Jason Annear: A life too short Jason Annear in action for Manly in the NSW Cup. Picture: Mike Biboudis Source: Supplied JASON Annear was a young footballer going places until tragedy struck. James Hooper explains why he will never be forgotten at the Sea Eagles AT the end of each day, a grieving father says "good night"" under his breath to his son, Manly Sea Eagle No. 543, Jason Annear. The young backrower may never get the chance to run off Jamie Lyon and Anthony Watmough or set up tries for the Stewart brothers, but the Annear name will remain forever etched on the club's honour roll of NRL players. Cast an eye over the 542 men who have proudly worn the maroon and white colours since the club was founded in 1947 and you see champions such as Roy Bull, Rex Mossop, Bob Fulton, Cliff Lyons, Noel Cleal, Terry Randall, Michael O'Connor, Paul Vautin and current stars such as Lyon and Watmough. Annear's name is the most recent addition; the only player to be awarded the honour without having played a first-grade game. His dad was presented with a jersey and the Manly players know Jason will be with them in spirit when they run out for their first game of the new season against the Brisbane Broncos on March 8. It has been almost four months since the rising Manly star was found at the base of the cliffs between Queenscliff and Freshwater beaches, the result of a night out gone wrong following the club's presentation dinner on October 6. It was supposed to be a night of celebration, but the loss of such a promising talent, a young footballer and man with his life laid out before him, tore at the club, his family and the entire code. Sitting in the Annears" loungeroom in the Central Coast suburb of Glenning Valley last week, it was impossible to miss the overwhelming loss, raw grief and incredible strength of this family. A cabinet proudly features a photograph of a then 16-year-old Jason signing his first contract with the Sea Eagles, his smile as wide as the Harbour Bridge. Craig Annear fights back tears and focuses as hard as possible to stop his hands from shaking as he talks about what happened. Jason Annear's farther Craig Annear. Picture: Mark Scott "I haven't spoken to the police since before Christmas, but as far as we know it was just a tragic accident,"" Annear explains. It was in the papers at the time that obviously he'd had too much to drink. He was wandering around trying to find a friend's place and took the wrong turn and went the wrong way. That's how he went over the cliff. Apparently that night, it was pitch black. There was no moon."" The night in question was October 6, when the Sea Eagles held their awards night at the Manly Pacific Hotel. It started off like any other end-of-season celebration, with the NRL, NSW Cup and Toyota Cup squads all enjoying each other's company before breaking up for the off-season. Annear then continued to celebrate with friends along Manly's famed Corso. After running out of money, he had no way of getting home to Collaroy and started to walk. He made it as far as Queenscliff and Freshwater, where he is believed to have lost his bearings searching for a friend's place before falling at a treacherous part of the coastline. When Jason was found on the Sunday night, he was still in the suit he wore to the presentation. His older brother, Steven, rushed home from a holiday in Thailand and by Monday night 200 mates packed their local watering hole, the Chittaway Tavern on the Central Coast, to grieve together. "As a family, we're just trying to move forward a day at a time,"" Annear says. The police have been great. There was no indication there was anything suspicious about it, but we're still waiting to see if it has to go to the coroner or not."" Annear remains touched by what Manly have done to honour his son, knowing that they will always be part of the Brookvale family. A 14-year-old Jason Annear with his sister Kelly. Picture: Ian. Mainsbridge He shows us the jersey the club presented to him, complete with the No. 543 and his son's name on it. It has been signed by every single NRL player and there are plans to get it framed as the centrepiece of a shrine the Annears have created inside their Glenning Valley home. Through the hardest nights, Craig, his wife Sandra, son Steven and daughter Kelly have stuck together. Annear makes special mention of the Sea Eagles, who arranged a bus to travel from the club's Narrabeen headquarters to Jason's funeral on the Central Coast so all of the players could attend. His junior club, the Berkeley Vale Panthers, then threw their doors open as they all celebrated a life that touched so many. All the Manly boys came back there. For the club to decide to award him a jersey, that's a very nice gesture and a big honour. It's the first time they've ever done something like it,"" Annear says. "The fact that all the Manly boys came back to the wake ..."" he chokes up. "They hung around ... that meant a lot."" For a father who has recently lost his son, Annear is showing incredible resilience. As Sea Eagles coach Geoff Toovey explains, a situation like this strips back the billion-dollar business that football clubs have become and illustrates what is most important in life: Family. There is no question in Toovey's mind that Jason Annear was destined to play in the NRL. After starring as a five-eighth for Berkeley Vale Panthers, former Sea Eagles player and renowned talent scout Noel Cleal helped to develop him into a backrower with the natural ball-playing ability that came from his early years in the halves. With seven straight premierships, complete with three seasons undefeated, this generation of Panthers was known as the "Dream Team"." He was was also a member of the Sea Eagles" 2009 Toyota Cup side that included Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Darcy Lussick and Jamie Buhrer. After playing in the under-20s in 2009, 2010 and 2011, he graduated to the NSW Cup last season where the 21-year-old again starred under coach Cliff Lyons. "He was very much out of the Anthony Watmough mode as a backrower; he had good speed and power and could also use the ball,"" Toovey says. At Manly, we thought he was going to have a very bright future in the game. It was a very sad time for his family because he was a very promising young man and it was also a very sad time for our club. Sometimes in football you need to recognise a club is a family as a much as a business and this was one of those times. "The Annear family know Manly will always be here for them."" New Zealand Test five-eighth Kieran Foran, one of the young leaders at Brookvale, still regularly calls and texts Craig Annear. Foran was not close to Jason, but his older brother, Liam, played with him in Manly's NSW Cup side last year. Annear got as close as being named 18th man twice for the first-grade team last season, once against St George Illawarra in Round 3 and then again midway through the season against the Knights in Newcastle. Kieran Foran has no doubt that Jason will be alongside them when things get tough, as they inevitably do during a long football season. It took everyone by surprise. All the boys and the club itself was taken aback by it,"" Foran says. I'm sure come important times this year, in tough games, we'll spare a thought for young Jase. We're a tight-knit club at Manly. Everyone who plays at our club is one of the boys, that's the way we see it. We all want to pay our respects. I know from everyone at the club's perspective, we're all prepared to do anything to help the family through a difficult time. Anything we can do to help lift their spirits, we'll do it. Last Monday, Craig Annear went back to working two jobs. By day, he is a stock controller at a Central Coast timber yard. He's on deck by 6am most mornings, knocking off a little after 3pm. Then he makes the trip down the F3 to his other gig as a trainer with the Manly NSW Cup side. Even with his son no longer there, Annear reasons that being around the club has helped him take the first tentative steps in the healing process. I like to keep busy. Still being around the club . . . yeah, in a funny way, it does help,"" Annear offers. The Sea Eagles had also become an integral part of young Jason's life away from the field. By night, you could often find him working at Manly Leagues Club as a doorman. He had moved from the family's Central Coast home to Collaroy. One of his housemates just before his death was new Dragons halfback Josh Drinkwater. "Everyone at Manly, the Forans, his manager Paul Sutton, they were all a huge support,"" Annear says. However, this isn't a story just about Manly and their loss. Yesterday, the Berkeley Vale Panthers staged the inaugural Jason Annear Memorial Sevens tournament on the Central Coast to honour one of their own. It's going to be an annual event held each Australia Day and the Sea Eagles plan to enter a team every year as both a sign of respect and remembrance. But it's in the loungeroom back in Glenning Valley, where Jason's spirit remains strongest. He is there in the pictures, a young kid who kicked a football around and dreamed of playing for the Sea Eagles. And he's always there in the love of a father who will never let go. Craig Annear might not strike you as the attention-seeking type. In reality, he's not. Yet given what has happened, getting a tattoo felt the right thing to do. On his left forearm, Craig Annear now has the number 543. Accompanying it is his son's name, date of birth and the day he died. It has a certain ring to it . . . For the Annear family, it means Jason will forever live in the heart of the Sea Eagles.