Manly United Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney. The club competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW and their home ground is Cromer Park, in the suburb of Dee Why, approximately 15 minutes away from Manly.
Its main grandstand is named after former Socceroo captain Lucas Neill, who played for the club as a junior before playing overseas at Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United.
Manly United Football Club Ltd. was officially formed in 2004 by the Manly Warringah Soccer Association. However, there have been many representative teams competing for the association prior to this date. Notably, the previous club was called Manly Warringah Dolphins, that formed from the merger of Manly-North Shore United and Warringah Freshwater at the close of the 1991 NSW Division 1 season for the start of the upcoming 1992 NSW Super League season.
History Neerlandia / Manly Warringah A Dutch club called Neerlandia competed in the 1959 Sydney Federation Division Two, won the premiership and gained entry into the Sydney Federation Division One for 1960.1959 Federation Division Two
The club changed its name to Manly Warringah from 1960. The side had spent 14 seasons throughout the New South Wales top flight in 1960, 1968, and from 1976 to 1987 before being relegated to Division Two. With the club struggling, it merged with North Shore United in 1991.1991 NSW Div 1 Fixtures North Shore United itself was a merger of two clubs Ku-Ring-Gai and North Sydney-Artarmon (for the 1989 season).1988 NSW Div 1 Fixtures The Manly-North Shore United merger dissolved after the 1991 NSW Division One season, with Manly merging with Warringah Freshwater. North Shore United would continue to send representative teams to tournaments as Ku-Ring-Gai Districts.
Warringah Freshwater Warringah Narrabeen (and from 1986 Warringah Freshwater) was a club that had competed throughout the early 1980s in NSW Division Two, even winning the title in 1983.1983 Division 2 Fixtures With promotion in 1984 to NSW Division One, the club maintained mid-lower half of the table across their eight-year sojourn in the top flight. Their highest place finish was 5th, achieved in 1991 before merging with Manly for the newly revamped "NSW Super League" in 1992.
Manly Warringah Dolphins The merger of Manly-North Shore United and Warringah Freshwater created the Manly Warringah Dolphins at the close of the 1991 NSW Division 1 season for the start of the upcoming NSW Super League season. The club had gained promotion into the NSW Premier League for the start of the 2004–05 season. At the time, the club was operating solely as a representative branch for the Manly Warringah Soccer Association (MWSA). However, it was a requirement from Soccer NSW that all Federation Clubs be a separate incorporated body and so Manly United Football Club Ltd. was formed.
Manly United (2004–present) Manly United have competed in the NSW Tier 1 since 2004–05 when they were elevated to the NSW Premier League after winning the Super League Division.
The original Logo of the renamed Manly United Football Club in 2004 was a collective of an Osprey sea bird, a Football & a Dolphin joined as one, these three icons represent the local MWFA Association (Osprey), a Football & Manly Warringah Dolphins (Dolphin). The Club again changed its logo in 2016 to reflect the evolution of Manly United Football Club and its ownership and association with Manly Warringah Football Association.
The club is closely associated with the Manly Warringah Football Association (MWFA), the largest community Football Association in Australia with more than 20,000 players.
Divisional History 2004–2012: NSW Premier League (NSW Tier 1) 2013–present: National Premier Leagues NSW (NSW Tier 1)
Manly Warringah Dolphins 1992–1996: Super League (NSW Tier 1) 1997–1999: Division One (NSW Tier 2) 2000: Super League (NSW Tier 1) 2001–2004: Winter Super League (NSW Tier 2)
Lucas Neill Scholarship and Medal Between 2006 and 2012 ex-Manly junior Lucas Neill helped provide opportunities for up and coming footballers from his junior club. Each year the scholarship was awarded to a different young player from Manly to trial in Europe.
Year Recipient 2006 Chris Payne 2007 Simon Beer 2008 Joey Gibbs 2009 Leigh Egger 2010 Tonu Liiband 2011 Jack Green 2012 Thomas Manos
Due to a number of factors including difficulty getting clubs in Europe to provide the opportunity for the players, the scheme was discontinued as Lucas and his advisors looked for a different way to reward the junior players from his junior club.
In 2014 the scholarship was re-branded the Lucas Neill Medal and was extended to include ALL junior members of the club, it was determined that there should be two medals awarded each year, in recognition of the advancements in ladies football. The medal is made from Sterling silver and is laser engraved on the front with a photograph of Lucas when he first became captain of Australia in 2007.
Year Male Recipient Female Recipient 2014 Jake Hollman Remy Siemsen 2015 Tom Fay Remy Siemsen 2016 Ben Koop Ruby Whitaker 2017 Harry McCarthy Holly Newman 2018 Jordan Devries Kahli Johnson 2019 Yannis Frerck Kahli Johnson 2020 Eric Sequeira Hailey Chappelow 2021 Toby Bakewell Valentina Bradley 2022 Jasper Chipman Alice Thompson 2023 Jasper Swadling Sienna Dale 2024 Will McCreery MacKenzie Jeffs 2025 Doug John Chelsea McCredie 2026 Charlie Coles Erin Dunne
Current Men's squad
Men's Seasons SeasonLeagueWaratah CupFFA CupTop scorerFinalsPlayer(s)Goals2004–05NSW Premier League 22778 3329 2811th – 4R 2006NSW Premier League 18846 3124 285th – 4R 2007NSW Premier League 18846 2621 284thPFRU 2008NSW Premier League 221237 4221 394th SF 4R 2009NSW Premier League 221075 3322 375th SF RU 2010NSW Premier League 227411 2431 259th – QF 2011NSW Premier League 22877 3337 316th – W 2012NSW Premier League 226511 2633 2310th – 3R 2013NPL NSW 22688 3435 268th – 4R 2014NPL NSW 227312 3146 2410th – RU R32 2015NPL NSW 228311 3938 278th – 6R 2016NPL NSW 221273 5826 433rd SF RU R32 2017NPL NSW 221336 4736 424thW 4R 2018NPL NSW 22778 3332 288th – 5R 2019NPL NSW227510 2534 269th – SF R16 2020NPL NSW11335 1418 12 8th – cancelled
Men's Honours National Premier Leagues NSW Men's Club Champions (1): 2016
National Premier Leagues NSW Grand Finals Champions (1): 2017 Runners Up (1): 2022
Waratah Cup: Champions (1): 2011 Runners-up (4): 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016
Manly Warringah Dolphins (1992–2004) National Premier Leagues NSW Premiers (1): 1995 Runners-Up (1): 1992
National Premier Leagues NSW Grand Finals Champions (1): 1995, Runners-Up (0):
National Premier Leagues NSW 2 Premiers (1): 2004 Runners-Up (1): 2002 National Premier Leagues NSW 2 Grand Finals Champions (1): 2001 Runners-Up (2): 1994, 2004
References
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