1996 ARL Grand Final
Sunday, 29 September 1996 · Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales
1996 ARL Grand Final result: Manly-Warringah def. St. George, 20-8, at Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales on Sunday, 29 September 1996.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Manly-Warringah | 20 |
| Runner-up | St. George | 8 |
Attendance: 40,985
NRL 1996 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 22 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 549 | 191 | +358 | 36 |
| 2 | Brisbane Broncos | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 607 | 263 | +344 | 34 |
| 3 | North Sydney Bears | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 598 | 325 | +273 | 32 |
| 4 | Sydney City Roosters | 22 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 521 | 321 | +200 | 31 |
| 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 399 | 268 | +131 | 30 |
| 6 | Canberra Raiders | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 538 | 384 | +154 | 27 |
| 7 | St George Dragons | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 443 | 360 | +83 | 27 |
| 8 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 394 | 434 | -40 | 25 |
| 9 | Newcastle Knights | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 416 | 388 | +28 | 23 |
| 10 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 21 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 375 | 378 | -3 | 22 |
| 11 | Auckland Warriors | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 412 | 427 | -15 | 22 |
| 12 | Balmain Tigers | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 319 | 459 | -140 | 22 |
| 13 | Parramatta Eels | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 404 | 415 | -11 | 21 |
| 14 | Illawarra Steelers | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 403 | 444 | -41 | 16 |
| 15 | Penrith Panthers | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 363 | 464 | -101 | 15 |
| 16 | Western Reds | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 313 | 420 | -107 | 13 |
| 17 | North Queensland Cowboys | 21 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 288 | 643 | -355 | 12 |
| 18 | Gold Coast Chargers | 22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 359 | 521 | -162 | 11 |
| 19 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 314 | 634 | -320 | 11 |
| 20 | South Queensland Crushers | 22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 220 | 496 | -276 | 8 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 8 that season.
Finals series
Qualifying Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Sep 1996 | Cronulla-Sutherland 20–12 Western Suburbs | Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta, NSW | 22,433 |
| 7 Sep 1996 | North Sydney Bears 21–16 Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), Brisbane, QLD | 25,983 |
| 7 Sep 1996 | St. George 16–14 Canberra Raiders | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 28,185 |
| 8 Sep 1996 | Manly-Warringah 16–14 Sydney Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 31,327 |
Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 1996 | Cronulla-Sutherland 22–16 Brisbane Broncos | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 27,665 |
| 15 Sep 1996 | St. George 36–16 Sydney Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 37,858 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 1996 | St. George 29–12 North Sydney Bears | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 37,779 |
| 22 Sep 1996 | Manly-Warringah 24–0 Cronulla-Sutherland | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 40,525 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep 1996 | Manly-Warringah 20–8 St. George | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW |
Match officials
| Referee | David Manson |
Scorers
| Manly-Warringah | Tries: Craig Innes 5'; Steve Menzies — minute unconfirmed (approx 40'); Danny Moore 53' Goals: Matthew Ridge (3/3); Craig Innes (1/1) |
| St. George | Tries: Nick Zisti — minute unconfirmed (approx 58') Goals: Wayne Bartrim (2/2) |
Teams
| Manly-Warringah | St. George | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Ridge | Fullback | Dean Raper | 1 |
| 2 | Danny Moore | Wing | Nick Zisti | 2 |
| 3 | Craig Innes | Centre | Mark Coyne (c) | 3 |
| 4 | Terry Hill | Centre | Mark Bell | 4 |
| 5 | John Hopoate | Wing | Adrian Brunker | 5 |
| 6 | Cliff Lyons | Five-eighth | Anthony Mundine | 6 |
| 7 | Geoff Toovey (c) | Halfback | Noel Goldthorpe | 7 |
| 8 | Owen Cunningham | Prop | Troy Stone | 8 |
| 9 | Jim Serdaris | Hooker | Jeff Hardy | 9 |
| 10 | Mark Carroll | Prop | Luke Felsch | 10 |
| 11 | Steve Menzies | Second Row | David Barnhill | 11 |
| 12 | Daniel Gartner | Second Row | Scott Gourley | 12 |
| 13 | Nik Kosef | Lock | Wayne Bartrim | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Neil Tierney | Kevin Campion | 19 | |
| 16 | Des Hasler | Lance Thompson | 14 | |
| 17 | David Gillespie | Colin Ward | 15 | |
| 19 | Craig Hancock | Nathan Brown | 16 | |
| Bob Fulton | Coach | David Waite | ||
Clive Churchill Medal
Geoff Toovey (Manly-Warringah).
Match context
In the final grand final played before the Super League War split the code in two the following season, Manly-Warringah, owners of one of the competition's meanest defences that year, faced a St George side seeking to end a premiership drought stretching back to 1979. Manly struck early, with centre Craig Innes finishing off a grubber kick in just the fifth minute, converted by fullback Matthew Ridge for a 6-0 lead, and Ridge extended the margin to 8-0 with a penalty goal by the fifteen-minute mark. St George's only response of the half came through a Wayne Bartrim penalty goal in the 37th minute, cutting the deficit to 8-2. The pivotal, and most contentious, moment of the match arrived in the final two minutes of the first half: Ridge chipped a short kick for himself deep in Dragons territory and regathered ahead of hooker Nathan Brown, who appeared to make contact in a tackle attempt, but the referee ruled the tackle incomplete and allowed play to continue. Manly capitalised instantly as Steve Menzies crashed over next to the posts, extending the lead to a commanding 14-2 at the break and effectively deciding the contest. Danny Moore added a further try in the 53rd minute from a Terry Hill pass to push the score to 20-2, before St George's Nick Zisti scored a late consolation try, with Bartrim's conversion completing the 20-8 final margin. Halfback Geoff Toovey was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for a typically combative, high-energy display in the number seven jersey, while veteran forward David Gillespie provided unheralded but crucial go-forward in one of his final seasons at the club. The win secured Manly's sixth premiership and, poignantly, stood as the last undisputed, unified Sydney/ARL premiership decider of the pre-Super League era, with the code fracturing into rival ARL and Super League competitions for the following season before reunification under the NRL banner in 1998.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
← Rugby League · Champions list · All-time records · World Cup · All competitions · Venues · Teams · Players