Manly coach Bob Fulton moved Hancock to fullback for the season as a replacement for Ridge until the Round 17 match with Parramatta at Brookvale Oval where Hancock broke his ankle thus ending his season [citation needed] and causing him to miss the Sea Eagles 3rd Grand Final in succession where they were defeated by Newcastle Knights.
With Grand Final fullback Shannon Nevin moving to Balmain, Hancock was moved back to his preferred wing position in 1998 after the club signed goal-kicking fullback Luke Phillips from the North Queensland Cowboys.
In a frustrating season, Manly's form of the previous 3 seasons dropped alarmingly and the club only scrapped into the finals in 10th place before being eliminated by Canberra in the Qualifying Finals with Hancock floating between the wing, fullback, and bench, scoring only 4 tries for the year.
Hancock played in Balmain's final game as a stand-alone entity which was against the Canberra Raiders at Bruce Stadium in Round 26 1999.
[3] Following the end of the 1999 season, Balmain and Western Suburbs entered into a merger to become the Wests Tigers and Hancock, after 192 senior games for Manly and Balmain as well as state of Origin selection for NSW in 1995 and the 1996 premiership, retired from rugby league at the age of 30.