The 1996 ARL premiership (also known as the 1996 Optus Cup due to sponsorship from
Optus
Singtel Optus Pty Limited (commonly referred to as Optus) is an Australian telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singaporean telecommunications company Singte ...
) was the 89th season of professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
football in Australia, and the second to be administered by the
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...
(ARL). Twenty teams contested the premiership, including five
Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, two from greater
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, four from
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
, and one each from New Zealand, the
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...
and
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. Ultimately two Sydney clubs, the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...
and
St. George Dragons
The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...
contested the
grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...
.
Regular season
With the
Super League war
The Super League war was a commercial competition between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the Australian Super League to establish pre-eminence in professional rugby league competition in Australia and New Zealand in the mid-1990s.
Super ...
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
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
versus
North Queensland was cancelled, whilst Auckland flew a team consisting of players from the
Otahuhu Leopards
The Otahuhu Leopards are a rugby league club based in Otahuhu, Auckland. Founded in 1911, the club has produced 49 New Zealand national rugby league team players. The club competes in the Fox Memorial competition run by Auckland Rugby Leagu ...
and
Ellerslie Eagles
The Ellerslie Eagles are a rugby league club based in Ellerslie, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1912 and competes in Auckland Rugby League competitions. Its premier team competes in the Sharman cup. The club celebrated its centenary Queen ...
clubs to Brisbane and were thus declared winners over the
Broncos
A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock.
The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...
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. 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
Ricky John Stuart (born 7 January 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Canberra Raiders in the NRL and a former rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
H ...
,
Bradley Clyde
Bradley Clyde (born 27 January 1970) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s who, at the peak of his playing career was widely acknowledged as the best in the game. He represented ...
and
Jason Croker
Jason Croker (born 10 March 1973) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative utility player, he previously played club football in the NRL for t ...
, and suspensions to Kiwi props
John Lomax
John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess Lo ...
and
Quentin Pongia
Quentin Lee Pongia (9 July 1970 – 18 May 2019) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1990s and 2000s.
Background
He was the grandson of fellow Kiwi international Jim Calder. His sister Megan Tahapeehi ...
.
Super League-aligned Canterbury were also hit by the loss of key players
Jim Dymock
Jim Dymock (born 4 April 1972) is a professional rugby league coach who is the assistant coach of the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s.
A Tonga and Australia inter ...
,
Dean Pay
Dean Pay (born 3 June 1969) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer and former head coach of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL, a professional player who played in the late 1980s and 1990s.
He played for the Cant ...
,
Jason Smith and
Jarrod McCracken
Jarrod McCracken (born 27 March 1970) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is a former captain of the New Zealand national rugby league team and is the son of New Zealand rugby league internation ...
to ARL-loyal
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
.
Sydney City started the season in good form, but fell off after winning their first ten games, whilst
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
(with
Allan Langer
Allan Jeffrey "Alfie" Langer AM (born 30 July 1966) is an Australian former multi-award-winning rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and worked as an assistant coach for the Australian national team, the Queensla ...
putting in some strong performances) dominated early but as had become their custom, lost ground mid-season during the
Origin
Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Comics and manga
* ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002
* ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...
period.
North Sydney, with a powerful
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
pack and skillful goal-kicking half
Jason Taylor feeding a superb set of outside
backs, were expected to make the
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...
, 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
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
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
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...
in Australia:
$2,006,217.
This year Canterbury-Bankstown back
Terry Lamb
Terence John Lamb (born 15 September 1961), also nicknamed "Baa", is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played 350 games, with the Western Suburbs (1980–1983) and Canterbury (1984–1996).
Lamb was known for his su ...
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
The Rothmans Medal was the premier individual award in the New South Wales Rugby League and Brisbane Rugby League competitions, and later in the Australian Rugby League, which was given to the player voted by referees as the best and fairest ...
, while the
Dally M Medal
The Dally M Medal is awarded each year (annually) to the player voted for as the ' Player of the year' over the National Rugby League (NRL) regular season. The awards are named in honour of Australian former rugby league great Herbert Henry "Da ...
was awarded to Brisbane's
Allan Langer
Allan Jeffrey "Alfie" Langer AM (born 30 July 1966) is an Australian former multi-award-winning rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and worked as an assistant coach for the Australian national team, the Queensla ...
.
At the end of the season, ARL chief executive
John Quayle resigned and was replaced by Balmain president (and former hooker)
Neil Whittaker
Neil Whittaker (born 10 September 1956) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s for Balmain in the NSWRL competition. Whittaker was also the chief executive officer of the National Rugby L ...
.
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.
Ladder
Finals
* Although Brisbane's home ground during the 1996 ARL season was
ANZ Stadium
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
* ...
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
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
. 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
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
.
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
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
and
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
.
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
Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Barrie Shorrock (born 30 June 1944) is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of rock bands the Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and post LRB spin-off trio Birtles Shorrock Goble, as well as being a solo ...
,
The Delltones,
Ross Wilson,
Christine Anu, and
Kate Ceberano
Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the soul, jazz, and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her song "Pash" received a gold sa ...
, who sang a video replay duet of "
I Still Call Australia Home
"I Still Call Australia Home" is a song written by Peter Allen in 1980. In it, Allen sings of Australian expatriates' longing for home.
Significance to Australian culture
It has been used to signify Australian patriotism and nostalgia for home ...
" with the 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
Geoffrey Toovey (born 17 June 1969), also known by the nickname of "Toovs" or "Tooves", is the former head coach of the Bradford Bulls and former professional rugby league footballer. Toovey played halfback for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, ...
.
Matthew Ridge
Matthew John Ridge (born 27 August 1968) is a New Zealand television presenter, and a former rugby union and rugby league footballer.
A fullback in both codes, Ridge played rugby union for Auckland and became an All Black, but never won an in ...
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
Noel Goldthorpe (born 25 December 1969) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the halves in the 1990s. He played most of his career for the St George Dragons. Goldthorpe also played for the Western Suburbs ...
conceded a penalty right in front of their goal post after committing a head-high tackle on Manly's
Daniel Gartner
Daniel Gartner (born 15 October 1972 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. His position was second row forward and he played in Australia with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eag ...
. Ridge took the kick, extending the lead to 8–0. St. George sent in forward replacements
Lance Thompson
Lance Thompson (16 February 1978 – 23 August 2018) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for St. George, St. George Illawarra and Cronulla-Sutherland. He primarily played in t ...
and
David Barnhill
David Barnhill (born 8 June 1969) is a former Ireland international rugby league footballer who
played as a Second row forward in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. His club career was with the Canberra Raiders, St. George Dragons, Sydney City and ...
for
Scott Gourley
Scott Robert Gourley (born 18 July 1968) is an Australian former rugby league and rugby union footballer who played from 1986-1998 and achieved the status of a dual-code international representing his country in both sports. He made five Test ...
and
Kevin Campion (head cut). For Manly,
Neil Tierney
Neil Tierney (born 22 October 1967) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s.
Playing career
A prop forward, he started his football career in Queensland with the Wynnum-Manly club, winning the Brisban ...
came off the interchange bench to replace
David Gillespie
David "Cement" Gillespie (born 22 March 1964) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and forward in the 1980s and 1990s. Gillespie played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Western Suburbs Magpies, ...
. Up until the 19th minute mark when Manly veteran five-eighth
Cliff Lyons
Cliff Lyons (born 19 October 1961) is an indigenous Australian former international rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Clive Churchill Medalllist and two-time Dally M Medallist, he made 309 first-grade appearances wit ...
took the field, their coach
Bob Fulton was using six running forwards with captain
Geoff Toovey
Geoffrey Toovey (born 17 June 1969), also known by the nickname of "Toovs" or "Tooves", is the former head coach of the Bradford Bulls and former professional rugby league footballer. Toovey played halfback for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, ...
as
dummy half.
The Dragons' first points came in the 37th minute when
Wayne Bartrim
Wayne Bartrim (born 9 October 1971), is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He was selected to represent Australia and Queensland during his career, which he spent playing for the Gold C ...
kicked a penalty that was awarded when Manly forward
Owen Cunningham
Owen Cunningham (born 23 January 1967), nicknamed OJ, is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. A Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football for the Manly Warri ...
stripped the ball. From the ensuing kick-off just before half-time, the game's controversial moment occurred by means of 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 there, dummy half
Nik Kosef
Nik Kosef (born 6 June 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and second-row forward in the 1990s and 2000s. He was a state and international representative whose club career was spent with the Manl ...
then passed the ball to
Steve Menzies
Steve Menzies (born 4 December 1973), commonly referred to by his nickname "Beaver", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer best known for his career with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. He also played for the Bradford Bull ...
, who stormed his way through the Saints' defense of Thompson,
Dean Raper,
Noel Goldthorpe
Noel Goldthorpe (born 25 December 1969) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the halves in the 1990s. He played most of his career for the St George Dragons. Goldthorpe also played for the Western Suburbs ...
and
Wayne Bartrim
Wayne Bartrim (born 9 October 1971), is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He was selected to represent Australia and Queensland during his career, which he spent playing for the Gold C ...
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 the 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 interchanged by coach Fulton.
2nd half
In the 53rd minute, Manly's
Danny Moore
Danny Moore (born 2 November 1971) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative who played most of his career either ...
scored a try from a
Terry Hill
Terry Hill (born 22 January 1972) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1990s and 2000s. He played in the NRL for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs Magpies, Manly-Warri ...
pass after Hill drew Saints defenders
Adrian Brunker
Adrian Brunker (born 23 September 1970) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s. He played at representative level for Queensland, and at club level for Newcastle Knights, Gold Coast Seagulls, St Geo ...
and
Nick Zisti
Nicolas Zisti (born 2 August 1972) is an Italian Australian former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played club level rugby league (RL) for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the St. George Dra ...
. With Ridge off the field after being concussed in a tackle,
Craig Innes converted from 5 metres 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.
The final 20 minutes were scoreless, with two
field goal attempts from Ridge charged down by Dragons' defenders. This ensured that the Sea Eagles secured their sixth official premiership and their only one of the 1990s.
Full-Time Score
Player statistics
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.
Top 5 point scorers
Top 5 try scorers
Top 5 goal scorers
References
Rugby League Tables – Season 1996
{{1996 in rugby league
National Rugby League seasons
ARL season
ARL season