The South Sydney Rabbitohs have secured the services of Glenn Stewart for the next two seasons after the Manly back rower put pen to paper with the famous Redfern club.
Stewart’s departure from the Sea Eagles doesn’t come as a complete surprise. Contract negotiations between Manly and the New South Wales and Australian representative have been making headlines for some time now, and they’ve appeared far from rosy.
Though Manly would have dearly loved to have held onto Stewart, the club was struggling to fit him under their salary cap. With boom halfback Daly Cherry-Evans expected to sign a lucrative contact upgrade soon, retaining Stewart proved impossible.
The pressure on Manly’s cap was clearly too great to overcome and Stewart and his management grew increasingly frustrated. The move to the Bunnies will affect the fortunes of two clubs in drastically different ways.
For Souths, the signing of Stewart fills a void. Watching the Rabbitohs play the Bulldogs last Friday afternoon, it was apparent that the club is in desperate need of some veteran leadership. In particular, the Bunnies need a cool head under pressure.
With the game on the line and the Rabbitohs in perfect field position for a winning field-goal attempt, five-eighth John Sutton ran blindside from the fourth-tackle play-the-ball. The Bunnies were subsequently tackled short of the tryline and stranded near touch, with Sutton’s decision leaving his club in a terrible position to attempt a match-winner.
Nathan Merritt was forced to attempt a miracle one-pointer instead of the regulation attempt that would have been on offer had Sutton simply taken a hit-up in the middle of the field. He missed.
The Dogs then marched the ball down the field, set Trent Hodkinson up in front of the sticks, kicked the field goal, and won the game. The Bunnies showed poor match awareness and paid for it dearly.
One would like to think that Glenn Stewart’s experience, leadership and calmness under pressure wouldn’t have allowed that situation to unfold. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if Stewart is nominated as the Bunnies skipper, with the club’s decision-making improving because of it.
Stewart’s current club has been one of the best teams in the competition for a very long time now. In the past seven seasons, they have made four grand finals and won two premierships. A large part of that success has been due to their star back rower.
Stewart’s rare skill-set provides the Sea Eagles with plenty of flexibility and potency. In attack, he has the ability to play as a strong ball-running forward or as an extra five-eighth, with his unique ball-playing ability for a player his size proving a major weapon for Manly over the years.
Stewart’s propensity to pressure opposing halves has combined with his incredible work rate to form the backbone of a Manly defence that is always among the best in the competition. He is an incredible talent, but I can’t help but feel that his absence will be felt most off the field.
It may be a cliché, but Glenn Stewart is the heart and soul of the northern beaches football club.
The reverence with which Manly players talk about Stewart is astonishing. After hearing Anthony Watmough and Kieran Foran discuss the back rower, you are left with no doubt how much Stewart means to the club and his teammates.
Culture is an important part of football clubs, especially successful ones. It’s often said that the Sea Eagles changeroom feels like a band of brothers, and while that makes sense considering Stewart’s brother Brett plays at fullback, the bond goes way beyond two players.
Manly have been a very tight-knit group in recent seasons, and it will be interesting to see how that dynamic is affected.
With the senior Stewart off to the Bunnies, it raises some interesting questions for Manly. Will brother Brett stay put? Will the culture of the club be affected? Will Daly Cherry-Evans and his rumoured $1 million contract cause division in the changeroom? Can the team overcome the loss of a true one of a kind on the park?
In the meantime, you can only applaud the Rabbitohs for the signing.
Bearfax
Guest
No question Manly were able to buy lots of players in the 1970a and 1980s...but not 1990's...they were almost sent broke by Superleague. But many people seem to conveniently selectively forgetful that Manly wasnt alone in buying. Eastern Suburbs and Canterbury have done it for years. Manly was criticised because they got O'Neill, Brannigan and Moses and Irvine at the end of his career (because he wanted to win a premiership). But they quickly forget Easts got Beetson, Fulton, Coote, Cleary in the early to mid 70s and but for a brief period with Manly, Easts had an ongoing wealthy benefactor in Packer...but no one mentions that. I agree it was an unfair system but I think there is still inequity in the system and Manly now is not one of those more equal than others
Ret
Guest
It wasn't "MONEYBALL" when Manly bought premierships in the 70s and 90s?
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
I don't think Sutton's decision making under pressure is fantastic. That's not a great quality for a captain to have. Or not have.
Christian D'Aloia
Roar Guru
Well I'm not a Souths fan, so I'm not really fussed over who does end up captaining the side. But what's John Sutton done wrong to lose the captaincy?
Bearfax
Guest
Actually Muzz, now that the decision has been made and the dust has settled, I think the team will start to gel again, especially to give Glenn a fitting farewell. These guys are professional and know deep down that change is just part of life. I think Manly will be far more negatively affected by Foran's month out. I also agree that its coming to a time when Toovey needs to experiment with some of his young guns and see how they cope with first grade. Give Gutherson and Turbo another taste. Use Littlejohn as a reserve instead of all forwards and let Glenn play 5/8 for part of the game.
Simon
Roar Guru
No but we paid him plenty of other incentives. Real estate on the beaches, other back-handers from Delmage I am sure. BK was one of our best signings of all time, and he only played in the maroon and white for two seasons at the back-end of his career.
Simon
Roar Guru
Ever heard of Adam Muir? You Souths fans are a strange bunch. You have no idea what it takes to win a premiership. Trust me, Gifty captaining you lot next year would only be of benefit.
eagleJack
Guest
Its only the Tigers game where I thought they didn't turn up. Irrespective of the obstruction call, they scored 3 tries in the final 13mins against the Cowboys without their key playmaker. That's very impressive. Im pretty content with the way they are playing. They haven't clicked yet. But they never do til later in the year. The only aim of the first 12 rounds is to bank the 2 points.
Muzz
Guest
Hahaha let's not talk about the Roosters game,water under the bridge but seriously, are you happy with the way they are playing?Tigers ripped you apart.Bunnies game could of went either way.Actually,you could be on 2 points : )
eagleJack
Guest
Yep, they certainly were lucky against the Eels and Cowboys. But the other games looked alright to me. So perhaps they should only be on 6 points.
Muzz
Guest
I don't think Manly are playing that well and imo should be on 4 points not 10.It will be interesting to see if things settle now that a decision has been made on G Stewarts future or if this will further unsettle and dishearten the team.
john badseed
Guest
Gifty is a winner. A smart, talented , constructive player. If not taken out by the cheap shot merchants as has happened lately would guide any team towards the top. That goes especially for NSW who have continually fallen for the trap of having bash and barge merchants in their run on squads. Similarly Souths will benefit from having a Churchill medalist running their plays instead of fumbled football for their backs to play off. Winners take that culture with them. Pity NSW can't see past picking the best players from also rans.
jamesb
Guest
Fair point At 8:18am in the morning, not everything clicks into gear.
Christian D'Aloia
Roar Guru
Very true. However, loving the club would help off-field commitments a captain must tend to.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
My point exactly - the Cowboys can't afford to pay Thurston so much, because they only have so much to spend, and it consequently hurts their depth spending a lot of money on just one player. Let's just say that Souths have significantly more to spend . . .
planko
Guest
That is funny ROC NQLD can afford what that pay Thurston does not mean that whoever made decision should not be heavily medicated and then put into a home.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
If Souths can afford it, that's all that matters!
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
You make some fair points, and I have no doubt Sutton loves the club. But loving the club doesn't help your decision-making under pressure.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Glenn will probably be injured anyway!
john360180
Guest
As an Eagles fan I have witnessed GS do many great things over the last decade or so, not least was star in a Grand Final victory. However he does seem to have lost a step and is injury prone. Not part of the inner sanctum but I would consider Watmough, Lyon & Toovey closer to the heart and sole of the current generation. Will be missed but not irreplaceable on his current form.