Owen Cunningham

Cunningham made his first grade debut for Manly against Eastern Suburbs in Round 18 1985. In 1987, Cunningham played in the major semi final victory over Easts but was not selected in the grand final which Manly won defeating Canberra.

Following Manly's 1987 grand final victory, Cunningham travelled with them to England for the 1987 World Club Challenge against that country's champions, Wigan. Despite continuing to play for Manly in 1995, Cunningham signed with Super League while in career-best form, which meant he was not eligible for selection in the 1995 State of Origin series. Cunningham played in the 1995 ARL grand final against Canterbury in which Manly suffered a shock loss losing 17-4. Manly had finished the season as minor premiers and had only lost 2 games all year where as Canterbury had finished in 6th place and needed to win 3 sudden death matches just to reach the decider.

The following year, Manly again finished as minor premiers and reached the grand final against St George. Cunningham played at lock as Manly won their 6th premiership defeating St George 20-8 at the Sydney Football Stadium. Cunningham also played State of Origin for Queensland in one game in 1996.[3]

While playing for the Cowboys he represented Queensland in Super League's Tri-series during 1997's split season. That season he was also named the Cowboys' player of the year. On the field, the club struggled in the split competition and finished last claiming the wooden spoon.[4]

The following season in 1998, Cunnigham played 23 games as the club finished 16th on the table. Cunningham then re-joined Manly for the 1999 season. Cunningham played in what was then the club's last game as a stand-alone entity in Round 26 against the St George-Illawarra Dragons at WIN Stadium which ended in a 20-18 defeat.

Following the conclusion of the 1999 season, Manly were forced to merge with arch rivals North Sydney to form the Northern Eagles. Cunningham was one of the players selected to be a part of the new side. Cunningham played 26 games for the Northern Eagles in the 2000 season. His final game in the top grade was a 32-22 loss against the Auckland Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium.[5][6][7]