Playing Career
Vital Statistics
- Full Name
- Phil John Mann
- Nickname(s)
- Spider
- Born
- Friday, 16th October, 1953
- Current Age
- 70 years and 192 days
- Place Of Birth
- Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Known Family Links
- Father
- Bruce Mann
Biography
At over 2m in height, Phil 'Spider' Mann was the tallest player in the game during the 1970s. At his most effective when in top stride, Mann was one of the club's best players during the series of sudden death play-offs to decide the final five semi-finalists in 1975. Although dropped from the Eels’ 1976 grand final team, he was called into first grade and played in the historic 1977 grand final draw against St George when five-eighth John Peard withdrew. Mann left the club in 1983 to play in the country and later coached Port Macquarie to three straight premierships in the Group 3 competition.
- ALAN WHITICKER
Playing Career Statistics
All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.
To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.
Competitions | ||||||||||||||
| Competition | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) | 60 | 20 | - | - | 60 | 34 | 24 | 2 | 56.67% | List | ||||
| National Panasonic Cup | 5 | 2 | - | - | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60.00% | List | ||||
| NSWRFL Finals | 4 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50.00% | List | ||||
| Craven Mild Cup | 5 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60.00% | List | ||||
| ||||||||||||||
NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) - By Year | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Season | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Parramatta | NSWRFL 1974 | 15 | 4 | - | - | 12 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 20.00% | List | |||
| Parramatta | NSWRFL 1975 | 18 | 4 | - | - | 12 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 61.11% | List | |||
| Parramatta | NSWRFL 1976 | 10 | 4 | - | - | 12 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 70.00% | List | |||
| Parramatta | NSWRFL 1977 | 4 | 2 | - | - | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 75.00% | List | |||
| Parramatta | NSWRFL 1978 | 9 | 6 | - | - | 18 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 66.67% | List | |||
| Parramatta | NSWRFL 1980 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||
| Parramatta | NSWRFL 1981 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||
NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) - By Team | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Parramatta | 1974-78, 1980-81 | 60 | 20 | - | - | 60 | 34 | 24 | 2 | 56.67% | List | |||
Contributions:
Greg Fiveash, Andrew Ferguson, Rugby League Tables, Steven Russo, Shawn Dollin, Paul Carter, Alan Katzmann, AJ Lucantonio
Your Say
22/12/2011
Loved watching him play - not many new but he was the highest paid player in the history of rugby league - hard to believe?
15/03/2015
I have a Rugby League Week headline page I picked up from a newsagency back in maybe 1976..." Mann- Selectors Split!" I believe it was all about when Phil Mann was dropped for the 1976 Grand Final. If anyone is definite out there let me know... What a great player...with such a big stride everyone struggled to tackle him...Next time I am in Port Macquarie I might have to hunt down Phil Mann and get my piece of footy history signed by the great man know as Spider.
07/05/2017
Read a old footy card years ago and it had his height at 203cm
02/05/2020
I played with him at High School. He was a phenomenal schoolboy footballer. I then ran into him when I moved my family to the Hastings.
Legend.
28/01/2024
Also played with Mudgee Dragons alongside former eels team mate Ron Hilditch.
Want to have your say about this player? Add a comment.