Finals
The Sydney Roosters and the North Sydney Bears played out a bizarre Qualifying Final with the Roosters winning 33-21. The Roosters fought back from 14-2 down with 10 minutes to go to get it back to 14-14, then both sides kicked a field goal to send it to extra time at 15-15. The Roosters went on to play the Gold Coast Chargers who were in their first ever finals campaign with Roosters winning 32-10 to book a Preliminary Final showdown with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. A peculiarity of the finals system saw Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and Newcastle Knights face off in what later realised to be a pointless game where both the winner and loser progressed to a Grand Final qualifier the following week. The Roosters had another fight back when they came from 16-6 down to get it back to 16-16, but it was a Sea Eagles field goal that proved the difference to book themselves a third straight Grand Final birth with a 17-16 win. The Newcastle Knights got into their first ever Grand Final.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Minor Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
| Illawarra Steelers | 14-25 | Gold Coast Chargers | 5 September 1997 | Parramatta Stadium | David Manson | 8,197 | ||
| North Sydney Bears | 21-33 | Sydney City Roosters | 6 September 1997 | Sydney Football Stadium | Kevin Jeffes | 11,332 | ||
| Newcastle Knights | 28-20 | Parramatta Eels | 7 September 1997 | Sydney Football Stadium | Paul McBlane | 17,849 | ||
| Major Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
| Sydney City Roosters | 32-10 | Gold Coast Chargers | 12 September 1997 | Parramatta Stadium | Paul McBlane | 10,466 | ||
| Parramatta Eels | 14-24 | North Sydney Bears | 13 September 1997 | Sydney Football Stadium | David Manson | 17,025 | ||
| Manly Sea Eagles | 27-12 | Newcastle Knights | 14 September 1997 | Sydney Football Stadium | Kevin Jeffes | 26,531 | ||
| Preliminary Finals | ||||||||
| Newcastle Knights | 17-12 | North Sydney Bears | 20 September 1997 | Sydney Football Stadium | Kevin Jeffes | 22,540 | ||
| Manly Sea Eagles | 17-16 | Sydney City Roosters | 21 September 1997 | Sydney Football Stadium | David Manson | 30,794 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Manly Sea Eagles | 16-22 | Newcastle Knights | 28 September 1997 | Sydney Football Stadium | David Manson | 42,482 | ||
Read more about this topic: 1997 ARL Season