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For one moment, turn the rugby league clock back to 1978 when Roy Masters came from virtual obscurity to be head coach of the Western Suburbs Magpies.
The school teacher coached Tamworth High to a coveted University Shield, a state-wide competition, and in doing so, earned the coaching job for the inaugural 1972 Australian Schoolboys tour of Great Britain.
In 11 undefeated games, the team chalked up an astonishing 108 tries and conceded just one.
There was representative class of the future in that squad: Les Boyd (Nyngan High), Craig Young (Corrimal High), Ian Schubert (Wauchope High), Robert Finch (Maitland Boys High) and Royce Ayliffe from Keira High in Wollongong.
After minor roles with the Panthers, Masters coached the Magpies under 23s when Don Parish was head coach before taking over in 1978.
Masters always classed himself as a battler, and he linked well with the Magpies who felt the same.
But Masters had bigger fish to fry to prove his point, and came up with the ‘fibro’ team. To make his point more meaningful, he picked on the wealthiest club – Manly – and dubbed them the ‘silvertails’.
The ‘fibros’ and the ‘silvertails’ were born.
Manly supremo Ken Arthurson magnified the tag when he pinched three of the Magpies’ best: Les Boyd, John Dorahy, and Ray Brown, taking them to Manly with hefty pay packets Wests couldn’t possibly afford.
Now Masters’ disdain turned into genuine hatred from Wests players, administrators and fans. Fans were furious with the Sea Eagles for ripping into a club that spawned rugby league greats like Vic Hey, Keith Holman, Arthur Summons, Noel Kelly, Harry Wells, Peter Dimond and Kel O’Shea.
Arthurson didn’t mind the repercussions, he used the powers at his disposal and won the battle.
What started out as a Masters masterstroke had turned into virtually universal hatred of Manly that holds good today.
Come Friday, Manly will have to overcome their dislike of the NRL for denying them the home game they deserve, to beat South Sydney. They are forced to play at Allianz Stadium, just a few minutes from their opponents’ Redfern base.
The makeup of that crowd will be mainly Souths supporters, a fair smattering of the Manly faithful, and the remainder will be rugby league fans who simply want to see Manly beaten.
And Manly will be doing it tough.
They won’t have Glenn Stewart with an ankle injury, nor Matt Ballin with a fractured fibula, nor James Buhrer with a ruptured cruciate.
All those facts just make Manly tougher to beat. But they thrive on the hate, and the underdog status.
Just look at how the seasiders have fared under the watchful eyes of Des Hasler and Geoff Toovey, both steeped in Manly culture and both representative half-backs.
Hasler was coach from 2004 to 2011.
He made the 2007 grand final to be beaten by Melbourne 34-8 before Melbourne was stripped of the title for salary cap rorting.
In 2008, Manly won the grand final 40-nil over Melbourne, and won again in 2011, beating the Warriors 24-10 in the decider. Toovey took over in 2012, and only had to wait a year before he made the grand final, to be beaten last year by the Roosters 26-18
Now it’s all on again, and you can bet Manly will be tough to beat.
And even though they won’t say it, Manly will be forever grateful to Roy Masters – they fly high when they are hated.