Joining Manly in the last Grand Final to be played in front of 50,201 at the Sydney Cricket Ground were the Canberra Raiders who had joined the competition in 1982. On an unseasonably hot day, the Sea Eagles scored a solid 18–8 victory to secure their fifth title. Although the score was tight, it didn't show Manly's domination on the day. Canberra's only realistic scoring opportunity to score came when five-eighth Chris O'Sullivan crossed for a try late in the game. Manly only scored two tries, though they had opportunities for another five or six but were thwarted each time (often by their own mistakes). Michael O'Connor kicked 5 goals from 5 attempts in the Grand Final, as well as scoring a try, to ensure the premiership would return to the peninsula for the first time since 1978. However, on the day there was none better than Manly five-eighth Cliff Lyons who made line breaks almost at will in the first half and brought up the first score of the game when he received a pass from fullback Dale Shearer from a scrum win 10 metres out from the Raiders line, and beat both O'Sullivan and Queensland Origin fullback Gary Belcher to score. For his efforts, Lyons was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as the Man of the Match.