Finals 1996 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season

1 finals

1.1 qualifying final
1.2 preliminary final
1.3 grand final

finals
qualifying final

preliminary final

grand final

1st half

in 5th minute, manly centre craig innes won chase , scored after grubber kick skipper geoff toovey. matthew ridge converted sideline 6–0. dragons played on after being awarded penalty in front of posts in 8th minute failed score. @ 15-minute mark saints halfback noel goldthorpe conceded penalty right in front of goalpost after committing head high tackle on manly s daniel gartner. ridge took kick, extending lead 8–0. st. george sent in forward replacements lance thompson , david barnhill scott gourley , kevin campion (head cut). manly, tierney came off interchange bench replace gillespie. until 19th minute mark when manly veteran five-eighth cliff lyons took field, coach bob fulton using 6 running forwards toovey dummy half.

after turning down relatively easy penalty goal chance not long after manly s opening try, dragons first points came in 37th minute when wayne bartrim kicked penalty awarded when manly forward cunningham stripped ball. ensuing kick-off before half-time came game s controversial moment , hotly disputed try. ridge made spectacular short kick-off , regathered, catching dragons unaware. st george hooker nathan brown appeared tackle ridge albeit one-handedly , collar. ridge got , ran when brown expecting him stop , play ball. referee david manson ruled brown did not complete tackle. ridge tackled few metres line. dummy-half nik kosef passed ball steve menzies stormed way through saints defense of thompson, raper, goldthorpe , bartrim score next posts, giving ridge easy conversion kick. controversial ruling referee manson gave manly 14–2 half time lead , broke saints resolve. in process of scoring menzies injured groin/hamstring , although returned second half, unable run , replaced coach fulton.

2nd half

in 53rd minute manly s danny moore scored try terry hill pass after hill drew saints defenders, adrian brunker , nick zisti. ridge off field after being concussed in tackle, innes converted 5m off sideline sea-eagles take 20–2 lead. 5 minutes later dragons winger zisti scored try bartrim cut-out pass. bartrim converted sideline final scoreline of 20–8. final twenty minutes scoreless 2 field goal attempts ridge charged down dragons defenders.