1984 The Year that was!

Round 1 – 3/3/84

Wynnum Manly 22 d Wests 14 (Kougari Oval)

Wynnum-Manly played Wests in their opening match at Kougari Oval on Saturday night and came home victors by 22-14 in a match which saw a lot of dropped ball by both sides. A huge crowd turned up to see the game and it wasn’t until the last quarter that the Seagulls wrapped it up. 

Wynnum’s only points in the first quarter was a penalty from Warren Green. The Seagulls first try came when winger Terry Butler scored in the corner, however a melee erupted after the try was scored and in the process both Tim Watson (Wests) and Greg Dowling (Wynnum) spent 10 minutes in the sin bin.

It was a seesawing match in which both sides had the lead at various stages before the Seagulls wrapped it up late in the fourth quarter after Wally Lewis playing in his debut for Wynnum sealed the match with a try.  Lewis was just brilliant in his first gam as a Seagull as he looks to dominate the Brisbane Rugby League scene in 1984.

Wynnum took away 3½ points from the match to be fourth on the Woolies ladder. In the forwards the front row of Mark Zillman, David Green and Greg Dowling went well while Gene Miles and Peter Dawes were solid in the backs.

The Seagulls do have some injury concerns from the match with Colin Scott breaking down in the first half, being replaced by Michael Booth.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 22 (T.Butler, G.Miles, W.Lewis tries, W.Green 4, M.Booth goals) defeated Wests 14 (N.Wharton, J.Sandy tries, M.Neill 3 goals).

 

Round 2 – 10/3/84

Wynnum Manly 9 d F/Valley 2 (Kougari Oval)

In game two of the round the Seagulls of Wynnum Manly played host to the Valleys Diehards when they met them on Saturday night at Kougari Oval.  Wynnum got home by 9-2 in a sloppy game which saw the ball hit the ground in machine fashion as try after try went begging.   It would have been one of the worst matches for handling seen for a long time. 

Only one try was scored in the match and that went the Seagulls way when Michael Booth ran off a well timed Wally Lewis pass to cross for a four-pointer.  Booth also kicked two goals, with Gene Miles kicking a field goal.

Wynnum picked up four points from the match and moved to third spot on the Woolies table. In the backs Gene Miles was solid while Greg Dowling topped the tackle count in the forwards.  Of the 28 penalties awarded half of them came from scrum breaches.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 9 (M.Booth try, 2 goals) defeated Valleys 2 (S.Czislowski goal).

 

Round 3 – 17/3/84

Souths 36 d Wynnum Manly 8 (Davies Park)

Wynnum-Manly faced Souths at Davies Park for their third Woolies match on Saturday night and turned in a shocking defensive effort to go down by 8-36.  The Seagulls were without a number of their star players and the Magpies at full strength and in the poorly lit conditions of their home ground were far too strong overall.

Wynnum failed to pick up any points from this match and slipped back to fourth to remain on 7½ points. Wynnum scored two tries, one in the second quarter and one in the fourth quarter.  The Magpies lead by 16-4 at half-time and 36-4 before the Seagulls scored a consolation try just before full-time. 

It was the Mal Meninga show he was unstoppable, scoring three tries and kicking six goals with a personal tally of 24 points for the match.

Wayne Bulloch and Mal Green tried hard in the forwards while Gene Miles and Brian Walsh was the best in the backs.

Scorers: Souths 36 (M.Meninga 3, W.Challis, B.Astill, B.Lindner tries, Meninga 6 goals) defeated Wynnum Manly 8 (D.Green, T.Jemmott tries).

 

Round 4 – 24/3/84

Wynnum Manly 16 d Redcliffe 10 (Dolphin Oval)

In game four the long awaited clash between the Seagulls of Wynnum-Manly and the Dolphins of Redcliffe and a capacity crowd flocked into Dolphin Oval on Saturday night to see what turned out to be one of the best clashes seen in Brisbane football.  In a total there was 13 state representatives including international playing on display in this match and they didn’t disappoint.

There were several changes to the Wynnum side before kick off with Gene Miles moving to the second row, Colin Scott Fullback to centre and Terry Butler from wing to fullback.  It was a stroke of genius from Des Morris, which worked to perfection.  Miles in particular dominating throughout the 80 minutes.

The match had everything, bone jarring defence, brilliant attack and five tries that were produced by some great sustained ball work before the Seagulls ran out winners by 16­-10. 

Wynnum picked up the maximum four points to finish the Woolies comp in second place on 11½ points.

The first of Wynnum’s tries was one of the best of the night when Gene Miles and Wally Lewis combined to put Brett French over for the first of his two tries.  It wasn’t until four minutes from full-time that Redcliffe broke the Wynnum defence to score their only try.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 16 (B.French 2, D.Green try, W.Green 2 goals) defeated Redcliffe 10 (C.Part try, J.Ribot 3 goals).

 

WSL Game 1 – 8/4/84

Wynnum Manly 50 d Wide Bay 18 (Maryborough)

Wynnum-Manly traveled to Maryborough and took on Wide Bay in their opening State League match on Sunday and came out big winners by 50-18.

The Seagulls lead by 32-6 at half-time and looked set for a cricket score when they flew in for two tries in the space of three minutes just after the break.  Wynnum raced in nine tries to three and had to overcome a huge penalty deficit of 5-19 with a lot of penalties being for some strange decisions which had both sides wondering what they were for.

Greg Dowling topped the tackle count in the forwards with 32 and he was closely followed by Mat Green with 29. In the backs Peter Dawes and Gene Miles got through a lot of work while Colin Scott was at his attacking best.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 50 (W.Green 2, T.Butler, G.Miles, P.Dawes, T.Kajewski, D.Green, G.Coyne, P.Sinclair tries, W.Green 4, C.Scott 2, Sinclair goals) defeated Wide Bay 18 (P.Gorman 2, K.Cooper tries, Cooper 3 goals).

 

WSL Game 2 (Round 5) – 15/4/84

Wynnum Manly 20 d Norths 6 (Lang Park)

The Seagulls played Norths in their second state league appearance at Lang Park on Sunday and with the game also carrying Premiership points a win was vital.

Wynnum raced to a 20 nil lead just after half time but failed to go on with the job and full-time found the score 20-6 in the Seagulls favour.  Wynnum looked like having a field day when they rattled up 14 points in 15 minutes but then for the next sixty minutes seem to lack that `killer’ instinct.  In this match the second and final quarters saw no points being scored and the third quarter saw one fry apiece go on the board.

The Seagulls first try was scored by Terry Butler from a rehearsed move from a scrum.  The next one came when the Devils kicked over the top and Brian Walsh scooped the ball up and raced 60 metres to score.

The Seagulls last try was Brian Walsh’s second after Peter Dawes and Greg Dowling were prominent. Fullback Colin Scott had top day with the boot landing four goals from four attempts.  Wynnum Manly Hooker David Green totally dominated in the scrums winning the lions share of the ball 16-5, this enabled the Seagulls to totally control possesion.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 20 (B.Walsh 2, T.Butler tries, C.Scott 4 goals) defeated Norths 6 (P.Bartier try, B.Rolls goal).

 

WSL Game 3 – 22/4/84

Wynnum Manly 26 d Gold Coast 14 (Owen Park)

Wynnum-Manly found the going tough when they clashed with the Gold Coast Vikings in their match at Southport on Sunday.  Seagulls ran out winners by 26-14 but not after they were given a giant fright especially in the first quarter when Gold Coast lead by 8-4 after scoring the only try.

The second quarter saw the Seagulls hit the front when Brett French scored after a sweetly timed pass from Wally Lewis.  The third quarter saw a try apiece go on the board with Wynnum scoring the first one when robust centre Gene Miles tore the Vikings defence with a fine individual try.  The Seagulls had to pullout all stops in the last quarter and it wasn’t until two converted tries – Gene Miles in the 62nd and Mal Green in the 67th minute-were scored that the Seagulls had the game in their keeping.

Wynnum fumbled the ball and made messes of several set moves early and it wasn’t until late in the match that they dragged themselves from an awkward situation.  Wynnum stayed on top of the ladder with this win but it wasn’t very impressive.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 26 (G.Miles 2, B.French, M.Green tries, C.Scott 5 goals) defeated Gold Coast 14 (A.Moore, A.Smith tries, J.Kirkwood 3 goals).

 

WSL Game 4 (Round 6) – 29/4/84

Wynnum Manly 26 d Easts 4 (Lang Park)

The Seagulls flew away with the fourth game when they swamped the Tigers of Eastern Suburbs by 26-4 on Sunday at Lang Park.  Wynnum raced in four tries to one, had one disallowed, one called back for a forward pass and `bombed’ several promising chances.  Robust centre Gene Miles was virtually uncontainable early in the match as he continuously tore the Tigers defence to pieces.

Peter Sibley was a late replacement for David Green and had an outstanding game in defence and attack.

Seagulls first try came in the 18th minute when Gary Coyne reversed play to put Wally Lewis in for a four pointer. In the 35th minute Gene Miles beat four Easts defenders to put Peter Dawes under the posts.  There were some solid performances in the Wynnum pack with quite a few `big hit’ tackles being pulled off espe­cially by Greg Dowling, Mal Green and Tony Kejewski.  In the backs Gene Miles and Peter Dawes had big games.

Wynnum remained on top of the State league ladder with this win. Seagulls defence was a vast improvement on previous matches and Easts only try came against the run of play when a pass went astray in the Seagulls half.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 26 (Wally Lewis 2, P.Dawes, T.Kajewski tries, W.Green 5 goals) defeated Easts 4 (M.McDonald try).

 

WSL Game 5 (Round 7) – 9/5/84

Wynnum Manly 38 d P/Brothers 2 (Lang Park)

Wynnum-Manly blasted Brothers in their Wednesday night (9-5-84) match with a seven try scoring spree when they cruised to a 38-2 Victory.  Centre Gene Miles and five-eighth Wally Lewis led a Seagulls onslaught that the Leprechaun defence had little answer for while second rower Greg Dowling turned in a whole hearted performance.

Mal Green and Brian Walsh tackled themselves to a standstill. Hooker David Green celebrated his 100th first grade game with a try in the 74th minute.  The Seagulls continued to play their open style football and centre Brett French, winger Terry Butler and fullback Brad Morgan provided some crowd pleasing moments.  Wynnum scored two tries in the first quarter with the first one covering 90 metres with Gene miles and Terry Butler prominent before Brett French finished it off.

The second one saw Terry Butler and Greg Dowling combine for a 60 metre gain, a quick play-the-ball and Wally Lewis put Brad Morgan into the corner­  A spectacular 45 metre intercept try by winger Warren Green gave the Seagulls a 22-2 lead at half-time and from then on Wynnum rammed home their advantage.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 38 (B.Morgan 2, B.French 2, G.Miles, W.Green, D.Green tries, W.Green 5 goals) defeated Brothers 2 (P.Shepherdson goal).

 

WSL Game 6 – 13/5/84

Wynnum Manly 46 d Central Qld 10 (Gladstone)

Wynnum-Manly cruised into the State League Semi Finals with a rousing 46-10 win over Central Queensland at Gladstone on Sunday.  Seagulls eight tries to one was a fair indication of the match but Wynnum got an early fright when the Capras raced to an early eight nil lead.  The Seagulls looked set for a mammoth score when they had flown to an 18-8 lead at quarter time through tries by centre pair, Gene Miles and Brett French, and half back Peter Dawes.

Seagulls attack came to an abrupt halt in the second quarter with a spate of penalties against them but then turned on the fireworks in the third quarter with a 22 point scoring spree. Lock forward, Brian Walsh, played his 100th `first’ grade game for the Club and had a solid match.

Seagulls finished the State League with the best attacking record and second best defensive one but still have the job ahead of them to make the final with the North Queensland Marlins standing in their way.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 46 (G.Miles 2, B.French 2, P.Dawes, D.Green, G.Coyne, C.Scott tries, W.Green 7 goals) defeated Central Queensland 10 (G.Conescu try, G.Hunt 3 goals).

 

Round 8 – 26/5/84

Wests 18 d Wynnum Manly 2 (Purtell Park)

Wynnum-Manly played Wests on Saturday night at Purtell Park and came away with a 18-2 loss. After the high of Wednesday’s State League win and five players in the Queensland side the Seagulls just didn’t put it together and failed to score a try.

The Panthers lead by 6-2 at half-time and 12-2 ten minutes from full-time before sealing the match with a try two minutes from full-time.

Second-rowers Mal Green and Wayne Bulloch tried hard while Gary Coyne was solid in the front row.  Brian Naylor got through a lot of work in the backs while Peter Dawes topped the tackle count on 15.  The Seagulls had three passes ruled forward in this match but they didn’t look capable of inning the game at any stage while the Panthers seemed to be hungry for a win right from the kick-off.

Scorers: Wests 18 (T.Currie, N.Carr, K.Jackson tries, G.Ballharry 3 goals) defeated Wynnum Manly 2 (W.Green goal).

 

Round 9 – 3/6/84

Wynnum Manly 32 d F/Valley 20 (Lang Park)

Wynnum-Manly met Valleys in the match of the day at Lang Park on Sunday and ran out victors by 32-20 after it was 10-all at half-time. 

It was quite obvious that the Valleys team were sent on a mission to niggle and upset the likes of Lewis, Dowling and Miles.  Scott Nicholls, Mick Hickey and Glen Workman all spent time in the sin bin for Valleys within a period of 16 minutes.  Referee Jim Ward had a very business afternoon awarding a total of 27 penalties while re tried to maintain control of the match.

The Seagulls scored 6 tries to 4 with the sin bin getting a rugged work-out with four Valleys players and one Wynnum player, spending time in the sin bin at varying stages.  The game saw a lot of niggling which resulted in the sin­bin being used.

Seagulls best try came just before half-time when Wayne Bulloch stood in a tackle and the ball swept across the width of the field and 13 passes later winger Terry Butler crossed in the corner.

Wynnum wrapped up the game midway through the second haft when they ran in 4 tries in 13 minutes to go to a 32­-16 lead after Valleys had lead by 16-10.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 32 (T.Butler 2, G.Miles, T.Kajewski, B.French, W.Lewis tries, W.Green 4 goals) defeated Valleys 20 (M.Hickey, A.McInnes, R.Klien, Z.Strasser tries, S.Czislowski, G.Rix goal).

 

Round 10 – 10/6/84

Wynnum Manly 24 d Souths 12 (Lang Park)

Wynnum-Manly and Souths clashed at Lang Park on Sunday and the Seagulls flew away with a 24-12 win.  Wynnum joined Souths at the top of the table with victory but it was a close tussle with the Seagulls only sealing the match in the final two minutes of play with two tries by their internationals, Wally Lewis and Gene Miles.

The best of the Seagulls tries came in the 26th minute when Wally Lewis and Gene Miles mesmerised the Magpies defence to find Warren Green steaming onto the ball for a four pointer. 

The Seagulls demoralization of the Magpies was due largely to the three internationals in Wally Lewis, Gene Miles and Greg Dowling.

Wynnum’s two props, Gary Coyne and Tony Kajewski were solid while Colin Scott, Terry Butler and Brad Backer supported them well in the backs.  Seagulls goal-kicking winger Warren Green played one game in the centres.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 24 (G.Miles, W.Lewis, B.Backer, W.Green tries, W.Green 4 goals) defeated Souths 12 (M.Meninga, H.Abbott tries, Meninga 2 goals).

 

Round 11 – 17/6/84

Wynnum Manly 12 d Redcliffe 4 (Kougari Oval)

Wynnum-Manly played host to Redcliffe at Kougari Oval on Sunday and won 12-4 in the wet to hold the Herald Cup for 1984.  The Dolphins opened the scoring with a try from a kick through the Seagulls defence to go to a 4-nil lead after 15 minutes.

The Seagulls made a number of breaks before their first try was scored in the 29th minute of play.  Wynnum’s five-eighth Brian Walsh put a little kick through the Redcliffe defence for winger Terry Butler to fly through to fall on the loose ball for a try.  Warren Green converted from out wide and Wynnum lead by 6-4 which was the half-time score. 

Wynnum’s second try came nine minutes after the break when second-rower Zac Sarra raced onto a pass from a 15 metre ruck to score.

The Club had a good weekend with the five grades (‘A’, ‘Reserve’, ‘Third’, ‘Under 21’. and ‘Under-18’) all winning against Redcliffe for the first time in a number of years.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 12 (T.Butler, Z.Sarra tries, W.Green 2 goals) defeated Redcliffe 4 (J.Clancy try).

 

Round 12 – 24/6/84

Wynnum Manly 22 d Norths 16 (Bishop Park)

Wynnum-Manly played Norths at Bishop Park on Sunday and remained on top of the ladder with a grafting 22-16 win.  The Seagulls scored four tries to two, had two dis­allowed and made a number of breaks that they didn’t finish off.

The score was kept close throughout the match with a spate of penalties going to Norths by 13-5. At one stage the Devils had Penalties by 13-3 with the Seagulls receiving their only two penalties in the second half right at the end of the game.

Wynnum looked like romping in when centre Brett French raced forty metres from dummy half to score out wide.  The Seagulls best try was the second and it started 75 metres out when Colin Scott went through a gap to put Terry Butler away who in turn kicked ahead for Colin Scott to regather for Ian French to score.

Man of the match was Brian Walsh, while Zac Sarra and Ian French were solid in the forwards.  In the backs Peter Dawes and Brett French were dangerous and constantly had Norths in trouble.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 22 (B.French 2, T.Butler, I.French tries, W.Green 3 goals) defeated Norths 16 (R.West, G.Bagnall tries, B.Rolls 4 goals).

 

Round 13 – 1/7/84

Wynnum Manly 36 d P/Brothers 14 (Kougari Oval)

Wynnum-Manly met Brothers at Kougari Oval on and flew away with the game late in the second half by 36-14.  The Seagulls scored 6 tries to 2 with their wingers picking up 4 of them between them – Brad Backer (3) and Terry Butler (1).

The lead changed hands three times and the score was tied twice before the Seagulls took control in the last 15 minutes to race away for four tries with the last two being in the `best of the day’ category.

The first one saw Gene Miles go down the blind side of the ruck 75 metres out to race 60 metres before linking up with Brad Backer for a four pointer. The next one came seven minutes later when Wally Lewis put Ian French through a gap 85 metres out to link up with Colin Scott who turned the ball inside to send Brett French racing away for a try.

In the forwards Brian Walsh had a big game while Greg Dowling and Gary Coyne were solid. In the backs Gene Miles and Wally Lewis were prominent with both of them taking part in three tries.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 36 (B.Backer 3, T.Butler, B.French, B.Walsh tries, C.Scott 6 goals) defeated Brothers 14 (R.Grogan, H.Foster tries, P.Shepherdson 3 goals).

 

Round 14 – 8/7/84

Wynnum Manly 40 d Easts 8 (Langlands Park)

The awesome power of the Wynnum-Manly attacking machine slipped into overdrive last Sunday at Langlands Park with a 40-8 drubbing of Eastern Suburbs.  The Seagulls led by 16-2 at half-time and 22-8 after five minutes of the second half before flying away with the game.

The defence by both sides was tight until the 20th minute when Gene Miles sidestepped through the Tiger’s defence, sold two dummies, and raced away for the first try.  Wynnum stretched their advantage to 16-2 just before the break when Wally Lewis and Colin Scott tamed the Tiger’s defence to put Peter Dawes under the posts.

Two minutes after the break the Tiger’s looked like getting back into the game when they scored a try through some lax defence by the Seagulls, but, three minutes later the Wynnum side struck back when second-rower Ian French scored a ‘power­house’ try.

Wynnum’s three internationals led the way for victory in Wally Lewis Gene Miles and Greg Dowling.  Ian French not only showed the tiger’s defence a clean pair of heels but pulled off some `big’ tackles around the ruck.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 40 (T.Butler 3, G.Miles, P.Dawes, I.French tries, C.Scott 8 goals) defeated Easts 8 (M.McLean try, C.Heugh 2 goals).

 

Round 15 – 15/7/84

Wynnum Manly 55 d Wests 12 (Kougari Oval)

The Seagulls started the third round with a 55-12 thrashing of Wests at Kougari Oval.  Wynnum’s free-flowing attack completely blitzed Wests defence to notch up nine tries while the Seagull’s defence only cracked on two occasions.  Wynnum led by 32-12 at half-time and slowed down a bit in the second half but still notched up 23 points to nil. 

Wynnum started the scoring off after only three minutes when Tony Kajewski put Gary Coyne away for David Green to accept the final pass for a try. Six minutes later Wests tied it up at 6 all only to see the Gulls fly in for two tries in the space of four minutes and then put the issue beyond doubt with 3 tries in the last 10 minutes leading into half-time.  Wynnum was awarded an 8 point try one minute after the break when Ian French scored and was hit late by a Wests player.

The final score line was a record for Wynnum as never before have the Seagulls reached the 50 point mark in premiership matches, let alone pass it.  In a memorable team effort, prop-forward Gary Coyne, lock Ian French and five-eighth Brian Walsh were the stars in a game where everything went right for Wynnum.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 55 (T.Butler 2, B.French 2, B.Naylor, B.Walsh, P.Dawes, D.Green, G.Coyne tries, W.Green 9 goals) defeated Wests 12 (S.Carter, T.Watson tries, M.Neill 2 goals).

 

Round 16 – 22/7/84 (Woolies Trophy Final) 

Wynnum Manly 34 d Souths 12 (Lang Park)

Wynnum-Manly Seagulls were at their attacking best at Lang Park last Sunday when they flew in for six tries to two to clinch the Woolies Cup rugby league final by 34-12 in a fast flowing match against Souths.  Seagulls led by 24-6 at halftime after they had scored four fast tries, in the space of 25 minutes. 

Souths scored a try just before half-time and right on fulltime but for the rest of the match the Seagulls defence held out any attack the Magpies mounted.

A vocal crowd watched the Seagulls kick off and eight minutes later go in for a try when Brett French finished off a sustained back line attack in which Wally Lewis and Brad Backer were prominent in the lead up work. 

Five minutes later Wynnum were in again when second rower Ian French tore the Souths’ defence to shreds to put Gene Miles into the clear to score.  Colin Scott converted both tries and the Seagulls had flown to a 12-nil lead after 13 minutes of play.

In the 29th minute Wynnum won their first scrum 40 metres out for the backline to slip into top gear to put winger Terry Butler in. Scott converted to give Gulls an 18-0 lead.

Four minutes later Greg Dowling put Colin Scott through a gap 45 metres out and Scott ran to the fullback kicked over the top and regathered to score.

The second half was a more defensive one, with not many breaks coming to either side and only three tries went on the board, two to Wynnum in the 52nd and 74th minutes and one to Souths right on fulltime.

The first of the Seagulls second half tries came about when Wally Lewis and David Green mesmerised Magpies defence to put Ian French over.  Seagulls pack overshadowed Magpies and their backline proved too last and classy for Souths.

Wynnum have now shot to a seven point break at the top of the premiership ladder and next week they face Valleys who are eight points behind them in third spot.  Fullback Colin Scott had one of his best games for a few weeks while second rower Ian French again proved a handful for the defence.  Props Tony Kajewski and Gary Coyne were solid in the in the middle and winger Terry Butler also had a big game.  Colin Scott had a good day with the boot landing four goals from four attempts.  Scrums were won by Souths 9-5, while penalties went to Wynnum by 8-4.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 34 (B.French 2, I.French, T.Butler, C.Scott, G.Miles tries, C.Scott 4, G.Coyne goals) defeated Souths 12 (M.Meninga, B.Sully tries, G.French, W.Halverson goals).

 

Round 17 – 29/7/84

Wynnum Manly 26 d F/Valley 4 (Kougari Oval)

Wynnum-Manly played Valleys at Kougari Oval on Sunday and emerged winners by 26-4 after being in front 8-4 at half-time.  The Gulls defence was too strong for the Valleys attack and it held them tryless while they flew in for four tries with three of them coming in the second half.

Wynnum opened the scoring with two penalties by Colin Scott and go to an 8-2 lead, with a try by strong running second rower Ian French.  Seagulls came out after the break and scored two tries in the space of five minutes to go to a 20-4 lead. The first one was a back line try from a 40 metre scrum win when Wally Lewis and Gene Miles combined to put Colin Scott through a little gap for Brett French to finish off. The second one came from a 5 metre tap when a long pass by Wally Lewis saw Gene Miles power his way over under the posts.

The last try saw the deceptive power of Wally Lewis when he sped his wat into the clear 30 metres out before sending Warren Green over with a long pass. The Seagulls wrapped up a spot in the major semi fiinal with this win.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 26 (I.French, B.French, W.Green, G.Miles tries, C.Scott 5 goals) defeated Valleys 4 (C.Maskill 2 goals).

 

Round 18 – 10/8/84

Wynnum Manly 26 d Redcliffe 14 (Dolphin Oval)

Wynnum-Manly put paid to Redcliffe’s aspirations of moving back into the top 4 with a grafting 26-14 win at Dolphin Oval on Friday night.  The Seagulls led by 12-4 at half-time and had to over­come a huge second half penalty deficit of 9-1 to take out the match. The Seagulls flew to a 22-4 lead midway through the second stanza and then had to face a period of 22 minutes of ball starvation as the Dolphins had virtually all the possession in the Wynnum half.

Wynnum’s first try was finished off by Gene Miles after Peter Dawes and Wally Lewis were prominent in the lead up work.  The second one came from the kick-off when Colin Scott broke the defence to link up with Terry Butler for Gary Coyne to accept the final pass to score.

Redcliffe got back into the game when they eventually cracked the Wynnum defence to score two tries.  Mark Zillman put the icing on the cake when he raced 25 metres down the side line to score.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 26 (G.Miles 2, W.Lewis, G.Coyne, M.Zillman tries, C.Scott 3 goals) defeated Redcliffe 14 (C.Part, J.Ribot, D.Brown tries, Ribot goal).

 

Round 19 – 19/8/84

Norths 34 d Wynnum Manly 28 (Lang Park)

Wynnum-Manly had their first defeat in 11 weeks when they crashed to Norths in a high scoring game on Sunday at Lang Park.  Seagulls scored six tries to five and three away another throe chances but it was the Devils who finished in front 34­-28.  It was 28 all with seconds remaining in the game when Norths won a scrum and kicked through to score a try.

Devils scored a 70 metre intercept try in the 3rd minute of play to go to a 6-nil lead and were never headed.  Seagulls first try came in the 13th minute of play when Ian French and Tony Kajewski cooled off the Devil’s defence to put Brett French over.  Norths lead by 16-10 at half -time and Wynnum looked like coming back into the game when Brett French scored after Wally Lewis and Gene Miles were prominent in the lead up work.

Goal-kicking cost the Seagulls dearly as only two goals were landed from eight attempts.  Three of Norths five tries came from Wynnum handling errors and the Devils landed seven goals from eight attempts.  One highlight of the match was Wynnum’s Brett French scoring a hat trick of tries.

Scorers: Norths 34 (B.Rolls 2, B.Dunn 2, J.Alroe Tries, Rolls 7 goals) defeated Wynnum Manly 28 (B.French 3, G.Miles 2, I French tries, W.Green, G.Coyne goals).

 

Round 20 – 26/8/84

Wynnum Manly 28 d P/Brothers 22 (Lang Park)

Wynnum-Manly scraped home against Brothers on Sunday at Lang Park. Brothers were pipped by the Seagulls 28-22.  In a gutsy fight back Brothers returned from the brink of disaster, when down 6-16 midway through the first half, to take a 22-18 lead 10 minutes into the second half.

Brothers opened the scoring when they scored a back line try. Seagulls were quick to equalise when Wally Lewis scored after receiving a popped up pass from Greg Dowling. Lewis was also instrumental in Brett French’s try when he took out two defenders and squeezed a pass to Ian French who off loaded to his brother.

Dowling bagged a try a few minutes later when David Green provided the link with a strong run from ruck-half. At 18-6 Wynnum looked home and hosed but the Brethren refused to throw in the towel. Brothers snatched back the lead but it was short-lived.  Seagulls centre Gene Miles broke the defence with a blinding run that resulted in a try to Terry Butter. Seagulls held desperately onto their 24-22 advantage for 26 minutes before Gene Miles sealed the game with a try from dummy half.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 28 (B.French, T.Butler, G.Miles, W.Lewis, G.Dowling tries, G.Coyne 4 goals) defeated Brothers 22 (J.Kilroy 2, T.Dwyer, G.Haggath tries, P.Shepherdson 3 goals).

 

Round 21 – 1/9/84

Wynnum Manly 20 d Easts 16 (Kougari Oval)

Wynnum-Manly had to survive a last ditch onslaught by Lasts to take out their match on Saturday night at Kougari Oval.  The Seagulls clung to a 20-16 lead for the last five minutes and had to turn on the defence to hold the Tigers out.  Both sides were locked at 6-all at half-time, and 12-all after 15 minutes of the second half before the Seagulls grabbed the lead to run out winners 20-16.  The match opened on an unusual note when the Tigers kicked off and the ball went into touch on the full.

Seagulls crossed for four tries to three with the first of them coming in the 11th minute when Greg Dowling made a big break of 40 metres.  A quick play the ball and some quick passing led to Tony Kajewski scoring. The second stanza was a close tussle with the Seagulls drawing first blood when Wally Lewis and Gene Miles tore the Tigers defence to pieces for Terry Butler to score.

David McColl scored in the corner after a long 20 metre pass by Wally Lewis wrong footed the Tigers defence for Brad Morgan to fire the final pass.  The scrums went Easts way 8-5, whilst the penalties favoured Wynnum 13-11.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 20 (T.Butler, D.McColl, W.Green,T.Kajewski tries, G.Coyne 2 goals) defeated Easts 16 (G.Thompson, M.McDonald, B.Le Man tries, C.Heugh 2 goals).

 

Major Semi Final – 16/9/84

Wynnum Manly 46 d Souths 22 (Lang Park)

Wynnum-Manly soared into the 1984 Winfield Cup Grand Final. They flew in by 9 tries to 3 in a 46-22 drubbing off Souths. The Seagulls were hanging onto a 20-16 lead at half-time, but they took off into top gear to run in five tries to one in an explosive second stanza.  The first half was always close with the lead changing hands three times and being tied up twice. The Seagulls looked like having a field day atone stage as they ran in two tries to lead by ten-nil after ten minutes. Five of the Seagulls tries came from at least 30 metres out, while three more came from sheer strength. 

The scoring opened in the fifth minute when Colin Scott kicked ahead from a 48 metre scrum win for Brett French to regather and score.  Wynnum looked gone at the 30-minute mark when they were reduced to 12 men after Colin Scott was sent from the field in the 18th minute. The Seagulls fight back in the 34th minute came when Tony Kajewski powered his way through four Magpie defenders to score. Five minutes later Wynnum snatched back the lead when they won a scrum 60 metres out, for Wally Lewis to open up the Souths defence and put Terry Butler on a 30 metre run to score.

The second half was only four minutes old when the Seagulls put the writing on the wall with a powerhouse try by Wally Lewis when he carried two magpie defenders over the line with him for a four pointer.  Wynnum went from 26-16 to a match-winning lead of 46-16, with four tries in the space of 14 minutes.

Seagulls international five-eighth Wally Lewis mesmerised the Magpies defence when he exploded into action and scored two tries and set up the other two. The first one came in the 60th minute when Lewis scored from a 10 metre ruck. Three minutes later Lewis put Ian French through a gap 25 metre out for French to power his way over with 2 Magpies pecking at his sleeves. In the 67th minute the Wynnum machine was in again when Warren Green swooped onto a Wally Lewis kick to race 20 metres to score.

Five minutes from the end came the Seagulls last try when Lewis scored after some strong lead-up work by David Green. The Wynnum Forwards have been criticised over the last few weeks for their defensive lapses. But it was they who paved the way for victory. The front-row of Tony Kajewski, David Green and Gary Coyne never stopped going, while the second-row in Greg Dowling and Ian French were a constant hurdle for the Magpies, with their strong running and tackling. Even though the Seagulls pack lost serums by I-4, and the side was playing with 12 men, they still flew in for 26 points to 6 in the second stanza.  In the backs, Wally Lewis directed play and got a lot of support from Terry Butler and Brett French.

Scorers: Wynnum Manly 46 (W.Lewis 3, G.Coyne, T.Butler, B.French, W.Green, T.Kajewski, I.French tries, G.Coyne 4, C.Scott goals) defeated Souths 22 (G.Belcher, B.Lindner, A.Lumby tries, M.Meninga 4, P.Veivers goals).

 

 

Match Reports Source: 1984 Wynnum Manly Yearbook

Photo Sources: Wynnum Manly Rugby League Football Club