A Mackay Brothers junior, Manning joined the North Queensland Cowboys in 1996 as an 18-year old.
[2][3] In 1998, he played for the Cowboys' Queensland Cup feeder club, the Townsville Stingers.
[5] After retiring from rugby league, Manning moved to Sydney where he studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts.
He has gone on to have roles in a number of Australian television series, including Tricky Business and Home and Away, and the film Terminus.
[7][8][9] In 2021, Manning returned to Australia and his hometown Mackay, where he began hosting the Saturday breakfast program on ABC Tropical North.