Wither's winner, a beautiful volley from inside the penalty box courtesy of a curling free kick, broke Manly's hearts after they'd clawed their way back into the game in the second half.

After Wither opened the scoring in the first half, Michael Lloyd-Green's opportunistic strike early in the second half got the Reds back in the contest.

And even after Wither's second, Manly could have equalised had it not been for the heroics of Olympic custodian Michael Herbert who pulled off an outstanding stop from a close-range header.

The game was typical finals football – tight, cagey and with few chances. And the players deserve respect for putting on a good display on a diabolical surface at the Belmore sports ground.

Speaking after the game, Wither told au.fourfourtwo.com about his two goals. "The defender was all over me so I tried hard to get in front and the ball came off.

"As for the first goal, I didn't know too much about it. I thought Matt Mayora was going to head it so I just stuck my leg out and it went in. Got to be happy with that.

Olympic now play the loser of the major semi between Wollongong and the Sharks. The grand final will be played in two weeks' time at Penrith's CUA stadium.

"It wasn't the tidiest game today but we will get there," the 23-year-old former Macarthur Ram added.

"It will be a failure if we don't win it this year. We can definitely win it this year."