Sea Eagles halfback Jamal Fogarty has started his season at Manly with a bang. Adam Lucius speaks to the new signing about his move to the Beaches and what he hopes to bring to the club.
Back in February Jamal Fogarty found himself stuck in a position every Northern Beaches resident knows only too well – waiting for one of Pittwater Road’s endless traffic lights to turn green – when a familiar face pulled up beside him.
It was Daly Cherry-Evans (DCE), the man Jamal replaced as Manly’s first new halfback in 15 years.
“I was picking up the girls from school one afternoon and had the window down,” Jamal reveals. “He pulled up beside me and said ‘Hello’ and asked how I was doing.
“It was just a brief chat at the lights to see how the move was going.
“Throughout my whole playing career, I’ve never met him or been mates with him, only seen him post-game to shake hands. So for him to go out of his way and make the effort was pretty cool.
“Obviously there’s been a lot of talk about me replacing him, but I will never match what he’s achieved in the game.
“I’m a different sort of player and I’m just here to play my part, not be a straight swap for DCE.”
Fans only see the football side of things when a player switches clubs, but there are a lot of moving parts when you’ve got to uproot your family and shift digs to a new town.
The Fogarty Five – Jamal, wife Kahlia, daughters Zahli
(11) and Ruby (10) and baby son Lenny (nine months) – had been happily ensconced in Canberra for four years when negotiations for a contract extension with the Raiders hit a snag.
The Green Machine didn’t activate an option to keep Jamal at the club, allowing Manly to pounce as they searched for DCE’s replacement.
Jamal is settling into training with the Manly boys, keen to learn from them as well as offer support
Once the ink dried on a new three-year $2 million deal at the Sea Eagles, the wheels were set in motion for the 300km move north.
“It’s a daunting process,” 32-year-old Jamal admits.
“We had a good place in Canberra and then we had to try and find a rental up here and get into a suburb that’s got a school that we wanted to send the kids to.”
The family ended up getting a place at Dee Why and are loving the locale, trying out new places to eat and enjoy a swim at the beach. The girls are settling into their new school, with Kahlia an essential part of Team Fogarty, providing the grounding Jamal needs to focus on his game. The transition is something Kahlia has also had to manage, Jamal explains.
“She’s also starting from scratch. She didn’t know anyone, didn’t know any of the players’ partners, school parents or where everything is.
“I obviously had the footy and my teammates, but for the kids and Kahlia, that process is a lot trickier.
“But she’s rock solid, mate. If it wasn’t for her and the kids giving me stability, I probably wouldn’t be playing.
“No matter what happens, they’re going to support me.”
It’s been that way ever since Jamal left home town Beaudesert to chase his rugby league dream with Queensland Cup side Burleigh Bears in 2016.
The Gold Coast Titans came knocking a year later, offering the gifted half a gateway to the NRL.
That stint lasted 45 games across five years, including time as captain, before the family took a punt on a massive move – from the sunny Goldy to the cold of Canberra – that would establish Jamal as one of the game’s premier No.7s.
Three big moves, three big risks and three big ticks from Jamal.
“We’ve gone from the Gold Coast to Canberra to here, and moving is not a smooth process. But in saying that, look where we live now. How good’s the lifestyle!” he beams.
Jamal’s first game in Manly colours was a success personally, even if the result didn’t go his way against former club Canberra.
He scored a try, set up another and kicked five goals, including the two-pointer on fulltime that took the game into golden point following an incredible Sea Eagles fightback.
Son Lenny saw dad play his first Manly match
An Ethan Sanders’ field goal robbed Jamal of a debut win.
“It was a great first hit-out and there’s still a very long season ahead of us,” the new Manly half said at fulltime.
“(We’ll get there) as long as we can keep evolving and getting better each week, and do that for 80 minutes, not 55, 60.”
While Jamal has been brought to Brookvale primarily to win football games, he has also taken on a mentoring role with the club’s young halves.
Boom rookies Joey Walsh and Onitoni Large are the two main beneficiaries, although Jamal insists it’s a two-way street.
“I’m always open to questions and to help in any way I can, but it also helps my game,” he explains.
“There are things in my game they might pick up and use, but I can also learn from watching and listening to them.
“Plus, it’s extra competition and that keeps everyone on their toes!”
The school community has proven a great way for the Fogartys to settle into Manly, with an Australia Day weekend camping trip to Nowra the perfect icebreaker.
“We love going camping and it was great. There must have been 20 families and all these kids running around and swimming and having a ball,” Jamal smiles.
“It was a great way for us to meet the parents and for the kids to spend three nights away with their new friends.”
Left: Jamal is a big supporter of initiatives which assist First Nations people. Above, the season opener
So, was there much footy talk around the campfire?
“No, not really. I don’t think many of them knew I was a footy player,” he laughs.
“One or two of the dads did. I don’t mind if people want to talk footy.”
It seems plenty do want to talk footy now Manly’s 2026 campaign is up and running.
“Canberra is such a small place that you could go about your day without too many people pulling you up, whereas it’s probably the other way here,” Jamal explains.
“If I’m at the school, or Warringah Mall, or down the beach, a couple more people notice you, but that’s all okay by me.
“The big thing here is being able to mentally switch off and sit down at the beach and have a coffee and just watch people surf or go for a walk. That’s just mentally refreshing.
“The lifestyle is completely different. In Canberra it’s basically Lake Burley Griffin or a cafe.”
The family still feels like they are on ‘one big holiday,’ discovering all the ins and outs of the Northern Beaches. “But footy is the reason I’m here and that’s the main focus,” Jamal states.
“I’m happy off the field – and hopefully we can make people happy with what we do on the field.”
Jamal is proud of his Aboriginal heritage, playing for the second time in the Indigenous All Stars back in February
Indigenous All Stars
It was a toss-up as to who was shyest when Jamal Fogarty met Manly and First Nations icon Cliffy Lyons for the first time.
A proud member of the Mununjali clan of the Yugambeh people, Jamal was in awe of the legendary No.6 while growing up in his native Beaudesert.
Cliffy did it all in rugby league, winning two premierships at Manly across 309 games between 1985 to 1999 and representing NSW and Australia with distinction.
Jamal was almost lost for words when the pair caught up at a touch footy promotion in January.
“I was actually a little bit gun shy when I first met Cliffy. Obviously, he just sees himself as Cliffy, but to us in the footy world he is a Manly legend for everything he did for the club and what he’s done in the game,” Jamal tells NL.
“He’s one of the great Indigenous leaders in rugby league and I was a bit in awe when I met him.”
His nerves were matched by the bloke he was meeting.
Cliffy doesn’t see himself as a big deal and is uncomfortable in the spotlight.
“I was probably more nervous than him,” the legend says with a laugh. “I like the way he plays his footy and I think he’s a really good signing for Manly.”
Jamal adds: “I think being Indigenous, you’re able to connect with one another without connecting, which sounds a little bit funny but you just kind of get it.”
The new Sea Eagles halfback has only just got his feet under the desk at Brookvale and is still getting used to his new surrounds and building combinations with teammates.
But when the time is right, he intends exploring the Northern Beaches’ Indigenous history and involving himself in local causes.
“This club’s got a proud history of Indigenous players and the NRL does a great job celebrating Indigenous round each year,” he says.
“It’s very important to me, and if there is anything I can do then I’ll be putting my hand up because it’s vital to get out there and put something back into the community.
“It’s a big part of who I am.”
Jamal has twice represented the Indigenous All Stars, including at the 16-all draw with the Maori All Stars back in February.