MOST people hate Manly, but Garry Norman isn’t most people.
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He’s been a Sea Eagles fan for the majority of his 64 years.
That’s why it was a thrill for the Tamworth local to receive a call from a Manly player last week telling him that he had become the 10,000th club member this year.
He met the likes of league immortal Bobby Fulton as a youngster and has been a supporter ever since, but it was an up-and-coming star of the club who spoke to Garry about the milestone.
“I spoke to one of the young blokes, Tom Symonds,” Garry said.
“Last year when I signed up for my membership I spoke to Geoff Toovey, the coach.”
Not that Garry realised who he was talking to at first.
“I asked him how he thought they’d go and he said ‘by the way, this is Toovs’,” he said.
Garry was actually a Parramatta fan when he was a child and lived in Fairfield in Sydney’s inner-west – not exactly close to the northern beaches.
But he did go to Manly beach quite often and then when he was about 15 he turned into a fully-fledged Sea Eagle, even if it meant a life of digs from fans of other clubs.
“My auntie married into the Philpott family, the cricketers, and I was introduced to people like Rex Mossop, Bobby Fulton, Alex Tennant, Bob Batty – all the great Manly players of the time,” Garry said.
“So since 1963 I’ve followed Manly.
“The more they stir me the more I like them.
“In fact Manly is about the same age as me.
“They started in ‘47 and I started in ‘48.”
Garry is a big sport fan and follows a number of codes.
The retired small businessman has been a Manly member for the past couple of years.
Manly is pushing for 12,000 members this year and while Garry was number 10,000 the club has added a few hundred more since he signed up.
Unfortunately for the rest of the rugby league world the Sea Eagles are flying high again this season and another title could be on the way for the team everybody else hates.