Sea Eagles 32
Warriors 6
KEY POINTS:
The dream is over, the run has come to an end and the lucky beards can come off because the Warriors' season is over.
They have thrilled the nation over the past three months, particularly the last three weeks, but last night they ran into a Manly side who think it's their destiny to win the title this season.
The way they played last night, few would doubt them in a repeat of last year's grand final against the Storm.
The Sea Eagles play the sort of relentless football that brings titles and, as good as the Warriors' defence has been recently, they couldn't contain a side that doesn't have any weaknesses.
The Manly-based side looked sharp from the outset and there was certainly none of the mistake-riddled football that plagued the Sharks, who looked tired the night before even though they had had a week off.
The Warriors weren't bad. In fact, they were still pretty good and in the first half in particular they fought fire with fire but just couldn't breach a defence even better than their own.
For most of the first 40 minutes, they trailed just 4-0 but two late tries took the wind out of their sails and they turned around trailing 12-0.
Self-belief got them home from difficult positions against both the Storm and Roosters in previous weeks but this was an altogether more difficult proposition. Manly simply went to another level in the second spell and rattled on four more tries to record an emphatic victory.
The final whistle brought down the curtain on what has been a wonderful ride for the Warriors but it was the end of an era for Ruben Wiki. After 16 years and 312 games, the show is over.
It was going to be the end for one legend, but Manly's Steve Menzies will now be able to do it in a grand final, equalling Terry Lamb's all-time record of 349 first-grade games in the process.
If anyone doubted it after such a brilliant run of 10 wins in 12 games, the Warriors showed they meant business when they lined up at the end of the tunnel created by the Manly cheerleaders.
It was a statement to their fancied opponents that they would have to get through them if they were going to get to the main event.
The Sea Eagles didn't take the bait though, wheeling off to the side, but the message was loud and clear.
They almost translated that into the perfect start when Manu Vatuvei looked for all money like he would score his 17th try in 17 games this season but found to his horror that the ball was dislodged from his big mitts by winger David Williams. On this occasion, The Wolfman tamed The Beast.
The Manly machine soon clicked into gear. They rumbled the ball up, had impressively mobile backrowers and in halfback Matt Orford had a player who had the ball on a string.
The Warriors had to sustain tremendous pressure and on the fourth set in a row they finally cracked when Brett Stewart ran onto an Orford pass to score.
The Warriors gave as good as they got for the rest of the half but got sucked into playing the way Manly might have wanted them to. They tackled like there was no tomorrow - in their case there's not - and attacked with pace and precision.
But they simply couldn't find a way through and they succumbed to the pressure when they conceded two tries close to halftime.
Both were brilliant on the back of great ball movement and there was little the Warriors could do to contain it. The second to Steve Matai included an instinctive through-the-legs pass from Brett Stewart.
They were even better in the second spell and had the game in complete control as early as the 52nd minute as Orford and then Glenn Stewart scored.
The Warriors were beaten and Manly went for the jugular.
A late consolation to Aidan Kirk did little to ease the pain for a Warriors side put to the sword.
Although the ride is over for Warriors fans, it has been fun. The only problem was they were offloaded one stop before they had hoped.
Given where they came from, when the Warriors languished atthe wrong end of the table, it's not a bad result.
Manly 32 (B. Stewart 2, S Menzies, S. Matai, M. Orford, D. Williams tries, Orford gl, Matai gl)
Warriors 6 (A. Kirk try, Hohaia gl)
HT: 12-0.
