After World War II, the Seagulls re-entered in 1951 as the Wynnum-Manly District Rugby League Football Club, with Jim Cloherty as President until 1964.

[4] The team faced challenges in the 1960s and 1970s, collecting ten wooden spoons and never finishing higher than fifth in the eight-team competition.

Having secured star players Gene Miles and Greg Dowling from north Queensland, Wynnum-Manly became a power for the first time,[5] winning the Brisbane premiership in 1982, 1984, and 1986, with a runner-up finish in 1985.

Four Seagulls players, Miles, Dowling, Bob Lindner and Australian captain Wally Lewis, were part of the "Unbeatables" 1986 Kangaroo squad that completed an unbeaten tour of Great Britain and France.

* Wally Lewis who joined the club from Valleys in 1984, is the only Wynnum-Manly player to captain the Australia national rugby league team.