TORONTO –The Toronto Rock have signed forward Blaine Manning to a two year deal pending League approval.

Manning tallied an impressive 74 points (30 goals & 44 assists) during the 2008 season and he is excited to be a part of the Toronto Rock for the next two years. “We have an extremely talented team this year that is very capable of winning a championship and I can’t wait to get started working towards that goal with the rest of guys” Manning said.

The veteran forward has played with the Rock for his entire NLL career after he was picked up by the Rock in a trade for Kaleb Toth prior to the 2002 season. He was named NLL Rookie of the Year in 2002 and has won three Championships with the Rock.

Mike Kloepfer, Director of Lacrosse Operations added, "Blaine is an important part of our team and one of our team leaders. With him signed to a 2 year contract he can concentrate on helping our club realize its goals."

Due to club policy terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Toronto Rock will face the New York Titans in their first regular season game on January 3rd 2009 in Sunrise, Florida and open their home schedule the following weekend on January 10th at the Air Canada Centre when they host the Buffalo Bandits at 7:00 p.m.
-T.Workman-