With injured skipper Darren Lockyer looking on from the sidelines, the Broncos were knocked out of the 2012 premiership race 26-14 in their grand final qualifier at Allianz Stadium.
Manly got off to a dream start when hooker Matt Ballin dived over from dummy-half with just three minutes on the clock, before tries to William Hopoate (off a Broncos turnover) and Brett Stewart (off a delightful Daly Cherry-Evans double-pump pass) saw Manly rush to a 16-nil advantage inside 20 minutes.
Jharal Yow Yeah gave Broncos fans cause for minor celebration when he caught a Matt Gillett bomb to touch down on the half hour for a 16-4 scoreline.
Hopoate bagged his second try six minutes after the halftime break following a swift right-side shift, before a Peter Wallace try courtesy of a fine Corey Parker offload made it 20-10 with 22 minutes remaining.
Kieran Foran scored the match-winner when he out-leapt Broncos fullback Gerard Beale to snatch a Cherry-Evans bomb in the 58th minute. The Broncos had the final say on the scoreboard however, with Dale Copley crossing in the left corner inside the final 10 minutes.
A glut of possession in the first half paved the way for the Sea Eagles’ win, with the Broncos forced to make 39 more tackles in the first section alone.
William Hopoate had one of his best games for Manly, making 18 runs for 185 metres plus two line-breaks to go with his pair of tries. Broncos lock Corey Parker made 128 metres and three offloads.
