A ruthless Manly have ensured there will be no fairytale National Rugby League Grand Final finish for Brisbane skipper Darren Lockyer.
The injured five-eighth watched helplessly from the sidelines as his youthful side went down 26-14 at the Sydney Football Stadium against a disciplined Sea Eagles outfit, who will now play their third grand final in five years next Sunday.
The Sea Eagles were hugely impressive and thoroughly deserved winners, but will be sweating on the availability of Tony Williams and Steve Matai for the decider.
The pair were placed on report after being penalised for two challenges on Jharal Yow Yeh in as many second-half minutes.
Williams was sanctioned for using a swinging arm to bring down the Queensland winger and Matai for catching Yow Yeh with his knees as he unsuccessfully tried to touch the ball down for a try.
Lockyer, who sat the game out due to a shattered left cheekbone, finishes a glittering career for the Broncos on 355 games and four premierships and was sorely missed by his team.
A litany of soft penalties really hurt the Broncos as a pair of tries from William Hopoate, four-pointers from Matt Ballin, Brett Stewart and Kieran Foran and three goals from Jamie Lyon sealed the victory in front of a crowd of 31,894.
