Following a sustained period of dominance in which the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles made the finals every year for a decade since 2006, the silvertails have endured a prolonged lull only making the finals once in the past four seasons.

While on the whole, the past four seasons have been painful for the Brookvale faithful, seeing many favourite sons walk out the door, this changing of the guard was typified in 2015 in which they lost club legends Anthony Watmough, Glenn Stewart, Kieran Foran, and eventually coach Geoff Toovey.

While the release of such players has allowed the Sea Eagles to rebuild their squad to be much more competitive, this change in trajectory, as well as the consistent squad that came prior, has resulted in more than a few future stars walking out the door.

Here are the top 10 players the Sea Eagles have let go, not re-signed or released since 2010.

The players have been listed in accordance with the contribution they made whilst at the Sea Eagles as well as considering the influence they have had at the clubs they have left for.

5. Dean Whare

Perhaps one of the most underrated players in the NRL, Dean Whare joined the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles ahead of the 2010 season after two prolific years with the Dragons in the NYC.

Still only twenty years old, Whare would make his debut for the Sea Eagles in round 12 of the 2010 season, impressing immediately by score three tries on debut against the North Queensland Cowboys.

Whare would go onto make only five appearances over the following season and a half, featuring predominantly for the Sea Eagles in the NSW Cup. Whare would cement himself as an NRL player in his third-year of first grade, 2012. Becoming somewhat of a Mr. Fix it for the Sea Eagles, the junior Kiwis representative would feature in the centres, wing or fullback, depending on injury and requirement. Finishing the season with 21 games and 6 tries, Whare expressed a desire to stay at the Sea Eagles beyond 2012. However, he realised his path to regular first-grade was blocked by international centres Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai.

Following this sullen realisation, Whare signed a deal with the Penrith Panthers commencing in the 2013 season. Although he began the year at fullback and quite successfully, I might add, Whare cemented himself in the centres from round 7 onwards. This impressive start to the year saw Whare handed his Kiwis debut for the 2013 ANZAC test, as well as later going onto be selected in the Kiwis World Cup squad.

Since then Whare has been a constant for the Panthers, signing two long term contract extensions that look set to keep him at the base of the mountains for the rest of his career. He has made 113 appearances for the Panthers across his long stay at the club, as well as cementing himself as a regular for the Kiwis, playing 19 tests for his birth country.

While he may not be the flashiest of players, Whareโ€™s highlights reel is littered with big hits and he possesses an explosive right foot step. Over the course of his nine-year NRL career, he has proven himself to be one of the best defensive centres in the NRL, often being handed the task of man-marking Australian superstar Greg Inglis in test matches and performing admirably in the process.

Dean Whare

5 COMMENTS

  2. For mine it was Glenn Stewart…his departure started a sequence of events that drove a stake through the heart of Manly. It’s hard to overlook the significance of this impact on the club.

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