision to stand down on “cultural and ­religious beliefs”, others spoke of their “disgust”.

“The seven who wouldn’t wear the pride jersey should stand down permanently,” said Ella Cassidy, from Narrabeen, a long-time Manly fan.

Outside the Brookvale ground before kick-off, fans were surprised by the camera crews, including the Fahey family, down from Orange. Sea Eagles fans Alicia and Simon Fahey made the trip from the country with their two boys, Lincoln, 9, and Ben, 5. Simon Fahey said he “respected” the Manly players’ decision not to play. “That is their decision and you have to respect it,” he said.

A spectator waves a rainbow flag in the crowd at 4 Pines Stadium. Picture: Tim Pascoe

Alicia Fahey said it was their children’s first NRL match – a trip they had booked for some time.

She said they had found it hard to “explain the situation to them” as the media storm around Manly raged this week.

Those in the crowd wearing rainbow jerseys had a different take. Roosters fan Ella Moroney and her friends, who decorated the fence with the seven rainbow flags and had themselves sitting right in a spot they hoped the TV cameras would catch them, said they were making a statement.

“As an LGBTQI woman, I am here to say to those Manly players I think their behaviour was really disgusting; we want to show the players and the fans that being who you are is OK; we love you and you’re safe with us,” she said.

“We wanted to make sure that this is something everybody in Australia could see. This has been such a public issue, every LGBTQI person has seen this, they’ve been targeted, they’ve been discriminated against, so we need to make an equally big statement that we are here for them.”

A spectator shows her support for Manly. Picture: AAP

Mark Wright, from North Kelly­ville, wearing a Manly pride jersey, said he turned up to support the leadership of captain Daly Cherry-Evans and coach Des ­Hasler on the issue. “It’s been such an emotional time for a lot of people; I thought Des and DCE were great, so I went out and bought a jersey,” he said.

Earlier, the wife of rugby star Israel Folau lashed out at ARLC chairman Peter V’landys, labelling his comments surrounding the Manly players’ decision to stand down as “hypocritical”.

Former Kiwi netballer Maria Folau took to social media to launch a stunning attack on Mr ­V’landys on Thursday afternoon.

Israel Folau, who was sacked by Rugby Australia in 2019 because of a stack of homophobic ­social media posts, has also had his desire to return to the NRL hit roadblocks.

Mr V’landys has never said Folau was blacklisted from the code but has reserved judgment on the former Broncos and Storm player until a club tried to register a contract.

The Dragons flirted with the idea but decided against it after a backlash from fans and sponsors. Ms Folau attacked comments Mr V’landys made about players being “human beings” and “you have to respect the players’ religious and cultural beliefs”.

He made those comments after seven Manly players stood down from Thursday’s clash against the Roosters because of the club’s ­decision to wear a pride jersey.

“We’re all human beings at the end of the day … Umm, so what’s Izzy? … A donkey?” Ms Folau posted on her Instagram account.