TWELVE months ago the Manly Sea Eagles were the disgrace of rugby league after a booze-fuelled season launch gave the NRL a black eye before a ball had been kicked. The day from hell began with leading forward Anthony Watmough accused of throwing a punch at a club sponsor and ended with pin-up Brett Stewart's arrest on sex charges.
Yesterday, at the Harbord Diggers club, it was Take Two - and what a difference a year makes.
As the Sea Eagles welcomed in season 2010, the Manly players, resplendent in charcoal Sportscraft suits, steered clear of all alcoholic beverages - preferring to sip Coke, Sprite and water as The Whitlams singer Tim Freedman waxed lyrical about his encyclopaedic knowledge of everything maroon and white.
There wasn't a crooked collar in sight, nor an angry word spoken.
If ever there was an example of the new world order in rugby league, this was it.
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Even the venue, with all due respect to the iconic Diggers, perched high above Freshwater Beach, was low key.
Where beers, cocktails and the funky doof-doof of Manly's trendy Wharf Bar ruled supreme in 2009, it was all lolly bowls, soft drinks, balloons and even a clown troupe.
"Mate, no one was going to drink today. We knew if we did you guys would be all over us," Watmough said. "The last thing we want to do is give anyone any ammo. We'll just keep it in-house, keep it low key and stick together. It's definitely something we talked about ... just controlling what we can control and let everything else take care of itself."
No player better epitomises the culture change at Brookvale than the rugged Watmough. It was Watmough who was hauled over the coals last year following that much publicised spat with sponsor Paul Durazza and his glamorous daughter Sarah.
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Labelled drunk and boorish at the time, the NSW Origin back-rower admits he didn't do himself or the club any favours. But that was then.
"We didn't help our cause last year," Watmough admitted.
"But we've all learnt from it.
"We're keeping it low key this year and not giving anyone any extra motivation to bring us down and just let us control what we can control.
"Stuff happened last year and it was a tough year, but that's the good thing about footy - there's always next year and that's 2010. 2009 is down the drain now. It's gone."
Sea Eagles boss Graham Lowe said previously his players would not be banned from drinking - the former coach reasoning his men were old enough to make their own decisions.
But no club has worked harder to ensure its players toe the line than the Sea Eagles, with the 2008 premiers the first NRL club to employ a minder for its players. Now they've gone one better, employing former soldier and safety expert Jamie Singe to chaperone and coach the players in how to avoid confrontation.
For teetotalling front-rower Brent Kite, laying off the booze was never going to be a problem.
And while the Churchill Medallist admits the situation was harsh, he says the choice was clearcut.
"It's just the way it is these days," Kite said.
"When you are out with the team in a team environment you've just got to be squeaky clean and don't even give people the opportunity to go wrong or get out of hand.
"That's probably the reason for the low-key start."
Watmough said while the extra scrutiny and off-field coaching was tough to deal with, the players understood the score.
"That's the world we live in now. Football's become a bigger and better sport than it was 10 years ago," he said. "It's a lot more professional these days so you've got to adapt to the times."
