2011 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 2 October 2011 · ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW
2011 NRL Grand Final result: Manly-Warringah def. New Zealand Warriors, 24-10, at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW on Sunday, 2 October 2011.
Sourcing caveat: Two facts on this page required extra scrutiny during research: one source extraction briefly returned "Brett Stewart" as the medal winner and a 22-12 scoreline, but both are contradicted by 3+ independent sources (Rugby League Project, Wikipedia, The Roar, League Unlimited) which agree on Glenn Stewart and a 24-10 score, published here as the well-supported figures.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Manly-Warringah | 24 |
| Runner-up | New Zealand Warriors | 10 |
Attendance: 81,988
NRL 2011 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 521 | 308 | +213 | 42 |
| 2 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 539 | 331 | +208 | 40 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 511 | 372 | +139 | 40 |
| 4 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 519 | 430 | +89 | 34 |
| 5 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 483 | 341 | +142 | 33 |
| 6 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 504 | 393 | +111 | 32 |
| 7 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 532 | 480 | +52 | 32 |
| 8 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 478 | 443 | +35 | 28 |
| 9 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 449 | 489 | -40 | 28 |
| 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 531 | 562 | -31 | 26 |
| 11 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 417 | 500 | -83 | 24 |
| 12 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 430 | 517 | -87 | 22 |
| 13 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 428 | 557 | -129 | 18 |
| 14 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 385 | 538 | -153 | 17 |
| 15 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 423 | 623 | -200 | 16 |
| 16 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 363 | 629 | -266 | 16 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 8 (McIntyre final eight system) that season.
Finals series
Qualifying Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Sep 2011 | Manly-Warringah 42–8 North Queensland Cowboys | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 13,972 |
| 11 Sep 2011 | Melbourne Storm 18–8 Newcastle Knights | AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC | 14,845 |
Elimination Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Sep 2011 | Brisbane Broncos 40–10 New Zealand Warriors | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD | 48,943 |
| 9 Sep 2011 | Wests Tigers 21–12 St George Illawarra | ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 45,631 |
Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Sep 2011 | Wests Tigers 20–22 New Zealand Warriors | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 27,109 |
| 17 Sep 2011 | Brisbane Broncos 13–12 St George Illawarra | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD | 48,474 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Sep 2011 | Manly-Warringah 26–14 Brisbane Broncos | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 31,894 |
| 24 Sep 2011 | Melbourne Storm 12–20 New Zealand Warriors | AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC | 28,580 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Oct 2011 | Manly-Warringah 24–10 New Zealand Warriors | ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 81,988 |
Match officials
| Referee | Tony Archer & Matt Cecchin |
Scorers
| Manly-Warringah | Tries: Brett Stewart 30'; Daly Cherry-Evans 40'; Glenn Stewart 67'; Jamie Lyon 80' Goals: Jamie Lyon (3/3); Michael Robertson (1/1) |
| New Zealand Warriors | Tries: Manu Vatuvei 62'; Elijah Taylor 68' Goals: James Maloney (1/3, includes 1 penalty goal) |
Teams
| Manly-Warringah | New Zealand Warriors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brett Stewart | Fullback | Kevin Locke | 1 |
| 2 | Michael Robertson | Wing | Bill Tupou | 2 |
| 3 | Jamie Lyon | Centre | Lewis Brown | 3 |
| 4 | Steve Matai | Centre | Krisnan Inu | 4 |
| 5 | William Hopoate | Wing | Manu Vatuvei | 5 |
| 6 | Kieran Foran | Five-Eighth | James Maloney | 6 |
| 7 | Daly Cherry-Evans | Halfback | Shaun Johnson | 7 |
| 8 | Joe Galuvao | Prop | Jacob Lillyman | 10 |
| 9 | Matt Ballin | Hooker | Lance Hohaia | 14 |
| 10 | Brent Kite | Prop | Russell Packer | 15 |
| 11 | Anthony Watmough | Second Row | Elijah Taylor | 17 |
| 12 | Tony Williams | Second Row | Simon Mannering | 12 |
| 13 | Glenn Stewart | Lock | Micheal Luck | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Shane Rodney | Sam Rapira | 8 | |
| 15 | Jamie Buhrer | Aaron Heremaia | 9 | |
| 16 | Vic Mauro | Feleti Mateo | 11 | |
| 17 | George Rose | Ben Matulino | 16 | |
| Des Hasler | Coach | Ivan Cleary | ||
Clive Churchill Medal
Glenn Stewart (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles).
Match context
Manly-Warringah claimed their eighth premiership with a 24-10 win over a New Zealand Warriors side chasing a maiden title, in the first grand final meeting between the two clubs, played before 81,988 at ANZ Stadium on 2 October 2011. The Warriors, appearing in just their second grand final, struck first through a penalty goal to lead 2-0 after nearly 30 minutes, but Manly seized control before the break: Brett Stewart burst through an inside ball to score in the 30th minute, and rookie Daly Cherry-Evans finished off slick lead-up play four minutes before halftime to send the Sea Eagles into the sheds well ahead. Manly extended the margin early in the second half when Glenn Stewart crashed over, the highlight of an all-action performance in which the back-rower also had a hand in two other tries. The Warriors rallied late, with winger Manu Vatuvei finishing a length-of-field raid and Elijah Taylor scoring soon after to close the gap and give the record Sydney crowd a nervous finish, before a late Manly try sealed the result at 24-10. The afternoon carried extra sentiment for Manly: Brett and Glenn Stewart became the first brothers to both score in a winning grand final side since 1929. Glenn Stewart, instrumental in a try and two other four-pointers, was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal, while Manly's post-match celebrations were briefly overshadowed by Stewart publicly confronting NRL CEO David Gallop about the treatment of his suspended brother Brett.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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