Grand Final 1987 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season

from outset manly s cliff lyons attempted find gaps out wide in canberra s defence , kept raiders hemmed in on own side of half-way astute kicking. lyons stepped inside raiders defence , after seventy-metre burst found noel cleal stampeding on ball cleal s final pass des hasler ruled forward. promising manly raid broke down when lyons reverse pass o connor put ground.

manly continued put pressure on raiders defence both speedsters michael o connor , dale shearer trying catch raiders out long range kicks in-goal area in front of scg hill, both beaten ball each time gary belcher , gary coyne respectively.

in 27th minute lyons broke through on third threatening attempt. scurrying scrum win on canberra quarter-line, lyons brushed off tackle of chris o sullivan , stepped inside belcher score.

the sea eagles led 6-0 @ half-time, ball-and-all tackle belcher on dale shearer 2 metres canberra tryline preventing lead being greater.

from restart kick-off belcher fielded ball in in-goal penalised shepherding behind chris o sullivan ran ball out. gift penalty o connor take manly out 8-0 lead.

the sea eagles kept pressure on canberra charging down 2 attempted clearing kicks tiring mal meninga. did raiders break through. after run peter jackson, manly s phil daley penalised high tackle , meninga s goal put canberra on scoreboard.

fatigue , heat began take toll on players, though 1 of more surprising efforts manly s english prop kevin ward ran , tackled day. meninga, had played 60 minutes of football since breaking arm in game against manly 2 months earlier, replaced kevin walters after 15 minutes of second half , manly s gibbs, cleal , cochrane went down hurt @ different stages pace of match slowed (for part, cochrane still can t remember second half). after successful penalty goal o connor, dale shearer cross field kick raiders 22m line grounded on line o connor in paddington corner. while manly winger david ronson thought offside (though didn t involved in play, still within 10 metres of o connor), many claim manly centre should have been ruled offside got ball rather (television replays prove inconclusive there no footage of o conner when shearer kicked). however, referee mick stone ruled manly s international centre onside , o connor awarded try. converted own try (giving him 4/4 goals @ point) , manly had premiership winning 16-2 lead.

a brief hope of fightback loomed after ingeniously constructed trojan horse move canberra. chris o sullivan went down injured after being tackled , miraculously popped in next passage of play take inside pass ivan henjak , score. meninga off ground, gary belcher converted narrow scores 16-8.

ron gibbs return head-bin helped snap sea eagles out of complacency. daley s tackle on canberra replacement terry regan , dale shearer s try-saving tackle on ashley gilbert 3 minutes full-time ended chance of canberra fightback. paul vautin led charge up-field hasler being bundled corner post after run-around movement o connor. manly centre had try taken off him minutes after previous try when mick stone ruled pass cliff lyons had gone forward.

right on full-time, o connor landed fifth goal 5 attempts after raiders penalised in front of own posts being offside after tap-kick restart. 18-8 scoreline fair indication of manly s supremacy on day , result considering sea eagles consistency throughout year.

manly became first team other canterbury-bankstown or parramatta win grand final during 1980s (manly had been beaten grand finalists in 1982 , 1983, losing both times parramatta).

for manly coach bob fulton, premiership glory in nine-year coaching career achieved. dual canberra coaches marked milestone. sad ending long club coaching career of don furner, man brought canberra competition. partner wayne bennett, tactician behind side, disappointing exit door open on own stellar coaching career brisbane broncos , continuing career queensland origin coach.