2018 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 30 September 2018 · ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW
2018 NRL Grand Final result: Sydney Roosters def. Melbourne Storm, 21-6, at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW on Sunday, 30 September 2018.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Sydney Roosters | 21 |
| Runner-up | Melbourne Storm | 6 |
Attendance: 82,688
NRL 2018 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 542 | 361 | +181 | 34 |
| 2 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 536 | 363 | +173 | 34 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 582 | 437 | +145 | 34 |
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 519 | 423 | +96 | 34 |
| 5 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 517 | 461 | +56 | 32 |
| 6 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 556 | 500 | +56 | 32 |
| 7 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 519 | 472 | +47 | 32 |
| 8 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 472 | 447 | +25 | 32 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 377 | 460 | -83 | 26 |
| 10 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 563 | 540 | +23 | 22 |
| 11 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 414 | 607 | -193 | 20 |
| 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 428 | 474 | -46 | 18 |
| 13 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 449 | 521 | -72 | 18 |
| 14 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 472 | 582 | -110 | 18 |
| 15 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 500 | 622 | -122 | 16 |
| 16 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 374 | 550 | -176 | 14 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 8 (McIntyre final eight system) that season.
Finals series
Qualifying Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Sep 2018 | Melbourne Storm 29–28 South Sydney Rabbitohs | AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC | 17,306 |
| 8 Sep 2018 | Sydney Roosters 21–12 Cronulla-Sutherland | Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 24,588 |
Elimination Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Sep 2018 | Penrith Panthers 27–12 New Zealand Warriors | ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 17,168 |
| 9 Sep 2018 | Brisbane Broncos 18–48 St George Illawarra | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD | 47,296 |
Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 2018 | Cronulla-Sutherland 21–20 Penrith Panthers | Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 19,211 |
| 15 Sep 2018 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 13–12 St George Illawarra | ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 48,188 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 2018 | Melbourne Storm 22–6 Cronulla-Sutherland | AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC | 26,621 |
| 22 Sep 2018 | Sydney Roosters 12–4 South Sydney Rabbitohs | Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 44,380 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Sep 2018 | Sydney Roosters 21–6 Melbourne Storm | ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW | 82,688 |
Match officials
| Referee | Gerard Sutton, Ashley Klein |
Scorers
| Sydney Roosters | Tries: Tupou 7'; Mitchell 14'; Manu 36' Goals: Latrell Mitchell (4/6) Drop goals: Luke Keary (1/1) 68' |
| Melbourne Storm | Tries: Addo-Carr 62' Goals: Cameron Smith (1/1) Sin bin: Cameron Munster — sin bin 30'; Cameron Munster — sin bin 77' |
Teams
| Sydney Roosters | Melbourne Storm | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Tedesco | Fullback | Billy Slater | 1 |
| 2 | Daniel Tupou | Wing | Suliasi Vunivalu | 2 |
| 3 | Latrell Mitchell | Centre | Will Chambers | 3 |
| 4 | Joseph Manu | Centre | Curtis Scott | 4 |
| 5 | Blake Ferguson | Wing | Josh Addo-Carr | 5 |
| 6 | Luke Keary | Five-eighth | Cameron Munster | 6 |
| 23 | Cooper Cronk | Halfback | Brodie Croft | 7 |
| 8 | Jared Waerea-Hargreaves | Prop | Jesse Bromwich | 8 |
| 9 | Jake Friend | Hooker | Cameron Smith | 9 |
| 10 | Siosiua Taukeiaho | Prop | Tim Glasby | 10 |
| 11 | Boyd Cordner | Second row | Felise Kaufusi | 11 |
| 7 | Mitchell Aubusson | Second row | Joe Stimson | 12 |
| 13 | Victor Radley | Lock | Dale Finucane | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 12 | Isaac Liu | Kenneath Bromwich | 14 | |
| 14 | Dylan Napa | Christian Welch | 15 | |
| 15 | Zane Tetevano | Brandon Smith | 16 | |
| 17 | Ryan Matterson | Nelson Asofa-Solomona | 17 | |
| Trent Robinson | Coach | Craig Bellamy | ||
Clive Churchill Medal
Luke Keary (Sydney Roosters).
Match context
Sydney Roosters claimed their 14th premiership with a dominant 21-6 victory over the Melbourne Storm at ANZ Stadium in front of 82,688 fans, ending a five-year title drought for the club and denying Melbourne a third straight championship. The Roosters, minor premiers that season, blitzed the opening half, racing to an 18-0 lead through tries to Daniel Tupou, Latrell Mitchell and James Tedesco, the latter finishing a slick move with Joseph Manu right on the halftime siren. Luke Keary was imperious throughout, directing play with composure and precision from five-eighth, and was duly awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for a performance built on tactical control rather than individual fireworks. The match carried an extraordinary subplot: veteran halfback Cooper Cronk played through a broken scapula suffered in the preliminary final, unable to tackle or pass freely but drawing on 14 seasons at Melbourne to talk his teammates through the Storm's defensive patterns from the sideline of the field. Melbourne's only points came from a moment of individual brilliance, Josh Addo-Carr running back a Roosters error the length of the field for an intercept try that briefly threatened a comeback before Sydney shut the game down. It was the Roosters' first grand final win since 2013 and set the stage for their consecutive triumph the following year, cementing this Roosters-Storm rivalry as one of the defining match-ups of the era.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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