| 1996 ARL season | |
| Teams | 20 |
| Premiers | Manly-Warringah (6th title) |
| Minor premiers | Manly-Warringah (8th title) |
| Matches played | 223 |
| Points scored | 8547 (total) 38.327 (per match) |
| Attendance | 2,743,516 (total) 12,303 (per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) | Jason Taylor (238) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Noa Nadruku (21) |
The 1996 ARL premiership (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.
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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 announced they would field a team from the Lion Red competition and were thus declared winners over Brisbane by forfeit.
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. Their 1995 rivals Canberra were hit by injuries which wiped out the seasons of key players Ricky Stuart, Bradley Clyde and Jason Croker, and suspensions to Kiwi props John Lomax and Quentin Pongia.
Super League-aligned Canterbury-Bankstown were also hit by the loss of key players Jim Dymock, Dean Pay, Jason Smith and Jarrod McCracken to ARL-loyal Parramatta. 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 lost ground mid-season. North Sydney, with a powerful forward pack and skillful half Jason Taylor feeding a superb set of outside backs, were expected to make the Grand Final but lost to St. George in the preliminary final.
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 permiership games at 349 before retiring at the end of the season.
for the 1996 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.[1]
The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous season except for the re-branding of the Gold Coast club from the "Seagulls" to the "Chargers".
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manly | 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 | 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 | Balmain | 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 |
| 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 place 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 announcing they would field a team from the Lion Red competition for that round. As a result of the forfeitures, 9 teams were in the top 8 after the first round due to ties on points differential.
| 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 | Kevin 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 | ||
| Manly-Warringah |
Position | St. George |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew Ridge | FB | Dean Raper |
| Danny Moore | WG | Nick Zisti |
| Craig Innes | CE | Mark Coyne (c) |
| Terry Hill | CE | Mark Bell |
| John Hopoate | WG | Adrian Brunker |
| Nik Kosef | FE | Anthony Mundine |
| Geoff Toovey (c) | HB | Noel Goldthorpe |
| David Gillespie | PR | Troy Stone |
| Jim Serdaris | HK | Jeff Hardy |
| Mark Carroll | PR | Luke Felsch |
| Steve Menzies | SR | Scott Gourley |
| Daniel Gartner | SR | Kevin Campion |
| Owen Cunningham | LK | Wayne Bartrim |
| Craig Hancock | Reserve | Nathan Brown |
| Des Hasler | Reserve | Lance Thompson |
| Cliff Lyons | Reserve | David Barnhill |
| Neil Tierney | Reserve | Colin Ward |
| Bob Fulton | Coach | David Waite |
This was the last grand final to feature two Sydney-based teams until 2003. In the 5th minute, Manly centre Craig Innes won the chase and scored after a grubber kick by his skipper Geoff Toovey.[2] 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 8th minute but failed to score.
At the 15 minute mark Saints' halfback Noel Goldthorpe conceded a penalty right in front of their goalpost 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, Tierney came off the interchange bench to replace 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 Toovey as dummy half.
The Dragons' first points came in the 37th minute when Wayne Bartrim kicked a penalty awarded when Manly forward Cunningham stripped the ball. From the ensuing kick-off just before half-time came the game's controversial moment and 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. Nik Kosef then passed the ball to Steve Menzies who stormed his way through Saints' Thompson, Raper, Goldthorpe and Bartrim to score before Ridge converted for another 2 points. The controversial ruling by referee Manson gave Manly a 14–2 half time lead and broke Saints' resolve.
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. Innes converted from 5m 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 scoreline of 20–8.
The final twenty minutes were scoreless with two field goal attempts from Ridge charged down by Dragons' defenders.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 20
Tries: Innes, Menzies, Moore
Goals: Ridge 3/3, Innes 1/1
St. George Dragons 8
Tries: Zisti
Goals: Bartrim 2/2
Clive Churchill Medal: Geoff Toovey (Manly)
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