2009 NRL Grand Final

Sunday, 4 October 2009 · ANZ Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales

2009 Grand Final ▾

2009 NRL Grand Final result: Melbourne Storm def. Parramatta, 23-16, at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales on Sunday, 4 October 2009.

Sourcing caveat: Melbourne's 2009 premiership was later stripped by the NRL in April 2010 after systemic salary cap breaches were uncovered; the on-field result (Melbourne 23-16) is recorded here as it occurred, with the stripped-title context noted explicitly rather than omitted.

Result

	Team	Score
Winner	Melbourne Storm	23
Runner-up	Parramatta	16

Attendance: 82,538

NRL 2009 — full season ladder & finals series

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	Pts
1	St George Illawarra Dragons	24	17	0	7	548	329	+219	38
2	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	18	0	6	575	428	+147	38
3	Gold Coast Titans	24	16	0	8	514	467	+47	36
4	Melbourne Storm	24	14	1	9	505	348	+157	33
5	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	24	14	0	10	549	459	+90	32
6	Brisbane Broncos	24	14	0	10	511	566	-55	32
7	Newcastle Knights	24	13	0	11	508	491	+17	30
8	Parramatta Eels	24	12	1	11	476	473	+3	29
9	Wests Tigers	24	12	0	12	558	483	+75	28
10	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	11	1	12	566	549	+17	27
11	Penrith Panthers	24	11	1	12	515	589	-74	27
12	North Queensland Cowboys	24	11	0	13	558	474	+84	26
13	Canberra Raiders	24	9	0	15	489	520	-31	22
14	New Zealand Warriors	24	7	2	15	377	565	-188	20
15	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	5	0	19	359	568	-209	14
16	Sydney Roosters	24	5	0	19	382	681	-299	14

Qualified for the finals series — top 8 (McIntyre final eight system) that season.

Finals series

Qualifying Final

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
11 Sep 2009	Melbourne Storm 40–12 Manly-Warringah	Etihad Stadium, Docklands, Melbourne, VIC	21,155
12 Sep 2009	Gold Coast Titans 32–40 Brisbane Broncos	Skilled Park, Robina, Gold Coast, QLD	27,227
12 Sep 2009	Canterbury-Bankstown 26–12 Newcastle Knights	ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW	21,369
13 Sep 2009	St George Illawarra 12–25 Parramatta Eels	Jubilee Oval, Kogarah, Sydney, NSW	18,174

Semi-Final

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
18 Sep 2009	Parramatta Eels 27–2 Gold Coast Titans	Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW	28,524
19 Sep 2009	Brisbane Broncos 24–10 St George Illawarra	Suncorp Stadium, Milton, Brisbane, QLD	50,225

Preliminary Final

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
25 Sep 2009	Canterbury-Bankstown 12–22 Parramatta Eels	ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW	74,549
26 Sep 2009	Melbourne Storm 40–10 Brisbane Broncos	Etihad Stadium, Docklands, Melbourne, VIC	27,687

Grand Final

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
4 Oct 2009	Melbourne Storm 23–16 Parramatta Eels	ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW	82,538

Permalink to this season's ladder page →

Match officials

Referee	Tony Archer & Shayne Hayne

Scorers

Melbourne Storm	Tries: Ryan Hoffman 5'; Adam Blair 24'; Greg Inglis 49'; Billy Slater 56' Goals: Cameron Smith (3/4) Drop goals: Greg Inglis (1, 79')
Parramatta	Tries: Eric Grothe Jr. 45'; Joel Reddy 70'; Fuifui Moimoi 72' Goals: Luke Burt (2/3)

Teams

Melbourne Storm			Parramatta
1	Billy Slater	Fullback	Jarryd Hayne	1
2	Steve Turner	Wing	Luke Burt	2
3	Will Chambers	Centre	Krisnan Inu	3
4	Greg Inglis	Centre	Joel Reddy	4
5	Dane Nielsen	Wing	Eric Grothe Jr.	5
6	Brett Finch	Five-Eighth	Daniel Mortimer	6
7	Cooper Cronk	Halfback	Jeff Robson	7
8	Aiden Tolman	Prop	Nathan Cayless (c)	8
9	Cameron Smith (c)	Hooker	Matthew Keating	9
10	Brett White	Prop	Fuifui Moimoi	10
11	Adam Blair	Second Row	Nathan Hindmarsh	11
12	Ryan Hoffman	Second Row	Ben Smith	12
13	Dallas Johnson	Lock	Todd Lowrie	13
Substitutes
14	Ryan Hinchcliffe		Kevin Kingston	14
15	Jeff Lima		Feleti Mateo	15
16	Ryan Tandy		Joe Galuvao	16
17	Scott Anderson		Tim Mannah	17

Craig Bellamy		Coach	Daniel Anderson

Clive Churchill Medal

Billy Slater (Melbourne Storm).

Match context

Melbourne, appearing in their fourth consecutive grand final, faced a Parramatta side that had stormed through the finals series from fourth place to reach an unlikely decider. The Storm began strongly, racing to a 10-0 half-time lead through tries to Ryan Hoffman inside the first five minutes and Adam Blair midway through the half, with Cameron Smith among the goals. Parramatta finally got on the board through winger Eric Grothe Jr. shortly after the restart, but Melbourne answered immediately when Greg Inglis crossed, before Billy Slater extended the lead further with a try of his own to push the margin out. Parramatta refused to fold, however, and staged a determined comeback in the final quarter, with Joel Reddy and prop Fuifui Moimoi both scoring tries to bring the Eels within touching distance and set up a grandstand finish. The match was decided in the 76th minute when Moimoi was penalised for a professional foul in defence, and from the resulting possession Inglis slotted a field goal to push Melbourne's lead to a match-winning margin, with the Storm holding on for a 23-16 victory. Fullback Billy Slater, instrumental throughout with his running game and a try of his own, was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal, though the decision proved contentious with many observers, including some judges, arguing halfback Cooper Cronk's controlling performance was equally deserving. The match also made history as the first grand final officiated under rugby league's new two-referee system. The 82,538 crowd was among the largest rugby league attendances at the rebuilt Stadium Australia in its post-2003 configuration. Melbourne's triumph delivered what was at the time their third premiership in club history and continued their remarkable run of grand final appearances, though the title, along with the club's 2007 premiership, was later stripped by the NRL in April 2010 after the discovery of systemic salary cap fraud dating back to 2006, leaving 2009 without an officially recognised premier, a fact noted here alongside the on-field result.

Sources

Wikipedia - 2009 NRL Grand Final

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

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