By Chris W.B

Two clubs. One seeped in tradition, one striving to make itself a force in the ASRL. One club loathed by the general public due to its arrogance- it's deserved arrogance. Manly have been the hated side in league for decades, and along with the Sydney Oilers, one of the proudest. Would pride be enough to see them victorious against the most devestating attacking team in the ASRL all year? The side with the million dollar backline vs. the side with the million dollar coach.

The capacity crowd roared its approval as Stacey Jones got things underway, and despite its reputation, Manly had the bulk of the Sydney support as New Zealand brought it up. Some worries early on for Manly however, as Stanley Tepend looked to have hurt himself in a tackle on David Vaeleki.

He shrugged it off in style, making a half break during his own side's set and drilling the ball low and hard towards New Zealand's line. Hodgson waited too long, and Mat Rogers was able to dive on the loose ball and score a stunning opening try. Up 6-0 after only ninety seconds, Kermitt Krockett had every reason to smile.

Manly held the lead well, dominating the ruck and slowing New Zealand's play the ball. This meant that the devestating threequarters were starved of possession, and allowed Manly to control the field nicely. It's tragic how a moment of stupidity can hurt a club so badly. A little 'extra work' from Reeves in the tackle gave New Zealand quality ball, and they made Manly pay, Timana Tahu dancing over from five out to score and level things at 6 all.

Things went from bad to worse for Manly when their short kick off failed to find Manly hands, and instead rewarded New Zealand with good field position. Caleb Ralph collected a sloppy Tahu pass out wide, threw aside Marc Stcherbina, and raced forty metres to score his side's second try. The conversion was successful, and Manly trailed 12-6.

It didn't take long for New Zealand to further extend their lead, Willie Mason crashing over to make it 18-6 and leave Manly shell-shocked after only 25 minutes of play. Kermitt Krockett was fuming, and looked on the verge of murder as his side continually conceded stupid penalties and dropped too much ball.

Reserves flooded the field for Manly, and this seemed to settle the game a little. Gradually the Cannons played safe football, playing the patience game as they sought to find a chink in New Zealand's armour. A sloppy Guttenbiel error gave New Zealand the chance they needed however, Graham Luana outsmarting Stacey Jones to score his side's fourth try. His conversion made it 24-6.

On the stroke of half-time, Sonny Nickle all but assured his side of a maiden Grand Final appearance, running over the top of Stanley Tepend to score and make it 28-6. Luana showed his humanity with a missed conversion, but it was all smiles as the Cougars headed to the dressing room.

HALFTIME: Manly 6 trail New Zealand 28

It was more of the same after the halftime siren sounded, Sonny Nickle picking up where he left off with a dominant forty metre run which saw him shoulder aside six Manly defenders. The run laid an excellent platform for New Zealand, Brett Hodgson scoring out wide after the Cougars created an embarassing four on two overlap.

Their own worst enemies, Manly engineered New Zealand's next try when Stacey Jones tried too much. Seeing three on one out wide, Jones attempted to switch play the way but his long looping pass instead found David Vaeleki. With nothing but green acres in front of him, Vaeleki took off with Stcherbina in hot pursuit. The footrace was won by Vaeleki, and it was 38-6.

The Cannons picked up their game a little after this try, probably due to the jeers they got from the crowd. However, they couldn't get a break, Leigh McWilliams stretchered off the field with a badly sprained wrist. The 'quiet period' of twenty minutes broke when Sonny Nickle again burst through some poor defence and found a screaming Tahu trailing him. No one came close, and it was 44-6.

The last ten minutes went mercifully fast for the embarassed Cannons, beaten 44-6 in front of a virtual 'home' crowd by the on fire Cougars. There were plenty of tears as the Cannons were laughed off the field, whilst New Zealand were cheering like madmen.

FULLTIME
New Zealand Cougars 44
Brett Hodgson
Caleb Ralph
David Vaeleki
Timana Tahu 2
Willie Mason
Graham Luana
Sonny Nickle
Luana 6/8
def.
Manly Cannons 6
Mat Rogers
Rogers 1/1

PoM Points
Caleb Ralph.............3
Brett Hodgson..........2
Sonny Nickle...........1