1996 ARL season

Not to be confused with 1996 AFL season.

The 1996 ARL premiership (also known as the 1996 Optus Cup due to sponsorship from Optus) was the 89th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be administered by the Australian Rugby League (ARL). Twenty teams contested the premiership, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, two from greater New South Wales, four from Queensland, and one each from New Zealand, the Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia. Ultimately two Sydney clubs, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and St. George Dragons contested the grand final.

1996 Australian Rugby League
Duration	22 March – 29 September 1996
Teams	20
Premiers	Manly-Warringah (6th title)
Minor premiers	Manly-Warringah (8th title)
Matches played	223
Points scored	8,547
Average attendance	12,303
Attendance	2,743,516
Top points scorer(s)	Jason Taylor (238)
Wooden spoon	South Qld Crushers (1st spoon)
Rothmans Medal	Jason Taylor
Top try-scorer(s)	Noa Nadruku (21)
← 1995 1997 (ARL) 1997 (SL) →

The grand finals:

• Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles vs St. George Dragons (Senior Grade)
• Cronulla Sharks vs Auckland Warriors (Reserve Grade)
• South Queensland Crushers vs Parramatta Eels (Under-20s Grade)

The winners in all grades were:

• Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (Senior Grade)
• Cronulla Sharks (Reserve Grade)
• South Queensland Crushers (Under-20s Grade)

The test match

• Australia vs Fiji

The State of Origin Series

• Queensland vs New South Wales

The Region of Origin Series

• City vs Country

Teams

The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous season except for the re-branding of the Gold Coast team from the "Seagulls" to the "Chargers" as the ARL took control of the club.^[1]

Auckland Warriors 2nd season Ground: Ericsson Stadium Coach: John Monie Captain: Greg Alexander	Brisbane Broncos 9th season Ground: ANZ Stadium Coach: Wayne Bennett Captain: Allan Langer	Canberra Raiders 15th season Ground: Bruce Stadium Coach: Tim Sheens Captain: Ricky Stuart → Laurie Daley	Canterbury Bulldogs 62nd season Ground: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Chris Anderson Captain: Simon Gillies	Cronulla Sharks 30th season Ground: Endeavour Park Coach: John Lang Captain: Andrew Ettingshausen
Gold Coast Chargers 9th season Ground: Seagulls Stadium Coach: Phil Economidis Captain: Dave Watson	Illawarra Steelers 15th season Ground: Wollongong Stadium Coach: Allan McMahon Captain: John Cross → Paul McGregor	Manly Sea Eagles 50th season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Bob Fulton Captain: Geoff Toovey	Newcastle Knights 9th season Ground: Marathon Stadium Coach: Malcolm Reilly Captain: Paul Harragon	North Qld Cowboys 2nd season Ground: Stockland Stadium Coach: Graham Lowe Captain: Dean Schifilliti
North Syd. Bears 89th season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Peter Louis Captain: Jason Taylor	Parramatta Eels 50th season Ground: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Ron Hilditch Captain: Gary Freeman → Jarrod McCracken	Penrith Panthers 30th season Ground: Penrith Stadium Coach: Royce Simmons Captain: Steve Carter	South Qld Crushers 2nd season Ground: Suncorp Stadium Coach: Bob Lindner Captain: Trevor Gillmeister	South Syd. Rabbitohs 89th season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Ken Shine Captain: Craig Field → Craig Salvatori
St. George Dragons 76th season Ground: Kogarah Oval Coach: David Waite Captain: Mark Coyne	Sydney City Roosters (East. Sub. Roosters) 89th season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Phil Gould Captain: Sean Garlick	Sydney Tigers (Balmain Tigers) 89th season Ground: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Wayne Pearce Captain: Paul Sironen	Western Reds 2nd season Ground: WACA Ground Coach: Peter Mulholland Captain: Mark Geyer	West. Sub. Magpies 89th season Ground: Campbelltown Stadium Coach: Tommy Raudonikis Captain: Paul Langmack

Regular season

With the Super League war in full effect off the field, those clubs affiliated with the breakaway competition refused to participate in five games of Round 1, all forfeited to ARL-aligned clubs and only four of the ten scheduled games took place. Of the two games between two Super League clubs, Canterbury versus North Queensland was cancelled, whilst Auckland flew a team consisting of players from the Otahuhu Leopards and Ellerslie Eagles clubs to Brisbane and were thus declared winners over the Broncos by forfeit.^[2]

Following up on their performance in the 1995 season up to the grand final, Manly-Warringah dominated the season with their defence, which conceded only 34 tries in 25 matches, the best record of any team since the six-tackle rule was introduced in 1971. Indeed, the Sea Eagles only conceded 191 points during the minor round, an average of only 8.7 points per game, while scoring 549 points at 24.9 points per game. Their 1995 rivals Canberra were hit by injuries which wiped out the seasons of key players including captain Ricky Stuart, Bradley Clyde and Jason Croker, and suspensions to Kiwi props John Lomax and Quentin Pongia.

Super League-aligned Canterbury were also hit by the loss of key players Jim Dymock, Dean Pay, Jason Smith and Jarrod McCracken to ARL-loyal Parramatta and Brett Dallas to North Sydney. Sydney City started the season in good form, but fell off after winning their first ten games, whilst Brisbane (with Allan Langer putting in some strong performances) dominated early but as had become their custom, lost ground mid-season during the Origin period. North Sydney, with a powerful forward pack and skillful goal-kicking half Jason Taylor feeding a superb set of outside backs, were expected to make the Grand Final, but as had become their habit in the 1990s they lost the preliminary final, this time to St. George.

The 20-team competition in 1995 and 1996 caused frequent jackpots in FootyTAB's "Pick The Margins" and after three successive rounds without a single winner, on 8 July 1996 after a last-minute Sydney City penalty goal, one punter received an all-time record for any form of sports betting in Australia: $2,006,217.

This year Canterbury-Bankstown back Terry Lamb set new record for most first-grade premiership games at 350 before retiring at the end of the season.

North Sydney's Jason Taylor won the official player of the year award, the Rothmans Medal, while the Dally M Medal was awarded to Brisbane's Allan Langer.

At the end of the season, ARL chief executive John Quayle resigned and was replaced by Balmain president (and former hooker) Neil Whittaker.^[3]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	F1	F2	F3	GF
Auckland Warriors	BRI Forfeit	ILA +8	WES −14	NOR +4	MAN −12	ILA +10	PAR +24	ROS −12	NEW −4	CRO −4	TIG −12	PEN +10	WES +16	SOU +14	GCC +14	WRD −20	SQC +4	NQL +46	STG −29	CBY −2	CAN −24	BRI −32
Brisbane Broncos	ACK Forfeit	WES +22	ILA +50	SQC +20	NQL +44	STG +18	CBY +22	CAN +34	WRD +8	NOR −6	MAN −14	ILA −8	PAR +6	ROS −2	NEW +5	CRO +3	TIG +20	PEN +30	WES +30	SOU +2	GCC +28	ACK +32	NOR −5	CRO −6
Canberra Raiders	SQC Forfeit	PEN 0	PAR −6	NQL +56	STG −10	CBY +30	WRD +20	BRI −34	NOR +34	MAN −16	ILA +2	PAR −40	ROS +4	NEW +2	CRO −8	TIG +18	PEN +16	WES −8	SOU +30	GCC +14	ACK +24	SQC +26	STG −2
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	−	TIG −4	ROS −6	STG −20	WRD +4	CAN −30	BRI −22	NOR −8	MAN −20	ILA +12	PAR +18	ROS +12	NEW +10	CRO −10	TIG −2	PEN +2	WES −4	SOU +24	GCC +10	ACK +2	SQC +1	NQL +28
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	NEW Forfeit	STG +8	WRD −7	WRD +14	TIG +20	PEN +8	WES −8	SOU +18	GCC +8	ACK +4	SQC +24	NQL −6	STG 0	CBY +10	CAN +8	BRI −3	NOR 0	MAN +2	ILA −7	PAR +8	ROS +8	NEW +22	WES +8	BRI +6	MAN −24
Gold Coast Chargers	NOR −16	MAN −14	SOU +2	MAN −4	ILA +8	PAR +13	ROS −3	NEW −42	CRO −8	TIG +12	PEN −6	WES −32	SOU −2	WRD 0	ACK −14	SQC +48	NQL −10	STG −12	CBY −10	CAN −14	BRI −28	NOR −30
Illawarra Steelers	WES −9	ACK −8	BRI −50	SOU +42	GCC −8	ACK −10	SQC +4	NQL +16	STG +6	CBY −12	CAN −2	BRI +8	NOR −30	MAN −8	WRD −1	PAR −16	ROS −16	NEW +12	CRO +7	TIG −2	PEN +40	WES −4
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	SOU +38	GCC +14	NOR −10	GCC +4	ACK +12	SQC +8	NQL +42	STG +4	CBY +20	CAN +16	BRI +14	NOR +23	WRD −3	ILA +8	PAR +44	ROS +28	NEW +16	CRO −2	TIG +18	PEN −4	WES +30	SOU +38	ROS +2	X	CRO +24	STG +12
Newcastle Knights	CRO Forfeit	WRD +6	STG −4	TIG −12	PEN +2	WES +22	SOU +6	GCC +42	ACK +4	SQC +16	NQL −16	STG +11	CBY −10	CAN −2	BRI −5	NOR 0	MAN −16	ILA −12	PAR −2	ROS +16	WRD +4	CRO −22
North Queensland Cowboys	−	ROS −38	TIG +15	CAN −56	BRI −44	NOR −44	MAN −42	ILA −16	PAR −14	ROS −24	NEW +16	CRO +6	TIG −2	PEN −21	WES −8	SOU −2	GCC +10	ACK −46	SQC +5	WRD −26	STG +4	CBY −28
North Sydney Bears	GCC +16	SOU +16	MAN +10	ACK −4	SQC +14	NQL +44	STG +42	CBY +8	CAN −34	BRI +6	WRD +22	MAN −23	ILA +30	PAR +2	ROS −5	NEW 0	CRO 0	TIG +24	PEN +34	WES −1	SOU +42	GCC +30	BRI +5	X	STG −17
Parramatta Eels	PEN Forfeit	SQC −4	CAN +6	WES −4	SOU +28	GCC −13	ACK −24	SQC +10	NQL +14	STG +4	CBY −18	CAN +40	BRI −6	NOR −2	MAN −44	ILA +16	WRD +12	ROS 0	NEW +2	CRO −8	TIG −12	PEN −8
Penrith Panthers	PAR Forfeit	CAN 0	SQC +18	ROS −16	NEW −2	CRO −8	TIG −2	WRD +34	WES −10	SOU +8	GCC +6	ACK −10	SQC −4	NQL +21	STG −26	CBY −2	CAN −16	BRI −30	NOR −34	MAN +4	ILA −40	PAR +8
South Queensland Crushers	CAN Forfeit	PAR +4	PEN −18	BRI −20	NOR −14	MAN −8	ILA −4	PAR −10	ROS −26	NEW −16	CRO −24	TIG −10	PEN +4	WES +2	SOU −32	GCC −48	ACK −4	WRD −2	NQL −5	STG −18	CBY −1	CAN −26
South Sydney Rabbitohs	MAN −38	NOR −16	GCC −2	ILA −42	PAR −28	ROS −62	NEW −6	CRO −18	TIG +28	PEN −8	WES 0	WRD +6	GCC +2	ACK −14	SQC +32	NQL +2	STG −20	CBY −24	CAN −30	BRI −2	NOR −42	MAN −38
St. George Dragons	WRD Forfeit	CRO −8	NEW +4	CBY +20	CAN +10	BRI −18	NOR −42	MAN −4	ILA −6	PAR −4	ROS +16	NEW −11	CRO 0	TIG +11	PEN +26	WES +8	SOU +20	GCC +12	ACK +29	SQC +18	NQL −4	WRD +6	CAN +2	ROS +20	NOR +17	MAN −12
Sydney Tigers	ROS −28	CBY +4	NQL −15	NEW +12	CRO −20	WRD +4	PEN +2	WES +6	SOU −28	GCC −12	ACK +12	SQC +10	NQL +2	STG −11	CBY +2	CAN −18	BRI −20	NOR −24	MAN −18	ILA +2	PAR +12	ROS −14
Sydney City Roosters	TIG +28	NQL +38	CBY +6	PEN +16	WES +20	SOU +62	GCC +3	ACK +12	SQC +26	NQL +24	STG −16	CBY −12	CAN −4	BRI +2	NOR +5	MAN −28	ILA +16	PAR 0	WRD +12	NEW −16	CRO −8	TIG +14	MAN −2	STG −20
Western Reds	STG Forfeit	NEW −6	CRO +7	CRO −14	CBY −4	TIG −4	CAN −20	PEN −34	BRI −8	WES −14	NOR −22	SOU −6	MAN +3	GCC 0	ILA +1	ACK +20	PAR −12	SQC +2	ROS −12	NQL +26	NEW −4	STG −6
Western Suburbs Magpies	ILA +9	BRI −22	ACK +14	PAR +4	ROS −20	NEW −22	CRO +8	TIG −6	PEN +10	WRD +14	SOU 0	GCC +32	ACK −16	SQC −2	NQL +8	STG −8	CBY +4	CAN +8	BRI −30	NOR +1	MAN −30	ILA +4	CRO −8
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	F1	F2	F3	GF

Bold – Home game
X – Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Manly (P)	22	18	0	4	549	191	+358	36
2	Brisbane	21	17	0	4	607	263	+344	34
3	North Sydney	22	15	2	5	598	325	+273	32
4	Sydney City Roosters	22	15	1	6	521	321	+200	31
5	Cronulla	21	14	2	5	399	268	+131	30
6	Canberra	21	13	1	7	538	384	+154	27
7	St. George	21	12	1	8	443	360	+83	27
8	Western Suburbs	22	12	1	9	394	434	−40	25
9	Newcastle	21	10	1	10	416	388	+28	23
10	Canterbury	21	11	0	10	375	378	−3	22
11	Auckland	21	10	0	11	412	427	−15	22
12	Sydney Tigers	22	11	0	11	319	459	−140	22
13	Parramatta	21	9	1	11	404	415	−11	21
14	Illawarra	22	8	0	14	403	444	−41	16
15	Penrith	21	7	1	13	363	464	−101	15
16	Western Reds	21	6	1	14	313	420	−107	13
17	North Queensland	21	6	0	15	288	643	−355	12
18	Gold Coast	22	5	1	16	359	521	−162	11
19	South Sydney	22	5	1	16	314	634	−320	11
20	South Queensland	21	3	0	18	220	496	−276	8

Ladder progression

• Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.
• Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
• Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round

	Team	11	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
1	Manly-Warringah	2	4	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	22	22	24	26	28	30	30	32	32	34	36
2	Brisbane	0	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	16	16	16	18	18	20	22	24	26	28	30	32	34
3	North Sydney	2	4	6	6	8	10	12	14	14	16	18	18	20	22	22	23	24	26	28	28	30	32
4	Sydney City	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	20	20	20	22	24	24	26	27	29	29	29	31
5	Cronulla-Sutherland	0	2	2	4	6	8	8	10	12	14	16	16	17	19	21	21	22	24	24	26	28	30
6	Canberra	0	1	1	3	3	5	7	7	9	9	11	11	13	15	15	17	19	19	21	23	25	27
7	St George	2	2	4	6	8	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	11	13	15	17	19	21	23	25	25	27
8	Western Suburbs	2	2	4	6	6	6	8	8	10	12	13	15	15	15	17	17	19	21	21	23	23	25
9	Newcastle	2	4	4	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	16	18	18	18	18	19	19	19	19	21	23	23
10	Sydney Bulldogs	0	0	0	0	2	2	2	2	2	4	6	8	10	10	10	12	12	14	16	18	20	22
11	Auckland	2	4	4	6	6	8	10	10	10	10	10	12	14	16	18	18	20	22	22	22	22	22
12	Sydney Tigers	0	2	2	4	4	6	8	10	10	10	12	14	16	16	18	18	18	18	18	20	22	22
13	Parramatta	2	2	4	4	6	6	6	8	10	12	12	14	14	14	14	16	18	19	21	21	21	21
14	Illawarra	0	0	0	2	2	2	4	6	8	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	12	14	14	16	16
15	Penrith	0	1	3	3	3	3	3	5	5	7	9	9	9	11	11	11	11	11	11	13	13	15
16	Western Reds	0	0	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	4	5	7	9	9	11	11	13	13	13
17	North Queensland	0	0	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	4	6	6	6	6	6	8	8	10	10	12	12
18	Gold Coast	0	0	2	2	4	6	6	6	6	8	8	8	8	9	9	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
19	South Sydney	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	3	5	7	7	9	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
20	South Queensland	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	6	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8

¹ - Due to the Super League war, clubs aligned with the Super League refused to take part in round 1. As such, only 4 games were played, all between two ARL-aligned teams. Of the remaining 6 games, Super League teams Canberra, Penrith, Cronulla and the Western Reds forfeited their games to the ARL-aligned clubs South Queensland, Parramatta, Newcastle and St George respectively. The match between Canterbury and North Queensland was cancelled, and Brisbane forfeited to Auckland due to Auckland fielding a team consisting of players from the Otahuhu Leopards and Ellerslie Eagles clubs. As a result of the forfeitures, 9 teams were in the top 8 after the first round due to ties on points differential.

Finals

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Qualifying Finals
Cronulla Sharks	20–12	Western Suburbs Magpies	6 September 1996	Parramatta Stadium	David Manson	22,433
Brisbane Broncos	16–21	North Sydney Bears	7 September 1996	Suncorp Stadium*	Eddie Ward	25,983
Canberra Raiders	14–16	St. George Dragons	7 September 1996	Sydney Football Stadium	Kelvin Jeffes	28,185
Manly Sea Eagles	16–14	Sydney City Roosters	8 September 1996	Sydney Football Stadium	Paul McBlane	31,327
Semi-finals
Brisbane Broncos	16–22	Cronulla Sharks	14 September 1996	Sydney Football Stadium	Kelvin Jeffes	27,665
Sydney City Roosters	16–36	St. George Dragons	15 September 1996	Sydney Football Stadium	David Manson	37,858
Preliminary Finals
North Sydney Bears	12–29	St. George Dragons	21 September 1996	Sydney Football Stadium	Kelvin Jeffes	37,779
Manly Sea Eagles	24–0	Cronulla Sharks	22 September 1996	Sydney Football Stadium	David Manson	40,525
Grand Final
Manly Sea Eagles	20–8	St. George Dragons	29 September 1996	Sydney Football Stadium	David Manson	40,985

• Although Brisbane's home ground during the 1996 ARL season was ANZ Stadium this game was played at Suncorp.

Chart

	Qualifying and elimination finals						Semi-finals						Preliminary finals					Grand final
	8 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium
	1	Manly	16
	4	Sydney City	14				15 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium
							Sydney City		16
	6 Sept, Parramatta Stadium						St. George		36				22 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium
	5	Cronulla	20										Manly		24
	8	Western Suburbs	12										Cronulla		0			29 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium
																		Manly		20
	7 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium												21 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium					St. George		8
	6	Canberra	14										North Sydney		12
	7	St. George	16				14 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium						St. George		29
							Brisbane		16
	7 Sept, Suncorp Stadium						Cronulla		22
	2	Brisbane	16
	3	North Sydney	21

Grand Final

1996 (1996) ARL Grand Final
An aerial view of the Sydney Football Stadium, where the match was played
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles St George Dragons 20 8
1 2 Total MAN 14 6 20 STG 2 6 8
Date	29 September 1996
Stadium	Sydney Football Stadium
Location	Sydney
Clive Churchill Medal	Geoff Toovey (MAN)
Australian National anthem	Kate Ceberano
Referee	David Manson
Attendance	40,985
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters	Nine Network
Commentators	Ken Sutcliffe (host) Ray Warren Peter Sterling Paul Vautin Phil Gould Steve Roach & Gary Belcher (sideline)
← 1995 1997 →

This was the last Grand Final to feature two Sydney-based teams until 2003. 40,985 people were at the Sydney Football Stadium for the match, the lowest attendance since 1989. The match was refereed by Queenslander David Manson. For St. George, it was their third Grand Final appearance in the 1990s and would prove to be their last as a stand-alone club. Manly, looking for their sixth premiership, had been beaten Grand Finalists in 1995.

This would be the third and final time the two clubs would meet in a Grand Final, with St George having been victorious on both previous occasions in 1957 and 1959.

The pre-game entertainment focused on the 40th anniversary of television in Australia, as match broadcaster Channel 9 had been the first TV station in 1956. Music artists who performed in the pre-game included Glenn Shorrock, The Delltones, Ross Wilson, Christine Anu, and Kate Ceberano, who sang a video replay duet of "I Still Call Australia Home" with the late Australian entertainer Peter Allen (as Allen had died in 1992, he only appeared on the stadiums video replay screen).

Kate Ceberano also performed the Australian national anthem.

Teams

Team details

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles		Position	St. George Dragons
Name	Number		Number	Name
Matthew Ridge	1	Fullback	1	Dean Raper
Danny Moore	2	Wing	2	Nick Zisti
Craig Innes	3	Centre	3	Mark Coyne (c)
Terry Hill	4	Centre	4	Mark Bell
John Hopoate	5	Wing	5	Adrian Brunker
Nik Kosef	13	Five eighth	6	Anthony Mundine
Geoff Toovey (c)	7	Half back	7	Noel Goldthorpe
David Gillespie	17	Prop forward	8	Troy Stone
Jim Serdaris	9	Hooker	9	Jeff Hardy
Mark Carroll	10	Prop forward	10	Luke Felsch
Steve Menzies	11	Second row	19	Kevin Campion
Daniel Gartner	12	Second row	12	Scott Gourley
Owen Cunningham	8	Lock forward	13	Wayne Bartrim
Cliff Lyons	6	Interchange	11	David Barnhill
Neil Tierney	14	Interchange	14	Lance Thompson
Des Hasler	16	Interchange	15	Colin Ward
Craig Hancock	19	Interchange	16	Nathan Brown
Bob Fulton		Coach		David Waite
[4]

First half

In the fifth minute, Manly centre Craig Innes won the chase and scored after a grubber kick by his skipper Geoff Toovey.^[5] Matthew Ridge converted from the sideline for 6–0. The Dragons played on after being awarded a penalty in front of the posts in the eighth minute but failed to score. At the 15-minute mark, Saints' halfback Noel Goldthorpe conceded a penalty right in front of their goal posts after committing a head-high tackle on Manly's Daniel Gartner. Ridge took the kick, extending the lead to 8–0. St. George sent in forward replacements Lance Thompson and David Barnhill for Scott Gourley and Kevin Campion (head cut). For Manly, Neil Tierney came off the interchange bench to replace David Gillespie. Up until the 19th minute mark when Manly veteran five-eighth Cliff Lyons took the field, their coach Bob Fulton was using six running forwards with captain Geoff Toovey as dummy half.

The Dragons' first points came in the 37th minute when Wayne Bartrim kicked a penalty that was awarded when Manly forward Owen Cunningham stripped the ball. From the ensuing kick-off just before half-time, the game's controversial moment occurred by means of a hotly disputed try. Ridge made a spectacular short kick-off and regathered, catching the Dragons unaware. St George hooker Nathan Brown appeared to tackle Ridge, albeit one-handedly and by the collar. Ridge got up and ran when Brown was expecting him to stop and play the ball. Referee David Manson ruled that Brown did not complete the tackle. Ridge was eventually tackled just a few metres from the line. From there, dummy half Nik Kosef then passed the ball to Steve Menzies, who stormed his way through the Saints' defense of Thompson, Dean Raper, Noel Goldthorpe and Wayne Bartrim to score next to the posts, giving Ridge an easy conversion kick. The controversial ruling by referee Manson gave Manly a 14–2 half-time lead and broke the Saints' resolve. In the process of scoring, Menzies injured his groin/hamstring; and, although he returned for the second half, he was unable to run and was eventually interchanged by coach Fulton.

Second half

In the 53rd minute, Manly's Danny Moore scored a try from a Terry Hill pass after Hill drew Saints defenders Adrian Brunker and Nick Zisti. With Ridge off the field after being concussed in a tackle, Craig Innes converted from five metres off the sideline for the Sea Eagles to take a 20–2 lead. Five minutes later, Dragons' winger Zisti scored a try from a Bartrim cut-out pass. Bartrim then converted from the sideline for a final scoreline of 20–8.^[6] The final 20 minutes were scoreless, with two field goal attempts from Ridge charged down by Dragons' defenders. This ensured that the Sea Eagles secured their sixth official premiership and their only one of the 1990s.

Scoreboard

1996 ARL Optus Cup Grand Final

Sunday, 29 September 15:00 AEST (UTC+10)

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	20 – 8	St. George Dragons
Tries: 3 Innes  5' Menzies  40' Moore  54' Goals: 4 Ridge  6', pen 18', 40' (3/3) Innes  56' (1/1) Field goals: 0 Ridge (0/2)	1st: 14–2 2nd: 6–6	Tries: 1 Zisti  61' Goals: 2 Bartrim  pen 37', 62' (2/2)

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 40,985 Referee: David Manson Touch judges: Phil Cooley, Col White In-goal judges: Brett Matthews, Barry Ruttle Clive Churchill Medal: Geoff Toovey[7] (Manly)

Other matches

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks won the reserve grade Grand Final 14–12 against the Auckland Warriors. The Sharks led 6–0 at half time and maintained their lead in the second half with Geoff Bell scoring two tries. The win was Cronulla coach Stuart Raper fourth grand final victory after leading the Sharks to the Presidents Cup premiership in 1994.^[8]

In the under-21s Presidents Cup Grand Final, the South Queensland Crushers won their first ever title defeating the Parramatta Eels 24–12.^[8]

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.

Top 5 point scorers Points Player Tries Goals Field Goals 225 Jason Taylor 5 102 1 168 Ivan Cleary 4 76 0 162 Ryan Girdler 8 65 0 160 Rod Wishart 14 52 0 153 Matthew Ridge 7 62 1 Top 5 try scorers Tries Player 21 Noa Nadruku 19 Steve Renouf 16 Steve Menzies 15 Ben Ikin 14 Darren Smith 14 Brett Dallas 14 Rod Wishart

Top 5 goal scorers Goals Player 102 Jason Taylor 76 Ivan Cleary 65 Ryan Girdler 64 Andrew Johns 62 Matthew Ridge