Newcastle Knights 25–18 Manly-Warringah — Qualifying Final, 2006 NRL Finals Series
8 Sep 2006 · EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle, NSW · Attendance: 23,752
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Qualifying Final, 2006 NRL finals series: Newcastle Knights 25–18 Manly-Warringah, at EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle, NSW on 8 Sep 2006.
Sourcing caveat: Sources disagree on the exact halftime score (0-12 vs. 6-18); both agree Manly led comfortably at the break, and the full-time score is confirmed by all sources. No try-scoring minutes were found for this fixture. David Seage started at fullback but was replaced early by an injury (Kurt Gidley moved from five-eighth); the lineup below reflects the announced starting side rather than the in-game reshuffle. Manly's bench included Brent Kite, Shayne Dunley and Luke Williamson with jersey numbers that could not be confirmed (source pages gave contradictory values) — recorded as UNCONFIRMED rather than guessed.
Scorers
| Newcastle Knights | Tries: Gidley; Gidley; Johns; Carney Goals: Johns (4/4 conversions) Drop goals: Mullen |
| Manly-Warringah | Tries: Matai; Robertson; Stewart Goals: Orford (3/4 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Newcastle Knights | Manly-Warringah | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Seage | Fullback | Brett Stewart | 1 |
| 2 | Brian Carney | Wing | Michael Robertson | 2 |
| 3 | Matthew Gidley | Centre | Steve Bell | 3 |
| 4 | George Carmont | Centre | Steve Matai | 4 |
| 5 | Anthony Quinn | Wing | Chris Hicks | 5 |
| 6 | Kurt Gidley | Five-Eighth | Travis Burns | 6 |
| 7 | Andrew Johns (c) | Halfback | Matt Orford | 7 |
| 8 | Josh Perry | Prop | Jason King | 8 |
| 9 | Danny Buderus | Hooker | Michael Monaghan | 9 |
| 10 | Adam Woolnough | Prop | Kylie Leuluai | 10 |
| 11 | Steve Simpson | Second Row | Steve Menzies | 11 |
| 12 | Clint Newton | Second Row | Anthony Watmough | 12 |
| 13 | Reegan Tanner | Lock | Ben Kennedy (c) | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Luke Davico | Brent Kite | UNCONFIRMED | |
| 15 | Craig Smith | Shayne Dunley | UNCONFIRMED | |
| 16 | Jarrod Mullen | Luke Williamson | UNCONFIRMED | |
| 17 | Kirk Reynoldson | George Rose | 19 | |
| Michael Hagan | Coach | Des Hasler | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Sean Hampstead |
Match report
Manly stormed to an early lead and led comfortably at the break in front of a rowdy Newcastle crowd, with tries to Brett Stewart, Michael Robertson and Steve Matai. Andrew Johns, in one of his last finals appearances, orchestrated a stunning comeback, setting up Kurt Gidley (who had shifted from five-eighth to fullback after David Seage's early injury) for two second-half tries. Jarrod Mullen's field goal supplied the finishing touch as Newcastle ran in four unanswered tries after the break to end Manly's finals campaign — Newcastle's first finals win since their 2001 Grand Final triumph.