2012 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 30 September 2012 · ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW
2012 NRL Grand Final result: Melbourne Storm def. Canterbury-Bankstown, 14-4, at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW on Sunday, 30 September 2012.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Melbourne Storm | 14 |
| Runner-up | Canterbury-Bankstown | 4 |
Attendance: 82,976
NRL 2012 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 568 | 369 | +199 | 40 |
| 2 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 579 | 361 | +218 | 38 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 559 | 438 | +121 | 36 |
| 4 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 497 | 403 | +94 | 36 |
| 5 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 597 | 445 | +152 | 34 |
| 6 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 545 | 536 | +9 | 30 |
| 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 445 | 441 | +4 | 29 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 481 | 447 | +34 | 28 |
| 9 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 405 | 438 | -33 | 26 |
| 10 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 506 | 551 | -45 | 26 |
| 11 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 449 | 477 | -28 | 24 |
| 12 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 448 | 488 | -40 | 24 |
| 13 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 462 | 626 | -164 | 21 |
| 14 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 497 | 609 | -112 | 20 |
| 15 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 409 | 575 | -166 | 20 |
| 16 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 431 | 674 | -243 | 16 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 8 (McIntyre final eight system) that season.
Finals series
Qualifying Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Sep 2012 | Canterbury-Bankstown 16–10 Manly-Warringah | ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 36,420 |
| 8 Sep 2012 | Melbourne Storm 24–6 South Sydney Rabbitohs | AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC | 19,750 |
Elimination Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Sep 2012 | North Queensland Cowboys 33–16 Brisbane Broncos | Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville, QLD | 21,307 |
| 9 Sep 2012 | Canberra Raiders 34–16 Cronulla-Sutherland | Canberra Stadium, Canberra, ACT | 24,450 |
Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 2012 | Manly-Warringah 22–12 North Queensland Cowboys | Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 16,678 |
| 15 Sep 2012 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 38–16 Canberra Raiders | ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 35,874 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 2012 | Melbourne Storm 40–12 Manly-Warringah | AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC | 25,543 |
| 22 Sep 2012 | Canterbury-Bankstown 32–8 South Sydney Rabbitohs | ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 70,354 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Sep 2012 | Melbourne Storm 14–4 Canterbury-Bankstown | ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 82,976 |
Match officials
| Referee | Tony Archer |
Scorers
| Melbourne Storm | Tries: Ryan Hoffman 7'; Billy Slater 32'; Justin O'Neill 39' Goals: Cameron Smith (1/4) |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Tries: Sam Perrett 25' Goals: Krisnan Inu (0/1) |
Teams
| Melbourne Storm | Canterbury-Bankstown | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Slater | Fullback | Ben Barba | 1 |
| 2 | Sisa Waqa | Wing | Sam Perrett | 2 |
| 3 | Dane Nielsen | Centre | Josh Morris | 3 |
| 4 | Will Chambers | Centre | Krisnan Inu | 4 |
| 5 | Justin O'Neill | Wing | Jonathan Wright | 5 |
| 6 | Gareth Widdop | Five-Eighth | Josh Reynolds | 6 |
| 7 | Cooper Cronk | Halfback | Kris Keating | 7 |
| 8 | Jesse Bromwich | Prop | Aiden Tolman | 8 |
| 9 | Cameron Smith | Hooker | Michael Ennis | 9 |
| 10 | Bryan Norrie | Prop | Sam Kasiano | 10 |
| 11 | Kevin Proctor | Second Row | Frank Pritchard | 11 |
| 12 | Ryan Hoffman | Second Row | Josh Jackson | 12 |
| 13 | Todd Lowrie | Lock | Greg Eastwood | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Sika Manu | James Graham | 14 | |
| 15 | Ryan Hinchcliffe | Dale Finucane | 15 | |
| 16 | Jaiman Lowe | Corey Payne | 16 | |
| 17 | Richard Fa'aoso | David Stagg | 17 | |
| Craig Bellamy | Coach | Des Hasler | ||
Clive Churchill Medal
Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm).
Match context
Melbourne Storm defeated Canterbury-Bankstown 14-4 at ANZ Stadium on 30 September 2012 in front of 82,976 fans, a record post-redevelopment grand final crowd overwhelmingly barracking for the Bulldogs. The win delivered the Storm their first legitimate premiership since their 2007 and 2009 titles were stripped for salary cap breaches, a redemption story four years in the making. Melbourne struck early through Ryan Hoffman in the seventh minute, and Canterbury hit back through Sam Perrett, who pounced on a grubber kick in the 25th minute to level scores at 4-4, in a passage of play that sparked a heated all-in brawl. The Storm then took over: fullback Billy Slater scored off a Cooper Cronk assist in the 32nd minute, and Justin O'Neill crossed from a Cronk cross-field kick in the 39th, sending Melbourne into the break 14-4 ahead. The second half produced no further points at all, the first scoreless second stanza in grand final history, as Melbourne's defence smothered every Bulldogs attacking raid. The contest was also marred by controversy: Bulldogs prop James Graham was found to have bitten Storm fullback Billy Slater's ear during the first-half brawl, drawing a lengthy suspension. Amid the chaos, halfback Cooper Cronk was the calm at the centre of the storm, pulling the strings with a delicate no-look assist for Slater and a precision cross-field kick for O'Neill, earning him the Clive Churchill Medal for an ice-cool, complete performance that confirmed Melbourne's status as the era's most ruthless premiership operators.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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