1996 ARL season

1996 Australian Rugby League
Teams	20
Premiers	Manly-Warringah (6th title)
Minor premiers	Manly-Warringah (8th title)
Matches played	223
Points scored	8547
Attendance	2743516
Top points scorer(s)	Jason Taylor (238)
Player of the year	Jason Taylor (Rothmans Medal)
Top try-scorer(s)	Noa Nadruku (21)

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.

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.^[1]

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. 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 30th season Ground: Endeavour Park Coach: John Lang Captain: Andrew Ettinghausen	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-Warringah 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 Queensland Cowboys 2nd season Ground: Stockland Stadium Coach: Graham Lowe Captain: Dean Schifilliti	North Sydney 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	Sydney Bulldogs 62nd season Ground: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Chris Anderson Captain: Simon Gillies	Sydney City Roosters 89th season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Phil Gould Captain: Sean Garlick	Sydney Tigers 89th season Ground: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Wayne Pearce Captain: Paul Sironen
South Queensland Crushers 2nd season Ground: Suncorp Stadium Coach: Bob Lindner Captain: Trevor Gillmeister	South Sydney 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	Western Reds 2nd season Ground: WACA Ground Coach: Peter Mulholland Captain: Mark Geyer	Western Suburbs Magpies 89th season Ground: Campbelltown Stadium Coach: Tommy Raudonikis Captain: Paul Langmack

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (P)	22	18	0	4	549	191	+358	36
2	Brisbane Broncos	21	17	0	4	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	21	14	2	5	399	268	+131	30
6	Canberra Raiders	21	13	1	7	538	384	+154	27
7	St. George Dragons	21	12	1	8	443	360	+83	27
8	Western Suburbs Magpies	22	12	1	9	394	434	−40	25
9	Newcastle Knights	21	10	1	10	416	388	+28	23
10	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	21	11	0	10	375	378	−3	22
11	Auckland Warriors	21	10	0	11	412	427	−15	22
12	Sydney Tigers	22	11	0	11	319	459	−140	22
13	Parramatta Eels	21	9	1	11	404	415	−11	21
14	Illawarra Steelers	22	8	0	14	403	444	−41	16
15	Penrith Panthers	21	7	1	13	363	464	−101	15
16	Western Reds	21	6	1	14	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	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.

Grand Final

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 game, 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 6th 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 Glen Shorrock, The Delltones, Ross Wilson, Christine Anu, and Kate Ceberano who sang a video replay duet of I Still Call Australia Home with 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.

1st half
In the 5th minute, Manly centre Craig Innes won the chase and scored after a grubber kick by his skipper Geoff Toovey.^[4] 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. Ridge was eventually tackled just a few metres from the line. From dummy-half Nik Kosef then passed the ball to Steve Menzies who stormed his way through Saints' defense of Thompson, Raper, Goldthorpe and 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 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 replaced by coach Fulton.

2nd 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, 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 final scoreline of 20–8.^[5] 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^[6]

References

• Rugby League Tables – Season 1996 The World of Rugby League
• St. George Dragons 1996 season at showroom.com.au