NSWTA 2012 Blue Awards Winners 14.10.12

The NSWTA Blues Awards were held on Saturday 13th October with our own Laura Peattie taking out the prestigious NSWTA Junior Player of the Year.  This caps of an amazing twelve months for Laura who recently represented NSW Women's Opens at the State of Origin and was named in the Australian Women's 18's team that will take on the Kiwi's in the Trans Tasman to be held in NZ during February 2013.  Additionally Barry Gibson once again took out the NSWTA Selector of the Year award – the second time in the last few years.  Congratulations also to Sarah Peattie who was nominated for Female Player of the Year and Jenna Hitch was nominated for the Junior Female Player of the Year.  Sue Jones from Manly Touch once again took out the Sydney Scorpions Administrator of the Year, so well done to Sue from all the Manly Women's team!

Barry Gibson, Laura Peattie & Ray Peattie at the Blues Awards 2012

Australian Trans Tasman Announcement 05.10.12
The Australian Youth and Masters teams to compete against New Zealand in the upcoming Trans Tasman series during February 2013 in Auckland, have now been announced on the TFA website.  Manly Women's Premier League is delighted to have a number of representatives in various teams. This is a huge accomplishment and one that the entire Management team and all players should be extremely proud of. 

In the Australian Women's 18's Manly has a massive presence with five representatives, including the young talented Hannah Dyball who has been outstanding on debut for the Premier League team this year.  NSW Women's 20's Captain Jenna Hitch will represent the Australian Women's 20's. The Opens teams will be announced in coming weeks.  Once again congratulations to all involved. 

Australia Women's 18's: Danni Davis, Hannah Dyball, Laura Peattie, Sam Rodgers, Yasmin Meakes 
Australia Women's 20's: Jenna Hitch
New Zealand Women's 18's: Charmayne Nathan

National Youth Champs & State of Origin Wrap 23.09.12
Well done to all our players who represented NSW or their School Rep teams at Port Macquarie for National Youth Champs and State of Origin.  Congratulations to NSW Women's 20's Captain Jenna Hitch and Sam Rodgers for their 3-0 series victory over Queensland.  Also Elesha Dougall who played NSW Mixed Opens, winning the series 2-1 over Queensland and playing a strong role.  The NSW Women's Opens lost 2 games to 1,  with Sarah Peattie playing along side sister Laura Peattie and winning the prestigious Players Player Award – a  massive achievement on debut for NSW.  At the National Youth Champs a number of our girls represented NSWCHS including Shellie Davis, Hannah Dyball, Chloe Cheney (Danni Davis unfortunately out injured), losing the Final to a very strong Queensland Secondary Schools team by 5-2 with YouTube highlights below.  The NSWTA Development team, under the Coaching of Edith Nathan, finished the tournament strongly.  This team included Emma Williams, Georgia Wallace and Jess Fowler.  NSWCIS and NSWCCC had mixed tournaments with Steph Maiolo and Zara Nicholas representing these teams admirably.  Congratulations to all players!

NSWCHS Finalists:  Danni Davis, Chloe Cheney, Shellie Davis, Hannah Dyball, Emma Crerar.   NSWTA Dev:  Jess Fowler, Emma Williams, Georgia Wallace

2012 Sea Eagles Vawdon Cup Preview 13.07.12
The 2012 season is now well underway with the Sea Eagles squad looking forward to the upcoming Vawdon Cup season which kicks off on Friday 17th August. Similar to last season Manly will be competing in Vawdon Cup Premier League and Division One. The Premier League squad is this year made up of 26 talented players and as such competition for places in the top side will be tough. The girls will be looking to Captain Sarah Peattie for inspiration after her recent appearances for the Australian Mixed Opens, along with Jenna Hitch who made her debut for the Australian Women’s Opens in the successful Trans Tasman series. Many of the Manly girls will have the extra motivation of State of Origin which takes place in September. For the NSW Women’s Open, Sarah and Laura Peattie will be representing the blues. In the NSW Women’s 20’s Jenna Hitch and Sam Rodgers will be on show. Elesha Dougal will be playing for the NSW Mixed Opens.

Additionally many of the girls recently attended the Australian Trans Tasman Training Camp at Narrabeen, including Danni Davis, Laura Peattie, Hannah Dyball, and Georgia Wallace who all took part in the Australian 18’s squad. With selectors sure to be viewing their Vawdon Cup performances they will be extra keen to impress. Other girls that have started the season strongly include Brittney McLeod, Justine Johnston and Zara Nicholas, with Charmayne Nathan and Emma Crerar looking to bounce back this year after major injuries.

The Manly Women’s Premier League Player Leadership group is Sarah Peattie, Justine Johnston, Holly Shorter, Rachael Cleave and Jenna Hitch.

2012 Premier League Squad: Alex Wallace, Aleya Wiggins, Bec Beath, Brittney McLeod, Charmayne Nathan, Chloe Cheney, Danni Davis, Elesha Dougall, Emma Crerar, Emma Williams, Georgia Wallace, Hannah Dyball, Holly Shorter, Jenna Hitch, Jess Fowler, Justine Johnston, Laura Peattie, Nicky Albery, Rachael Cleave, Samantha Donlan, Samantha Rodgers, Sarah Peattie, Shellie Davis, Stephanie Miaolo, Yasmin Meakes, Tayla Clifford, Zara Nicholas.

NSW State of Origin Teams 09.06.12
The remaining NSWTA state teams have now been named. These teams will take on Queensland in the upcoming State of Origin series to be held in September at Port Macquarie. Congratulations to Elesha Dougal for being selected in the NSW Mixed Opens. Additionally Jenna Hitch and Sam Rodgers who were named in the NSW Women's 20's. Jenna represented the Australian Women's Opens in the recent Trans-Tasman series in Mudgee, whilst the past 12 months for Sam Rodgers have been huge. Sam played her first Vawdon & State Cup at Open's level last year and now has been selected for NSW. Manly also have Sarah and Laura Peattie who were named in the NSW Women's Opens. It's a great reward for both girls, with Manly Captain Sarah Peattie recently a member of the victorious Australian Mixed Opens team that won the World Cup in Scotland last year and the recent Trans-Tasman series. For Laura Peattie the call-up has come earlier than expected and on the back of a number of stand-out performances for the Manly Opens at Vawdon & State Cup and Manly 18's at Junior State Cup.

2012 Manly Women's Premier League & Junior Development Squads 26.04.12
Congratulations to a number of new additions to the 2012 Manly Women’s Premier League Squad. This is a reward to these young girls on their outstanding performances over the past 12 months at many tournaments, including; Vawdon Cup, State Cup, Junior State Cup, NTL and Junior Regionals. Our Junior Development Squad has also been updated accordingly and these girls are viewed upon as our next group of Sea Eagles junior talent we are looking to develop. In 2012 we will have two teams competing in the NSWTA Vawdon Cup, these being in Premier League and Division One.

2012 Junior Development Squad: Aaliyah Paki, Brooke Ferro, Claire Vanzino, Eliza Parish, Georgette Randall, Jane Vanzino, Jorja McDonald, Kristie Leonard, Logan Glasson, Mila Randall, Nicole Saldern, Rebecca Fear, Teagan Wilson, Tiana Reid.

New 2012 initiatives include the following:

– Touch Masterclass Sessions, whereby some of the best Touch Players & Coaches in Australia will focus on different aspects of the game
– Increased focus on player feedback and communication, including self-analysis and review
– Manly Men’s & Women’s Premier League Group Training sessions
– State Cup Premier League & 20’s Weekend Training Camp
– An increased Management team with clearly defined Roles & Responsibilities
– Player Representatives who will have a direct voice to the Management team – Sarah Peattie & Justine Johnston
– Team fundraising will again take place via a number of different avenues aiming to reduce financial pressure on players

2012 Premier League Management Team:
Head Coaches: Barry Gibson & Anthony Dudeck
Finance Coordinators: Keith Smith & Anthony Dudeck
Fund Raising Coordinators: Kellie Grawich, Stacey Hitch, Trevor Hitch
Juniors Coordinators / Div 1 & 20's Coaches: Jamie Clifford & Keith Smith
Managers – Premier League & Division 1 / 20's: Sandra Dyball, Lyndie Wallace, Jenny Rodgers
Senior Player Leadership Group: Sarah Peattie, Justine Johnston, Jenna Hitch, Holly Shorter
Premier League Captain: Sarah Peattie
Head Physio Advisor: Steve Cunningham

2012 Manly Women's Elite Training Camp  24.06.12
The season got underway this weekend with the Manly Women's Elite Training Camp taking place.  This included a trial game against the NSW Women's 20's with photo's found here.  Regular training commences on Tuesday 3rd and Friday 6th July.

NSW State of Origin Teams 09.06.12
The remaining NSWTA state teams have now been named.  These teams will take on Queensland in the upcoming State of Origin series to be held in September at Port Macquarie. Congratulations to Elesha Dougal for being selected in the NSW Mixed Opens.  Additionally Jenna Hitch and Sam Rodgers who were named in the NSW Women's 20's.  Jenna represented the Australian Women's Opens in the recent Trans-Tasman series in Mudgee, whilst the past 12 months for Sam Rodgers have been huge.  Sam played her first Vawdon & State Cup at Open's level last year and now has been selected for NSW.  Manly also have Sarah and Laura Peattie who were named in the NSW Women's Opens. It's a great reward for both girls, with Manly Captain Sarah Peattie recently a member of the victorious Australian Mixed Opens team that won the World Cup in Scotland last year and the recent Trans-Tasman series.  For Laura Peattie the call-up has come earlier than expected and on the back of a number of stand-out performances for the Manly Opens at Vawdon & State Cup and Manly 18's at Junior State Cup.

Australian CrossFit Games 20.05.12
Congratulations to Manly Women's Touch Rachael Cleave who competed in the Australian CrossFit titles on the Gold Coast over the weekend.  Her team came an impressive second meaning they are off to the USA in July 2012 to compete at the World CrossFit Games.  You can see Rach in action here.

2012 Season Kicks Off – Manly Fun Run  20.05.12
The season is now underway with the Manly team competing in the 10km Manly Fun Run.  A great run and morning was had by all with official timings to be posted shortly, however Brittney McLeod led the group coming 1st, followed by Tayla Clifford 2nd and Emma Williams 3rd.  Congratulations Britt, Tayla and Emma for a great run.  Our next squad event is the Training Camp on Sunday 17th June, with full details and times to be provided later this week.

2011 Season Rankings 20.12.11
As the 2011 representative season has now closed, NSWTA have released the rankings for the 2012 representative season.  Congratulations to Easts Roosters in the Men's Open & Mixed Open and Canterbury in the Women's Open who all claimed the top spot.  In Women's Opens the Manly Sea Eagles have finished in fourth position after finishing 5th in Vawdon Cup and 3rd in the State Cup.  The future looks extremely positive after another successful State Cup campaign, losing to the victorious Canterbury Bulldogs by 6-4 in the semi final.

1. Cantebury Bulldogs (Vawdon Cup Runner Up & State Cup Winners)
2. Wollongong Devils (Country Championship Winner, Vawdon Cup Winners & State Cup Runner Up)
3. Easts Roosters
4. Manly Sea Eagles

2011 State Cup Women's Opens Review 20.12.11
The NSWTA State Cup has been completed in Port Macquarie with the Manly Women's Opens and 20's having excellent tournament's.  Both teams made it through to the semi finals.  Manly Warringah were also crowned Club Champions, an awesome achievement and one that is much deserved through extremely hard work by many of people throughout the club.  Congratulations to the following award winners:

State Cup Women's Opens Players Player:  Laura Shorter
State Cup Women's Opens Coaches Awards:  Holly Shorter, Elesha Dougal & Georgia Wallace
Vawdon Cup Player of the Season:  1st Danni Davis  Equal 2nd Georgia Wallace & Sarah Peattie
State Cup Women's 20's Best & Fairest Award: Zara Nicholas
State Cup Women's 20's Coaches Award: Chloe Cheney & Stephanie Miaolo
Vawdon Cup Women's 20's Player of the Season:  Emma Williams

State Cup photo's can be found here now.  Below – Sam Rodgers dives in the corner against West's Magpies.

Semi Final Report via NSWTA website
Canterbury Bulldogs 6 defeated Manly Sea Eagles 4
Touchdowns: Georgia Wallace, Justine Johnston, Danni Davis, Laura Peattie

Going straight through to the Semi Final, Canterbury were fresh and got the ball rolling by none other than their Top Dog – Louise Winchester who took off from half and found an open player player to score. Manly were sick of this sight early on in the game with Squeeze repeating this another two times in the first seven minutes of the game.  Touch Football fans will not get sick of the sight of Danni Davis from Manly who is a star of the future. A massive long ball to open Manly's account and wonderful individual effort to score herself two highlights.  Manly cared little for the five titles Canterbury have already won with their young line-up showing youthful exuberance which is refreshing to watch. Manly levelled up the scores four a piece with nine minutes to go but it was none other than Louise Winchester to break through from half and find an open player to score and break the deadlock. Kelly Woods broke the Manly hearts with four minutes to play by setting up again from half and give Canterbury the game six touchdowns to four.  Full credit to the Manly girls and their coaches Barry Gibson and Anthony Dudeck, Semi Finalists two years in a row at State Cup and they have the talent to go further in the future.

Quarter Final Report via NSWTA website
Manly Sea Eagles 7 defeated Wallsend 3
Touchdowns: Alex Wallace, Laura Peattie, Laura Shorter, Sam Rodgers, Elesha Dougal, Tina Clancy, Danni Davis

The Manly Sea Eagles have progressed through to the semi finals of the Women’s Open division following their 7-3 win over the Wallsend Wolves in their quarter final.  Manly will now play the Canterbury Bulldogs in the semi final, to be played on the stadium field at 12.05pm.  Wallsend got out to an early 1-0 lead, before Manly hit back to level the scores at 1-all. The Wolves got back out to the lead in the eighth minute, but Manly levelled the scores at 2-all shortly after. Manly took the lead for the first time in the game in the 10th minute, with Wallsend levelling the scores at 3-all close to the midway mark of the game.  A Danni Davis long ball to the wing gave Manly a 4-3 lead in the 17th minute, and they then ran away with the game, scoring three more times in the final 10 minutes to take a four touchdown win and book their place in the semi finals for the second consecutive year.

Video Highlights: Game 1
Manly Sea Eagles 1 defeated Wests Magpies 0
Touchdown: Holly Shorter

Video Highlights: Game 3
Wollongong Devils 3 defeated Manly Sea Eagles 2
Touchdowns: Alex Wallace, Laura Peattie

2011 State Cup Women's Opens Preview 24.11.11

Excitement is growing with the 2011 NSWTA State Cup now less than one week away.  The Women’s Opens division is arguably the closest it has been in recent years, with many of the games highest profile players unavailable due to injury or other circumstances.   The Sea Eagles were semi-finalists in 2010 and in Pool 2 they have been matched up against two other seeded teams in the Wollongong Devils and Wests Magpies.  Along with these teams are their traditional rivals the Parramatta Eels, interstaters Victoria and the Easts Roosters 2. 

Manly kick-off their campaign on Friday at 12.40pm on the main stadium, in a replay of their 2010 Quarter Final against the Wests Magpies.   Manly had a solid 6-4 victory over Wests during the last round of this year’s Vawdon Cup and will be fired up for a repeat performance.  Their second game will be Friday afternoon at 5.20pm, against the young Parramatta Eels on Field 1.  Many of the Manly and Parramatta girls have played together in Juniors via the Sydney Scorpions so both teams will be keen for a strong performance.

Saturday begins with a match-up against the unknown quantity of Victoria on Field 1 at 9.45am.  The Sea Eagles won’t be taking the interstate team lightly and will have to be on their game to get the points.  Next up promises to be a great battle with Manly taking on the highly rated Wollongong Devils on the stadium at 12.40pm.  This should be a cracker of a game with the Sea Eagles taking it to Wollongong in their meeting in Vawdon Cup earlier this year, only to go down narrowly by 8-6.  The question on everyone’s minds will be how the Devils will cope without the games current number one female player, Nicole Beck, who is unavailable due to injury.   The final pool game for the Sea Eagles is at 5.20pm on Field 1, up against the Easts Roosters 2.  The Eastern Suburbs club have plenty of depth and this second team is expected to be very competitive.

Finals Sunday is the day that counts, with the top two teams from each pool having the luxury of progressing straight through to the semi-final.  The second and third placed teams will battle it out, crossing over to the other pool, with both losers eliminated and the winners progressing to the semi-final.

Pool 1 is extremely tough, with the benchmark for many years the Canterbury Bulldogs the highest ranked team and arguably favorites to win the tournament.  Along with the Winchester sisters they have the talents of Kelly Woods, who is returning from injury after missing the majority of this year’s Vawdon Cup.  Along with the Bulldogs are the Easts Roosters 1 and Penrith Panthers – both highly capable of progressing deep into the tournament.  Add to that the Wallsend Wolves, Port Macquarie and Taren Point and you have a very competitive pool.

The Manly Sea Eagles 2011 preparation has been a lengthy one, and when Day 1 of the tournament kicks off, it will have reached 201 days.  The focus this year from Coaches Barry Gibson (NSWTA 2011 Junior Coach of the Year) and Anthony Dudeck has been building on the structures put in place during 2010, with the benefits starting to become evident.  The introduction of an Elite Junior Development Programme has been extremely beneficial, with many of the talented juniors from this elite squad this year representing the young Manly 20’s under the guidance of Coaches Jamie Clifford and Keith Smith.  

Having a closer look at the Manly Sea Eagles team we start with Captain Sarah Peattie, who will be looking to cap off a successful year after representing Australia in the Mixed Opens division at the World Cup in Scotland.  Before that it was with the Australian 18's at the Trans-Tasman in January 2011.  Although it has been a lengthy year for many of the Australian representatives, the State Cup is no doubt one of the most anticipated events on the touch calendar and these players will have what is required to lift. 

The Sea Eagles will also be heavily relying on the talents of Rachael Cleave and Jenna Hitch.  Rachael will be looking for a strong tournament which should reward her with NSW Mixed Opens selection for the upcoming 2012 State of Origin series.  Moving onto Jenna Hitch and she represented the Australian 18’s in January 2011, and comes into this tournament as one of the Manly team’s fittest players, training extremely strongly in recent weeks.

An advantage Manly will be looking towards during the tournament will be their versatility, and with likes of 2010 Players Player dual winners Tina Clancy & Brittney McLeod, sisters Georgia & Alex Wallace and speedster Holly Shorter they most definitely get this.  The commitment shown by the Wallace sisters has been extremely impressive, and it’s a just reward for their dedication that they made the final team in their first year at the club. 

A youngster on the rise is Laura Peattie, who had an excellent Vawdon Cup and is definitely now showing off her talents that existed in the junior ranks.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing during 2011, with a recent serious knee injury to Emma Crerar forcing her to miss this State Cup.  Along with her Nicky Albery, who has taken on an excellent leadership role within the group, will be on the sidelines cheering the team on. 

Two new additions to the Manly ranks this year have settled in well, with experienced players Elesha Dougal and Justine Johnston both looking to have influential tournaments.  This time last year Elesha was representing the Wests Magpies, with a return to her home club taking place at the start of the year.  Justine Johnston is another player whose dedication to training and the team has to be applauded, and any success that follows her is most definately deserved.

Another player expected to have a strong State Cup is 17 year old Danni Davis.  Danni finished well placed in the NSWTA Vawdon Cup Smith Medal (Women’s Opens Best & Fairest Award)  and has most definitely grown in confidence during 2011.  As as result her game has benefitted greatly going to the next level.  Both NSW and Australian representative honors look to be around the corner for this talented player.

On the wings, the Sea Eagles will be looking to the speed of Australian Women’s Opens Beach Sprint Champion Laura Shorter, along with young speedster and Sydney Scorpions 16’s representative Samantha Rodgers. 

Good luck to all teams at the 2011 State Cup – particularly those in the Maroon & White.  You can follow the State Cup results via the NSWTA State Cup webpage and additionally follow the Manly girl’s via their Twitter updates which appear regularly in the top right hand corner of the website.  

State Cup 2011 Women’s Opens Division
Pool 1:  Port Macquarie, Penrith Panthers, Canterbury Bulldogs, Taren Point, Wallsend Wolves, Easts Roosters 1
Pool 2:  Manly Sea Eagles, Wollongong Devils, Parramatta Eels, Victoria, Easts Roosters 2

Premier League State Cup Team: Alex Wallace, Brittney McLeod, Danni Davis, Elesha Dougal, Georgia Wallace, Holly Shorter, Jenna Hitch, Justine Johnston, Laura Peattie, Laura Shorter, Rachael Cleave, Sarah Peattie (Captain), Tina Clancy, Sam Rodgers

NSWTA Women's Premier League Smith Medal 06.11.11
The Smith Medal is awarded in the Women's Premier League Division for the best player throughout Vawdon Cup.  After five rounds, Canterbury captain Louise Winchester held the lead on 11 points, closely followed by Beck and Wests’ Nola Campbell, with Easts’ Kristin Boss, Wests’ Nicole McHugh, Varsity’s Holly Pobjie and Penrith’s Mel Peters close behind.  With one round remaining, Beck had taken the lead on 15 points, followed by Winchester on 13, with Peters and Boss both on 12 points.  Beck scored another three points to take out her first Smith Medal, with Winchester and Peters both finishing on 15 points each.  Manly's Danni Davis ended the season extremely strongly and finished in the top place-holders, a great achievement for Danni and the Manly Women's Premier League team.  In the Men's division congratulations to Sam Brisby on his huge effort finishing in second place behind Steve Roberts from Canterbury.   Further information can be found here.

Final Positions:
N Beck – Wollongong (18 points)
L Winchester – Canterbury (15 points)
M Peters – Penrith (15 points)
K Boss – Easts (12 points)
H Pobjie – Varsity (11 points)
D Davis – Manly (10 points)
N McHugh – Wests (10 points)

Sea Eagles Premier League Raffle 06.11.11
Manly Women's Premier League would like to thank everyone that supported them with their 2011 raffle.  The winners of the raffle which was drawn at TG Millner Field are below.  Once the winners are all contacted the prizes they selected will be advised.

1st Prize: Col Clarke  – Manly NRL Jersey
2nd Prize:  T&S Hitch – Ashes Cricket Shirt
3rd Prize: Georgia Wallace – Waratahs Jersey
4th Prize:  Laura Shorter – Liverpool FC Shirt
5th Prize:  Cathy Allso – Manchester United FC Shirt

Prizes include a fully signed Manly Sea Eagles NRL premiership winning jersey, 2010/2011 Manchester United & Liverpool FC signed shirts with Certificate of Authenticity, 2011 NSW Waratahs & Australian Ashes signed shirts.  Look out for our massive 2012 NRL Last Man Standing Tipping Competition which will be back and bigger than ever next February/March 2012. 

Manly Sea Eagles Host New Zealand 19.10.11
The Manly Sea Eagles hosted the New Zealand U/15 & U/17 Youth Mixed teams on Tuesday 18th October at North Narrabeen Park. In what was a great evening of touch the NZ U/15 Mixed played the Manly 20's (photo below) and the NZ U/17 Mixed team took on the Manly Premier League team. Both teams enjoyed a presentation and a free BBQ sausage sizzle funded by the Manly Women's Premier League squad. Many thanks to Jim Randall from Warringah Touch and Peter Walters & Manu Wakely from NZ Touch who have assisted in making this event possible. Special thanks to Trevor Hitch, Stacey Hitch, and Kelly Grawich who cooked the fabulous BBQ.

2010/11 NSWTA Annual Blues Awards 16.10.11
It was a great night for the Manly Warringah club and Women's Premier League team as they took out a number of awards at the annual NSWTA Blues Awards Dinner. The Dinner provides the NSWTA with the opportunity to publically recognise those individuals, in front of their peers, who have achieved not only excellence but have also provided outstanding service to the sport of Touch Football in NSW.

Manly Women's Premier League Captain Sarah Peattie capped off a tremendous 12 months winning the Junior Player of the Year. Sarah was a member of the successful Australian Mixed Opens team that took out the recent Mixed Opens division at the 2011 Touch World Cup in Scotland. Our fantastic Coach, the one and only Barry Gibson, received the much deserved Junior Coach of the Year Award – after taking out two 2011 Junior State Cup titles, with the dual undefeated Ryde Eastwood 14 Boys and Manly Warringah 14 Girls. Barry's Sydney Scorpions 14 Boys also made the 2010 and 2011 NSWTA Regional Championship Finals. This acknowledgment comes on the back of Barry's 2009 NSWTA Selector of the Year award.

Congratulations to Sue Jones with her tireless work being recognised as she took out the Administrator of the Year Award. Other awards included Sam Brisby from the Manly & Sydney Scorpions Men's Opens, winning the Junior Male Player of the Year and the Sydney Scorpions permit winning back-to-back Region of the Year Award's. Full details via the NSWTA website. Congratulations to the following winners:

Junior Female Player of The Year: Sarah Peattie

Junior Male Player of The Year: Sam Brisby

Junior Coach of the Year: Barry Gibson

Administrator of the Year: Sue Jones

Region of the Year: Sydney Scorpions

Australian 18's Trans Tasman Squad 08.10.11

Congratulations to the following girls on their inclusion in the 2012 Australian 18's Trans Tasman squad; Laura Peattie, Georgia Wallace, Danni Davis, Emma Crerar (shadow). The final team will be taking on New Zealand in January 2013 as part of the Opens, Youth, and Masters Trans Tasman tournament, in New Zealand. The Australian 20's should be named shortly with Sarah Peattie and Jenna Hitch likely to be once again involved at this elite level.

Manly Sea Eagles NRL 2011 Premiers 02.10.11

The Manly Sea Eagles are the 2011 premiers, defeating the New Zealand Warriors 24-10. The premiership is the club's eighth, and their second in four seasons. Many say they have long been a team many love to hate but it is difficult not to admire the Sea Eagles. For long many have questioned the anger they have shown towards the establishment, but they cannot ever be accused of not being able to channel it where it counts. They turned their rage against the Warriors and took away their second premiership in five years; it is a momentous achievement in the current salary-cap era of evenness being next to godliness. Congratulations to Des Hasler, Geoff Toovey and the team on a fantastic performance. More news via the club website.

Many thanks to Peter Spray from the Manly Leagues Club on his fantastic support of the Manly Women's Opens team by allowing us to sell raffle tickets on Grand Final day at the club. Peter has a long affiliation with Manly Touch Association and his support to our team is greatly appreciated.

18's National Youth Champs 18.09.11
Congratulations to Danni Davis and Emma Crerar as their New South Wales Combined High Schools team has taken back-to-back National Youth Championships 18's Girls titles, with their 6-5 win over Queensland Secondary Schools Touch in the final of the event. Additional congratulations to our own Laura Peattie for taking out the New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges 2011 NYC Most Valuable Player Award. Well done to our other girls wih Georgia & Alex Wallace representing Hunter Hornets and Sam Donlan representing Sydney Scorpions. All the results here now. Video of Danni & Emma here. Video of Laura, Georgia, Alex here.

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Wallace Girls Shine 06.09.11
Check out the great article on Georgia and Alex Wallace from their local newspaper. Well done to both girls on their excellent commitment to training and playing in the local Manly competition. Both girls have played in both Manly's opening Premier League games with Georgia Wallace taking out Player of the Match against Varsity Stingers. Click here to view the article.

Vawdon Cup Player Awards 21.08.11
Thanks to our fantastic sponsors this season we will have two awards each week during the Vawdon Cup season. As per last year the Vawdon Cup Player of the Year Award will be up for grabs. Each week there will be 3,2,1 points allocated to the best performers of the game. The weekly Player of the Match (earning 3 points) is sponsored by Hogs Breath Warriewood with the player receiving a $30 meal voucher. The Premier League Coaches Award & Division 1 Player of the Match each week is sponsored by Richardson & Wrench Real Estate (Seaforth/Balgowlah).

Hogs Breath Warriewood Vawdon Cup Dinner 21.08.11
Many thanks to all that attended our Vawdon Cup Season Launch at our great sponsor Hogs Breath Warriewood. It was a great turnout with over 70 people in attendance including players, family, friends and the Manly Premier League Men's Opens team. Both teams are looking forward to supporting each other closely this year during both their Vawdon Cup and State Cup campaigns.

Sarah Peattie World Cup Diary: 10.07.11

Manly Captain Sarah Peattie represented Australia with the Mixed Opens at the recent World Cup with her touch diary below.

Wed 22nd – Day 1: First up if was against England in which Sarah and Dylan Thompson sat off whilst the other 14 played. It was good first up result winning 16-1. Sarah played the next game against Niue and the team won 10-4. Sarah played on the wing scoring 6 touchdowns. She did her job well, caught every ball, made all her touches and got strong wraps from the Coaches Bernie and Tash. She actually scored another six more but they were called back for forward passes. The weather has been very mixed, four seasons in one day. Three games tomorrow including up against Switzerland, Catalonia, as the tournament continues.

Thurs 23rd – Day 2: The Aussie Mixed Opens played Switzerland at 7.40am, winning 20-0. Sarah played really well and scored 4 touchdowns. In the second game they won easily against Catalonia 18-1 . Sarah scored twice in the first half and in the second was moved to link and she really went well setting up a few touchdowns for the boys. In the 3rd game they beat South Africa (one of the top four sides) 12-2 and Sarah scored the first 3 tries. The whole Aussie Mixed team is super friendly and really supportive of each other. Every guy in the side is a gun and I can honestly say that all the girls are more than holding their own. Coaches Bernie and Tash are awesome with the players and their positive influence over the team is obvious. All of the Aussie teams have won all their games except the Men’s 40’s and Men’s Opens who both lost by a touchdown to New Zealand.

Fri 24th – Day 3: Played three games today for two wins and a draw. First game beat Wales 18-2 (Sarah got four touchdowns), second game beat Jersey 20-1 (Sarah got another three). Then in the last game at 7.20pm (doesn’t get dark here until about 10.00pm) they played New Zealand and drew 5 all after leading 4-1 at half time. Sarah scored a touchdown and actually scored the winner as well but the Kiwi Referee disallowed it saying she dropped the ball. The Kiwis have a young guy called ‘Phoenix’ who put three individual tries in in the space of 8 mins in the second half. They have another guy called ‘Browny’ who has dreadlocks and is a long ball genius. We were told Sarah is the leading touchdown scorer in the Mixed Open division. Aussie Mixed Open have their Semi Final at 3.00pm tomorrow and the Final (all going to plan) at 1.00pm on Sunday. Good luck from Laura and Sarah to all the girls for the Manly Elite Training Camp tomorrow!

Sat 25th – Day 4: First Game played England in Quarter Final and won 14-1. Sarah sat out this game (as they have 16 players and 14 play each game). Every player is playing great – no real standouts but each of them contributes. Second game was the Semi Final against South Africa and they won 15-2. Sarah got 4 touchdowns to take her tally to 27 in eight games and remains touchdown tally leader for the Mixed Opens division. New Zealand easily won the Semi Final and they play us in the final tomorrow at 1.00pm UK time (or 10.00pm Sunday night Aussie time). Still unsure of the starting 14 players and who will sit out. Everyone is fit barring some small niggles so we're not sure who the unlucky two will be. Grand Final update tomorrow.

Sun 26th – Day 5: With 16 players available for the Grand Final this meant two needed to sit out and the Coaches decided to play 10 males and 4 females. This meant two female wingers stayed on and two played link. As a result Sarah was one of the two girls that sat out. The Aussies started really badly and went down 3-0 after ten minutes. They dug deep and played themselves back into the game and despite a couple of late flurries from the Kiwis they came home strong and won 10-7. They had a nice reception/presentation for the Australian teams at Edinburgh Castle then they were all going off to their rooms for a celebration before night clubbing at ‘The Boneyard’. Sarah finished up the leading touchdown scorer in Mixed Open with 27 off 8 games and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Manly Women's Premier League Fundraising: 05.06.11
On Sunday 22nd May Bunnings Belrose played host to the Manly Women's Premier League entourage with a highly successful fundraising BBQ Sausage Sizzle. The weather was excellent and the customers kept flowing through-out the day with Manly Sea Eagles NRL Coach Des Hasler stopping by to support the team (photo below). Our next stop was Bunnings Narrabeen on Saturday 4th June with the girls on display below. We'll be at Bunning Narrabeen again on Saturday 9th July. Tickets are now on sale for the Manly Women's Premier League raffle. There are five great sporting memorabilia autographed shirts from the following teams: 2010/2011 Manchester United FC (English Premier League Champions), 2010/2011 Liverpool FC, 2011 NRL Manly Sea Eagles, 2011 NSW Waratahs & 2010/2011 Australian Ashes Cricket team. All monies raised go towards our 2011 Vawdon Cup and State Cup campaigns.