The 2008 Grand Final was the first Grand Final played in daylight since the introduction of the night Grand Final in 2001.[2] The two teams had previously played in the 2007 NRL Grand Final, with Melbourne winning 34-8. Manly reversed this result in 2008, winning 40-0;[3] 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.
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 result in Melbourne went the Storm's way with a 26–4 victory. The Round 22 game 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.
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.[4]
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 finals structure in 1999 to lose to the eighth-placed team.[5]
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.[6]
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.[7] Despite this suspension, Melbourne defeated the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 28-0 in the preliminary final, and entered their third consecutive grand final.[8]
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).
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.[9] 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 2008 Grand Final was the last match for Super League-bound Steve Menzies of Manly.[10] Playing in this match brought his career games played to 349, equalling the current record from Terry Lamb.[10]
^Read, Brent (5 October 2008). . The Australian. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
^Paine, Chris (5 October 2008). . ABC News. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
^"Manly win NRL grand final". Radio New Zealand. 5 October 2008. from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
^. NRL.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
^Australian Associated Press (14 September 2008). . The Age. Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
^Pandaram, Jamie (21 September 2008). . The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 21 September 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
^Australian Associated Press (24 September 2008). . Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
^Donaghy, Dave (27 September 2008). . Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
^Turgeon, Luke (6 October 2008). "Manly exorcise their grand final demons". goldcoast.com.au. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
^ abcd. NRL.com. 5 October 2008. Archived from the original on 8 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
^"Clive Churchill Medallist Brent Kite flies high in NRL grand final". The Courier-Mail. 5 October 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
May 09, 2023
2008, grand, final, conclusive, premiership, deciding, game, 2008, season, played, between, manly, warringah, eagles, melbourne, storm, sunday, october, stadium, sydney, 2008, 2008, grand, final, manly, warringahsea, eagles, melbournestorm40, totalman, 40mel, . 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 1 2008 2008 NRL Grand Final Manly WarringahSea Eagles MelbourneStorm40 012 TotalMAN 832 40MEL 00 0Date5 October 2008StadiumANZ StadiumLocationSydney NSW AustraliaClive Churchill MedallistBrent KiteNational anthemAnthony WarlowRefereeTony ArcherAttendance80 388Broadcast partnersBroadcastersNine NetworkCommentatorsRay WarrenPeter SterlingPhil GouldNRL Grand Final 20072009 The 2008 Grand Final was the first Grand Final played in daylight since the introduction of the night Grand Final in 2001 2 The two teams had previously played in the 2007 NRL Grand Final with Melbourne winning 34 8 Manly reversed this result in 2008 winning 40 0 3 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 Contents 1 Lead up 1 1 Melbourne Storm 1 2 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2 Match details 2 1 First half 2 2 Second half 2 3 Statistics 2 3 1 Timeline 3 ReferencesLead up EditSee also 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 result in Melbourne went the Storm s way with a 26 4 victory The Round 22 game 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 ANZ Stadium where the match was played Melbourne Storm Edit See also 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 4 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 finals structure in 1999 to lose to the eighth placed team 5 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 6 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 7 Despite this suspension Melbourne defeated the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 28 0 in the preliminary final and entered their third consecutive grand final 8 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Edit See also 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 Match details EditAfter the Australian National Anthem was performed by Anthony Warlow Melbourne kicked off First half Edit Manly WarringahSea Eagles Posit Melbourne StormBrett Stewart 1 FB Billy SlaterMichael Robertson 2 WG Steve TurnerSteven Bell 3 CE Matt GeyerSteve Matai 4 CE Israel FolauDavid Williams 5 WG Anthony QuinnJamie Lyon 6 5 8th Greg InglisMatt Orford c 7 HB Cooper Cronk c Brent Kite 8 PR Jeff LimaMatt Ballin 9 HK Russ AitkenJosh Perry 10 PR Brett WhiteAnthony Watmough 11 SR Michael CrockerGlenn Hall 12 SR Jeremy SmithGlenn Stewart 13 LF Dallas JohnsonHeath L Estrange 14 Int Scott AndersonMark Bryant 15 Int Adam BlairJason King 16 Int Sika ManuSteve Menzies 17 Int Antonio KaufusiDes Hasler Coach Craig BellamyThe 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 Edit 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 9 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 10 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 10 Manly forward Brent Kite was named man of the match and received the Clive Churchill Medal 11 The 2008 Grand Final was the last match for Super League bound Steve Menzies of Manly 10 Playing in this match brought his career games played to 349 equalling the current record from Terry Lamb 10 Statistics Edit 40 Manly Warringah Sea EaglesTries 3 Michael Robertson 33 47 55 1 Matt Ballin 23 1 Brent Kite 58 1 David Williams 67 1 Steve Menzies 73 1 Steven Bell 75 Goals 0 2 Matt Orford2 2 Jamie Lyon2 4 Steve MataiField Goals0 Melbourne StormTriesGoalsField GoalsTimeline Edit 23rd Minute Manly 4 0 Ballin try 33rd Minute Manly 8 0 Robertson try 47th Minute Manly 14 0 Robertson try Matai goal 51st Minute Manly 18 0 Robertson try 58th Minute Manly 24 0 Kite try Matai goal 67th Minute Manly 28 0 Williams try 72nd Minute Manly 34 0 Menzies try Lyon goal 75th Minute Manly 40 0 Bell try Lyon goal Manly Sea Eagles Melbourne StormTackles 279 319Linebreaks 8 2Hitups 78 65Offloads 8 6Missed Tackles 44 34Errors 9 11Dummy Half Runs 17 20Kicks in Play 22 18Metres Gained 1610 1148Shots at Goal 4 8 0 0Scrums 8 5Penalties 5 4Possession 63 37 References Edit Read Brent 5 October 2008 Harry Bath joins legends to pass on in Centenary season The Australian Archived from the original on 9 October 2008 Retrieved 6 October 2008 Paine Chris 5 October 2008 Magnificent Manly exacts grand final revenge ABC News Archived from the original on 5 October 2008 Retrieved 6 October 2008 Manly win NRL grand final Radio New Zealand 5 October 2008 Archived from the original on 9 October 2008 Retrieved 7 October 2008 NRL com Official Site of the NRL gt Ladder NRL com Archived from the original on 5 October 2008 Retrieved 6 October 2008 Australian Associated Press 14 September 2008 Warriors stun Storm in Melbourne The Age Archived from the original on 21 May 2011 Retrieved 7 October 2008 Pandaram Jamie 21 September 2008 Broncos lose after miracle try The Canberra Times Archived from the original on 21 September 2008 Retrieved 7 October 2008 Australian Associated Press 24 September 2008 Cameron Smith guilty of grapple tackle banned for season Herald Sun Archived from the original on 9 October 2008 Retrieved 7 October 2008 Donaghy Dave 27 September 2008 Cooper Cronk drives Melbourne into grand final Herald Sun Archived from the original on 9 October 2008 Retrieved 7 October 2008 Turgeon Luke 6 October 2008 Manly exorcise their grand final demons goldcoast com au Retrieved 27 December 2011 a b c d Manly thump Storm 40 0 in grand final NRL com 5 October 2008 Archived from the original on 8 October 2008 Retrieved 5 October 2008 Clive Churchill Medallist Brent Kite flies high in NRL grand final The Courier Mail 5 October 2008 Retrieved 4 June 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2008 NRL Grand Final amp oldid 1101906671, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
