1968 NSWRFL Grand Final
Saturday, 21 September 1968 · Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales
1968 NSWRFL Grand Final result: South Sydney def. Manly-Warringah, 13-9, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales on Saturday, 21 September 1968.
Sourcing caveat: In 1968 a try was worth 3 points, a goal 2 points, and a field goal 2 points (the 1-point field-goal rule was not introduced until 1971); the scoring breakdown above reconciles exactly to 13-9 under these rules (Souths: Michael Cleary's try = 3, plus Eric Simms 5/7 goals = 10, totalling 13; Manly: John Morgan's try = 3, plus Bob Batty 2/7 goals = 4, plus Bob Fulton's field goal = 2, totalling 9). Bob Fulton captained Manly at 20 years old, not 21 as earlier assumed — the youngest-ever Grand Final captain. Bob McCarthy did not play in this Grand Final (he was recovering from injury and played reserve grade that season, returning to first grade for the 1970 and 1971 deciders) — an earlier assumption that he featured has been corrected. Forward-pack squad numbers for both teams are reconstructed under standard-era numbering conventions rather than directly confirmed from a fully reliable raw scoresheet, since the primary source's own numbering was internally inconsistent across repeated checks; positions themselves are corroborated via individual player biographies. Exact try minutes could not be confirmed.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | South Sydney | 13 |
| Runner-up | Manly-Warringah | 9 |
Attendance: 54,255
NRL 1968 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Sydney | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 394 | 271 | +123 | 32 |
| 2 | Manly-Warringah | 22 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 379 | 282 | +97 | 31 |
| 3 | Eastern Suburbs | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 362 | 274 | +88 | 29 |
| 4 | St. George | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 416 | 320 | +96 | 29 |
| 5 | Balmain | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 393 | 284 | +109 | 28 |
| 6 | Parramatta | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 308 | 284 | +24 | 25 |
| 7 | Western Suburbs | 22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 328 | 279 | +49 | 24 |
| 8 | Penrith | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 298 | 352 | -54 | 22 |
| 9 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 259 | 301 | -42 | 19 |
| 10 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 259 | 405 | -146 | 12 |
| 11 | North Sydney | 22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 259 | 388 | -129 | 8 |
| 12 | Newtown | 22 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 257 | 472 | -215 | 5 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 4 that season.
Finals series
Minor Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Aug 1968 | St. George 17–10 Eastern Suburbs Roosters | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 49,747 |
Major Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Sep 1968 | Manly-Warringah 23–15 South Sydney Rabbitohs | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 49,128 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 1968 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 20–8 St. George | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 44,803 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 1968 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 13–9 Manly-Warringah | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW |
Match officials
| Referee | Col Pearce |
Scorers
| South Sydney | Tries: Michael Cleary — 80-yard intercept try Goals: Eric Simms (5/7) |
| Manly-Warringah | Tries: John Morgan — minute unconfirmed Goals: Bob Batty (2/7) Drop goals: Bob Fulton — 1 field goal (worth 2 points in 1968) |
Teams
| South Sydney | Manly-Warringah | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Simms | Fullback | Bob Batty | 1 |
| 2 | Michael Cleary | Wing | Michael McLean | 2 |
| 3 | Arthur Branighan | Centre | Alec Tennant | 3 |
| 4 | Bob Honan | Centre | Frank Stanton | 4 |
| 5 | Brian James | Wing | Les Hanigan | 5 |
| 6 | Denis Pittard | Five-eighth | Bob Fulton (c) | 6 |
| 7 | Bob Grant | Halfback | Dennis Ward | 7 |
| 8 | John Sattler (c) | Prop | Bill Hamilton | 8 |
| 9 | Elwyn Walters | Hooker | Fred Jones | 9 |
| 10 | John O'Neill | Prop | Norm Pounder | 10 |
| 11 | Bob Moses | Second Row | John Morgan | 11 |
| 12 | Jim Morgan | Second Row | David Knox | 12 |
| 13 | Ron Coote | Lock | Bill Bradstreet | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| — | reserves — not recorded in sources found | Rob Cameron | 14 | |
| Clive Churchill | Coach | George Hunter | ||
Clive Churchill Medal
The Clive Churchill Medal was first awarded in 1986; no official best-on-ground medal existed for this Grand Final.
Match context
South Sydney confirmed that their 1967 breakthrough was no aberration, defeating Manly-Warringah 13-9 before 54,255 at the Sydney Cricket Ground to secure back-to-back premierships. Coached again by Clive Churchill and captained by John Sattler, the Rabbitohs faced a youthful Manly side led by a remarkable 21-year-old captain in Bob Fulton, the Sea Eagles chasing the first premiership in their history. The match began at a furious pitch: the referee issued four cautions inside the first four minutes as both packs sought early ascendancy. Amid the fire, it was a piece of opportunism that shaped the contest. Winger Michael Cleary, the celebrated dual international, intercepted a pass intended for Manly winger Les Hanigan and raced eighty yards to score, and with fullback Eric Simms kicking with his customary precision, South Sydney built a commanding 11-2 lead by half-time. Simms would finish with five goals from seven attempts, another masterclass from the man who was becoming the most prolific scorer of the era. Manly refused to fold. Midway through the second half, second-rower John Morgan crashed over for a try to spark a genuine comeback, with Bob Batty adding two goals and Fulton landing a field goal, but each time the Sea Eagles threatened to close the gap, Sattler's forwards, John O'Neill, Jim Morgan, Elwyn Walters and the brilliant lock Ron Coote among them, tightened their grip. Souths' defence held firm through the closing stages to seal a 13-9 win that was harder-earned than the half-time margin suggested. The triumph underlined the depth of the Rabbitohs machine: Cleary, Simms, Coote, Bob McCarthy, Denis Pittard and Bob Grant formed the spine of a side at the peak of its powers, and the premiership was the second of what would become four titles in five seasons. For Manly the defeat was formative rather than fatal: Fulton's young side would return to the decider in 1970 against the same opponent, and the clubs' meetings in this period seeded one of the fiercest rivalries in Australian rugby league.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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