2008 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 5 October 2008 · ANZ Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales
2008 NRL Grand Final result: Manly-Warringah def. Melbourne Storm, 40-0, at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales on Sunday, 5 October 2008.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Manly-Warringah | 40 |
| Runner-up | Melbourne Storm | 0 |
Attendance: 80,388
NRL 2008 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 584 | 282 | +302 | 38 |
| 2 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 645 | 355 | +290 | 38 |
| 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 451 | 384 | +67 | 38 |
| 4 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 511 | 446 | +65 | 34 |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 560 | 452 | +108 | 33 |
| 6 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 640 | 527 | +113 | 30 |
| 7 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 489 | 378 | +111 | 30 |
| 8 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 502 | 567 | -65 | 30 |
| 9 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 516 | 486 | +30 | 28 |
| 10 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 528 | 560 | -32 | 26 |
| 11 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 501 | 547 | -46 | 26 |
| 12 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 504 | 611 | -107 | 25 |
| 13 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 476 | 586 | -110 | 24 |
| 14 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 453 | 666 | -213 | 20 |
| 15 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 474 | 638 | -164 | 14 |
| 16 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 433 | 782 | -349 | 14 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 8 (McIntyre final eight system) that season.
Finals series
Qualifying Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 2008 | Melbourne Storm 15–18 New Zealand Warriors | Olympic Park, Melbourne, VIC | 15,193 |
| 13 Sep 2008 | Manly-Warringah 38–6 St George Illawarra | Brookvale Oval, Sydney, NSW | 19,227 |
| 13 Sep 2008 | Cronulla-Sutherland 36–10 Canberra Raiders | Toyota Park, Sydney, NSW | 18,252 |
| 12 Sep 2008 | Sydney Roosters 16–24 Brisbane Broncos | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW | 18,343 |
Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep 2008 | New Zealand Warriors 30–13 Sydney Roosters | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland (NZ) | 25,585 |
| 20 Sep 2008 | Brisbane Broncos 14–16 Melbourne Storm | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD | 50,466 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Sep 2008 | Manly-Warringah 32–6 New Zealand Warriors | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW | 32,095 |
| 26 Sep 2008 | Cronulla-Sutherland 0–28 Melbourne Storm | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW | 27,570 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Oct 2008 | Manly-Warringah 40–0 Melbourne Storm | ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW | 80,388 |
Match officials
| Referee | Tony Archer |
Scorers
| Manly-Warringah | Tries: Matt Ballin 24'; Michael Robertson 33'; Michael Robertson 47'; Michael Robertson 50'; Brent Kite 57'; David Williams 67'; Steve Menzies 72'; Steven Bell 75' Goals: Jamie Lyon (2/4); Steve Matai (2/4) |
| Melbourne Storm | No scorers recorded. |
Teams
| Manly-Warringah | Melbourne Storm | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brett Stewart | Fullback | Billy Slater | 1 |
| 2 | Michael Robertson | Wing | Steve Turner | 2 |
| 3 | Steven Bell | Centre | Matt Geyer | 3 |
| 4 | Steve Matai | Centre | Israel Folau | 4 |
| 5 | David Williams | Wing | Anthony Quinn | 5 |
| 6 | Jamie Lyon | Five-Eighth | Greg Inglis | 6 |
| 7 | Matt Orford | Halfback | Cooper Cronk | 7 |
| 8 | Brent Kite | Prop | Jeff Lima | 8 |
| 9 | Matt Ballin | Hooker | Russell Aitken | 9 |
| 10 | Josh Perry | Prop | Brett White | 10 |
| 11 | Anthony Watmough | Second Row | Michael Crocker | 11 |
| 12 | Glenn Hall | Second Row | Jeremy Smith | 12 |
| 13 | Glenn Stewart | Lock | Dallas Johnson | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Heath L'Estrange | Scott Anderson | 14 | |
| 15 | Mark Bryant | Adam Blair | 15 | |
| 16 | Jason King | Sika Manu | 16 | |
| 17 | Steve Menzies | Antonio Kaufusi | 17 | |
| Des Hasler | Coach | Craig Bellamy | ||
Clive Churchill Medal
Brent Kite (Manly-Warringah).
Match context
A rematch of the previous year's decider, the 2008 grand final produced one of the most one-sided results in the history of the game. Manly-Warringah, coached by Des Hasler and captained by Matt Orford, delivered a ruthless, near-perfect performance against a Melbourne side chasing back-to-back titles. The Sea Eagles raced to a stunning 32-0 half-time lead, scoring six tries before the break through Matt Ballin, Michael Robertson (who finished with a hat-trick on the day), Steve Matai, Brent Kite and David Williams, with Melbourne unable to muster any attacking response. Manly added further tries after half-time to veteran Steve Menzies and Steven Bell to complete a 40-0 demolition, with Steve Matai and Jamie Lyon sharing the goal-kicking. Prop Brent Kite, powerful and dominant throughout the middle of the field, was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal. The 40-point margin remains among the largest in grand final history, and the shutout was rugby league's first scoreless grand final defeat in decades. The match was also notable as a daylight grand final rather than a night fixture. For Manly it delivered a seventh premiership, their first since 1996, and provided a fitting send-off for the legendary Steve Menzies, who played his 349th and final NRL match in the rout, while teammate Matt Geyer also retired immediately afterwards. For Melbourne the humiliation was compounded eighteen months later when the 2007 title they had claimed against Manly was stripped for salary cap breaches, meaning this crushing 2008 defeat became an even more painful footnote in the Storm's turbulent premiership history of that era.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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