September 29, 1996: The 1996 grand final

St George did amazingly well to get there but Manly won 20-8. Before the decade was out, both clubs would be subsumed by mergers.

I have very little recollection of the 1996 grand final.

Looking through the clippings today, what strikes me is how different the coverage of an event can be from the way it is remembered.

The ‘96 grand final is remembered now for Matthew Ridge being tackled, referee David Manson not calling ‘held’ and Ridge getting up again to run away for Steve Menzies…