Graham 'Wombat' Eadie

Coming to Manly as an 18-year-old from Woy Woy, Graham Eadie secured the top fullback spot following the retirement of Bob Batty in 1971 and became one of the most prolific point-scorers in the post-war game. Eadie won four premiership titles with the Sea Eagles (1972-73, 1976 and 1978) and became an institution in Australia’s Test and World Cup teams during the 1970s. A rampaging attacking player, one of his finest matches was in the 1978 grand final replay where he single-handedly destroyed Cronulla in scoring a try, setting up two others for Russel Gartner and kicking three goals and a field goal. Eadie's representative career started on the 1973 Kangaroo tour when he was called into the final two Tests against Great Britain following an injury to captain-coach Graeme Langlands. He went on to play 12 Tests in all, as well as the 1975 and 1977 World Cup competitions, but retired from Test football following a second Kangaroo tour (1978) and the three-Test whitewash of Great Britain in 1979. The winner of the Rothmans Medal as best and fairest player in 1974 Eadie was the season's leading point-scorer in three consecutive seasons. His 14 goals in the 70-7 thrashing of Penrith in 1973 remains an individual postwar record. In 1978 Eadie added a further sporting achievement to his resume when he represented Australia in a World Sporting Superstar competition in Jamaica. Eadie's final rep match was in the first State of Origin clash (1980) and he surprisingly announced his retirement after playing in successive grand final losses to P’matta (1982-83). He also holds the record for scoring the first four point try in Australia in the first game of the 1983 season. At the time he was the game's greatest point-scorer (bettered by Mick Cronin soon after) and remains the greatest point-scorer in Manly’s club history. The feeling that he still had a lot to offer the game was borne out in his remarkable comeback with English club Halifax in the mid 1980s. Under the coaching of fellow Australian Chris Anderson, Eadie scored a club record 16 tries at fullback and helped Halifax to victory in the 1986-87 Championship title and 1987 Challenge Cup. In the latter victory Eadie became the first Australian to win the Lance Todd Trophy as man-of-the-match. He then took over as coach of Halifax in 1988 but the move was short-lived, as was his time as lower grade coach of G’Coast(1991-92) and with South Queensland (1995-96). His son, Brook Eadie, won a premiership with the Crushers’ President’s Cup team in 1996.