By MATT CLEARY

They’ve moved north to Rat Park in the past but Harley Attwater has always been the type to buck the trend with his move from Warringah to Manly this week.

Attwater trained with Manly’s first grade squad on Tuesday night yet only gained official release from the Rats on Wednesday.

He trained with the top side on Thursday night and, depending on the fitness of BJ Hartmann (strained calf muscle), start in the No.10 or come off the bench in the match against highly-fancied Gordon.

Marlins coach Matt McGoldrick should be able to tap Attwater for intel given his new flyhalf was part of the Warringah team thrashed 52-7 by Gordon last Saturday.

It was a beer with Marlins player Mick Adams on Sunday that saw Attwater across the line – and it was Attwater who first expressed a desire to play for Manly rather than Marlins officials reaching out.

“I’ve always remained close with a lot of people at Manly so thankfully they had me in mind when they saw things weren’t looking right up the road,” he said.

“It started with a simple message on Facebook and ended in me returning to Manly Oval.”

The talented play-maker, 25, was seemingly relegated to a bench spot behind Warringah Rats first-choice No.10 Tom Halse.

He said moving south “all came down to opportunity”.

“I loved every minute of my time at Warringah but I became a bit of an ‘everywhere man’. And I think I’ve reached a stage in my career where I need to move beyond that,” Attwater added.

“Thankfully Manly came forward with an opportunity to play consistent first grade at flyhalf, and it was just too good to turn down.

Attwater grew up playing rugby league under John Hopoate at Manly Cove and was a member of the Sea Eagles SG Ball team alongside NRL stars Jake Trbojevic, Will Hopoate and Clint Gutherson.

In 2014 and 2015 he played Colts for the Marlins, progressed into grade in 2016 before making the move north to Rat Park.

In 2019 Attwater was named Warringah Rats “Player of the Year” by the Friends of Warringah Foundation.

Attwater says heading south feels like a homecoming.

“Manly gave me my start in the code when I moved from league in 2014 so they’ve always held a special place in my heart. I can’t wait to rip in on Saturday,” he said.

Asked if he’d copped any grief from his former Rats team-mates, Attwater said:

“I’ll always have a special relationship with many people involved with that club. So in other words – yes!

“There’s a fair bit of, let’s call it ‘healthy banter’ going on! All in good spirits, of course. We’ll always be mates.”

Attwater was at pains to express how much he loved his time with Warringah.

“I can’t thank the people in that club enough for all the opportunities they gave me to better my game and better myself as a person.

“It’s just a brilliant club. Family and community in one. It made it extremely hard to make this decision.

“Put it this way: I wouldn’t have left Warringah for any other club bar Manly.

“But as I said, it was an opportunity too good to pass up. And I can’t wait to come home.”

MATT CLEARY is an widely experienced sports writer who is heading up the Northern Beaches Sports Tribune website.

IMAGE: KAREN WATSON