2008 NRL Grand Final

Final game of Australian rugby league season April 2015 April 2015 2008 NRL Grand Final 2008NRLGrandFinalLogo.jpg 90px 2008 Grand Final logo 50pxManly-WarringahSea Eagles 50pxMelbourneStorm MAN Manly 16 MEL Melbourne 16 8 32 40 0 0 0 5 October 2008 ANZ Stadium Sydney, NSW, Australia Clive Churchill Medal Brent Kite (MAN) National anthem Anthony Warlow Tony Archer 80,388 Nine Network Ray Warren Peter Sterling Phil Gould Matthew Johns & Laurie Daley (sideline) NRL Grand Final 2007 2009 The 2008 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2008 NRL season. It was played between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm on Sunday, 5 October at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24450874-5012431,00.html Harry Bath joins legends to pass on in Centenary season Read Brent 5 October 2008 The Australian 6 October 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081009180241/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0%2C25197%2C24450874-5012431%2C00.html 9 October 2008 dead The 2008 Grand Final was the first Grand Final played in daylight since the introduction of the night Grand Final in 2001.http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/05/2382491.htm Magnificent Manly exacts grand final revenge Paine Chris 5 October 2008 ABC News 6 October 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081005161150/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/05/2382491.htm 5 October 2008 dead The two teams had previously played in the 2007 NRL Grand Final, with Melbourne winning 34–8 (overturned due to salary-cap cheating and breaches). Manly reversed this result in 2008, winning 40–0;http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2008/10/06/1243793bd803 Manly win NRL grand final 5 October 2008 Radio New Zealand 7 October 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081009155003/http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2008/10/06/1243793bd803 9 October 2008 live still the largest Grand Final winning margin in the history of the game, and the first Grand Final since 1978 where the losing team did not score a point. Background 2008 NRL season Melbourne and Manly were also the teams which contested the 2007 NRL Grand Final, with Melbourne winning the game 34–8. During the 2008 regular season, the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm met twice: round 5 and round 22. The round 5 match in Melbourne went the Storm's way with a 26–4 victory. The round 22 match was a closer contest, with Melbourne winning again, 16–10 at Manly's Brookvale Oval. Manly went into the 2008 grand final not having beaten the Storm since round 11, 2007. thumb|ANZ Stadium, where the match was played Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2008 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles season Manly also won 17 of their 24 games but lost the minor premiership to Melbourne on points differential, Melbourne having a 302 points difference compared to Manly's 290. Halfback Matt Orford was presented with the Dally M Award for his performance during the regular season, while fullback Brett Stewart was the league's top tryscorer with 19 tries. In the first finals round, Manly defeated the St. George Illawarra Dragons 38–6. Manly then faced New Zealand in the preliminary final, beating them 32–6 to advance to their second grand final in a row, and their 17th overall (excluding the 1978 grand final replay). Melbourne Storm 2008 Melbourne Storm season During the regular season, the Melbourne Storm won 17 of their 24 games, winning their third consecutive minor premiership on points differential from Manly and Cronulla. This was later stripped due to salary cap cheating.http://www.nrl.com.au/Stats/Ladder/tabid/10251/default.aspx NRL.com - Official Site of the NRL > Ladder NRL.com 6 October 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081005235444/http://nrl.com.au/Stats/Ladder/tabid/10251/default.aspx 5 October 2008 dead In the qualifying final, Melbourne played the New Zealand Warriors. Melbourne lost this game 18–15 after a Warriors try from Michael Witt two minutes from full-time; becoming the first minor premier side since the introduction of the McIntyre final eight system in 1999 to lose to the eighth-placed team.http://news.theage.com.au/sport/warriors-stun-storm-in-melbourne-20080914-4g7r.html Warriors stun Storm in Melbourne Australian Associated Press 14 September 2008 The Age 7 October 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20110521030530/http://news.theage.com.au/sport/warriors-stun-storm-in-melbourne-20080914-4g7r.html 21 May 2011 dead dmy-all The loss against New Zealand saw Melbourne matched up against the Brisbane Broncos in the semi-final; the team the Storm lost against in the 2006 grand final. They narrowly won the game 16–14 after scoring a try 45 seconds before full-time, after a Broncos' handling mistake.http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/sport/broncos-lose-after-miracle-try/1278263.aspx Broncos lose after miracle try Pandaram Jamie 21 September 2008 The Canberra Times 7 October 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080921211512/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/sport/broncos-lose-after-miracle-try/1278263.aspx 21 September 2008 dead Melbourne captain Cameron Smith was controversially suspended for a grapple tackle during the Broncos game; the two-week suspension causing him to miss the rest of the finals season.http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0,27074,24397423-14823,00.html Cameron Smith guilty of grapple tackle, banned for season Australian Associated Press 24 September 2008 Herald Sun 7 October 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081009174358/http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0%2C27074%2C24397423-14823%2C00.html 9 October 2008 dead Despite this suspension, Melbourne defeated the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 28–0 in the preliminary final, and entered their third consecutive grand final.http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0,27074,24409217-11088,00.html Cooper Cronk drives Melbourne into grand final Donaghy Dave 27 September 2008 Herald Sun 7 October 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081009174403/http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0%2C27074%2C24409217-11088%2C00.html 9 October 2008 dead Teams Both teams featured 12 players who had played in the 2007 NRL Grand Final between these two clubs. This was to be Matt Geyer's last match before retirement, while long-serving Manly player Steve Menzies would play his last match for the club, having signed a contract to play with Bradford Bulls in the Super League.http://www.manlyseaeagles.com.au/news.asp?newsid=3506 STEVE MENZIES ANNOUNCEMENT - update Manly Sea Eagles 17 July 2008 17 July 2008 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080720030220/http://www.manlyseaeagles.com.au/news.asp?newsid=3506 20 July 2008 dmy-allLiam FitzGibbon http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24034767-23214,00.html Beaver heading to Bradford Fox Sports News (Australia) 17 July 2008 19 July 2008 Mark Bryant played his 100th NRL match. n center Manly Warringah Sea Eagles maroon white maroon Melbourne Storm purple navy white 17 s n Des Hasler Brett Stewart 1 Michael Robertson 2 Steven Bell 3 Steve Matai 4 David Williams 5 Jamie Lyon 6 Matt Orford (c) 7 Brent Kite 8 Matt Ballin 9 Josh Perry 10 Anthony Watmough 11 Glenn Hall 12 Glenn Stewart 13 Heath L'Estrange 14 Mark Bryant 15 Jason King 16 Steve Menzies 17 Craig Bellamy Billy Slater 1 Steve Turner 2 Matt Geyer 3 Israel Folau 4 Anthony Quinn 5 Greg Inglis 6 Cooper Cronk (c) 7 Jeff Lima 8 Russell Aitken 9 Brett White 10 Michael Crocker 11 Jeremy Smith 12 Dallas Johnson 13 Scott Anderson 14 Adam Blair 15 Sika Manu 16 Antonio Kaufusi 17 RLP Match details After the Australian National Anthem was performed by Anthony Warlow Melbourne kicked off. First half The grand final's first quarter was played end to end with each side able to hold the other's attacking opportunities out. In the twenty-fourth minute Manly hooker Matt Ballin at close-range ran from dummy-half and crashed over the try-line. After the video referee ruled the grounding successful, Matt Orford's conversion attempt hit the upright and missed so the score remained 4 - 0 with fifteen minutes of the first half remaining. Nine minutes later, Manly-Warringah were again on the attack and from ten metres out, moved the ball through the hands to the left wing where Michael Robertson dived over in the corner. The video referee was again called upon to examine the try, which was ruled to have been successfully scored just as Robertson's feet were being dragged onto the sideline by a defender. Orford's difficult kick went wide, so Manly's lead remained at 8-0 with under five minutes of the half remaining which were played out with no further points scored. Second half In the forty-seventh minute, The Manly side were within twenty metres of Melbourne's try-line when Matt Orford at first receiver put a grubber kick into the left corner which bounced up perfectly for Michael Robertson racing through on the wing to grab and dive over for his second try. Kicking duty was handed to Steve Matai who coolly converted Robertson's try from next to the sideline, bringing his side's lead to 14 - 0. Three minutes later, and from a similar attacking position, Manly-Warringah kept the ball alive, a pass from Brett Stewart fifteen metres out arriving at the feet of Steve Matai who, with only one defender before him, picked it up and passed to Michael Robertson to dive over again in the same corner. Matai's second sideline conversion attempt missed, so Manly were leading 18 - 0. In the fifty-seventh minute Manly-Warringah were again down in Melbourne's half and on the last tackle decided to run the ball, which was kept alive and passed through seven sets of hands before going to a charging Brent Kite who stretched out of the tackle and slammed the ball down under the posts.Turgeon Luke Manly exorcise their grand final demons http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2008/10/06/17107_gold-coast-sport.html 27 December 2011 goldcoast.com.au 6 October 2008 Matai kicked the easy conversion and it was Manly 24, Melbourne 0. Ten minutes later the Manly side got another try when, from within Melbourne's ten-metre line, they moved the ball out to David Williams on the right wing to dive over in the corner. The conversion attempt by Matai went wide so Manly were leading 28-0. In the seventy-second minute the Manly side ran the ball down toward the left corner with Robertson passing back in to Steve Menzies, who was playing in his 349th and final NRL match to crash over for a try, his 180th. Jamie Lyon took over the goal kicking and converted Menzies' try to give Manly a 34 - 0 lead. However, the finale was to come at the seventy-five-minute mark when from their forty-metre line, Manly second rower Glenn Hall burst into open space, passing back inside for Brett Stewart who was running through in support. Stewart was chased down just short of the try-line by Storm halfback Cooper Cronk, but he managed to flick the ball back without looking into the arms of Steven Bell to also get a try in his last game at the club. Jamie Lyon's simple conversion put the final score at 40 -0. It was at the time the fourth-biggest loss in the Melbourne club's history. The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles defeated the Melbourne Storm 40-0, scoring eight tries, four of which were converted. This is the highest Rugby League Grand Final margin in Australian history, eclipsing the 1975 NSWRFL season's Grand Final where Eastern Suburbs defeated St. George, 38–0 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.Manly thump Storm 40–0 in grand final 5 October 2008 http://nrl.com.au/News/Latest/tabid/10244/default.aspx?id=53127 NRL.com 5 October 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081008003401/http://www.nrl.com.au/News/Latest/tabid/10244/default.aspx?id=53127 8 October 2008 dead dmy-all It is also the first time that a team has been kept scoreless in a Grand Final since the 1978 NSWRL Grand Final Replay, where Cronulla lost to Manly 16–0. Manly forward Brent Kite was named man-of-the-match and received the Clive Churchill Medal.Clive Churchill Medallist Brent Kite flies high in NRL grand final http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/kite-flies-high-as-top-eagle/story-e6frep9o-1111117670449 4 June 2012 The Courier-Mail 5 October 2008 The 2008 Grand Final was the last match for Super League-bound Steve Menzies of Manly. Playing in this match brought his career games played to 349, equalling the current record from Terry Lamb. Match summary #f1f5fc 2008 NRL Grand Final Sunday, 5 October 17:15 AEDT (UTC+11) Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 Melbourne 16 Melbourne Storm 40 – 0 8–0 32–0 Report 8Robertson 33 47 55Ballin 23Kite 58Williams 67Menzies 73 Bell 75 4Matai 47 58 (2/4) Lyon 73 77 (2/2)Orford (0/2) ANZ Stadium, Sydney 80,388Middleton David 2008 Official Rugby League Annual News Magazines Surrey Hills 116 Tony Archer Steve Chiddy, Jeff Younis Clive Churchill Medal Brent Kite (Manly) Statistics Manly Sea Eagles Melbourne Storm Tackles 279 319 Linebreaks 8 2 Hitups 78 65 Offloads 8 6 Missed Tackles 44 34 Errors 9 11 Dummy-Half Runs 17 20 Kicks in Play 22 18 Metres Gained 1610 1148 Shots at Goal 4/8 0/0 Scrums 8 5 Penalties 5 4 Possession 63% 37% See also 2009 World Club Challenge References External links 2008 NRL Grand Final at NRL.com Match replay at NRL.com 2008 NRL Grand Final at rugbyleagueproject.org 2008 Grand final Category:Melbourne Storm matches Category:Manly Warringah Sea Eagles matches