Melbourne Storm 24–6 South Sydney Rabbitohs — Qualifying Final, 2012 NRL Finals Series
8 Sep 2012 · AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC · Attendance: 19,750
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Qualifying Final, 2012 NRL finals series: Melbourne Storm 24–6 South Sydney Rabbitohs, at AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC on 8 Sep 2012.
Sourcing caveat: No source provided minute markers for individual tries; these are omitted rather than estimated. Touch judge/video referee names appeared in only one source and could not be independently cross-verified, so are omitted here.
Scorers
| Melbourne Storm | Tries: Mahe Fonua; Ryan Hoffman; Billy Slater; Sisa Waqa Goals: Cameron Smith (4/5 conversions) |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | Tries: Eddy Pettybourne Goals: Adam Reynolds (1/1 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Melbourne Storm | South Sydney Rabbitohs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Slater | Fullback | Greg Inglis | 1 |
| 2 | Sisi Waqa | Wing | Nathan Merritt | 2 |
| 3 | Justin O'Neill | Centre | Matt King | 3 |
| 4 | Dane Nielsen | Centre | Dylan Farrell | 4 |
| 21 | Mahe Fonua | Wing | Andrew Everingham | 5 |
| 6 | Gareth Widdop | Five-Eighth | John Sutton (c) | 6 |
| 7 | Cooper Cronk | Halfback | Adam Reynolds | 7 |
| 8 | Jesse Bromwich | Prop | Sam Burgess | 8 |
| 9 | Cameron Smith (c) | Hooker | Nathan Peats | 9 |
| 15 | Bryan Norrie | Prop | Roy Asotasi | 10 |
| 17 | Kevin Proctor | Second-Row | Eddy Pettybourne | 11 |
| 12 | Ryan Hoffman | Second-Row | Dave Taylor | 12 |
| 13 | Ryan Hinchcliffe | Lock | Michael Crocker (c) | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Rory Kostjasyn | Jason Clark | 14 | |
| 16 | Jaiman Lowe | Luke Burgess | 15 | |
| 18 | Richard Fa'aoso | Chris McQueen | 16 | |
| 19 | Siosaia Vave | Issac Luke | 17 | |
| Craig Bellamy | Coach | Michael Maguire | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Shayne Hayne and Jason Robinson (two-referee system) |
Match report
Melbourne Storm opened their 2012 finals campaign in ruthless fashion, blowing minor premiers South Sydney off AAMI Park in a one-sided Qualifying Final. Souths conceded a stream of penalties in the opening 40 minutes, gifting Melbourne repeated field position and attacking ball, and by halftime the home side led 18-0 without reply. Tries to Ryan Hoffman, Billy Slater and Mahe Fonua underpinned the first-half surge, with Cameron Smith metronomic off the tee, converting four of five attempts. South Sydney improved after the break and mounted several attacking raids, but could manage only a single consolation try to forward Eddy Pettybourne, his first of the season, converted by Adam Reynolds. Sisa Waqa added a fourth Storm try to put the result beyond doubt. The 24-6 win rewarded Melbourne with a week's rest and the double chance, sending them straight into the Preliminary Final with home advantage, while South Sydney were forced into a sudden-death Semi-Final the following week. The Storm went on to win the 2012 NRL Grand Final.