2011 NRL Grand Final
2011 | NRL Grand Final|||||||||||||
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Date | 2 October 2011 | ||||||||||||
Stadium | Peter Sterling | ||||||||||||
The 2011 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the
The grand final breakfast, an annual function attended by both teams and hundreds of guests, was held the Thursday prior to Sunday's match at Sydney's Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour and was screened live on Australian television.[2]
Background
2011's NRL season was the 104th season of professional
Sea Eagles | Warriors | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rd.1 | Storm | Eels | ||||||||
Rd.2 | Roosters | Tigers | ||||||||
Rd.3 | Knights | Dragons | ||||||||
Rd.4 | Rabbitohs | Sharks | ||||||||
Rd.5 | Sharks | Roosters | ||||||||
Rd.6 | Warriors | Sea Eagles | ||||||||
Rd.7 | Panthers | Storm | ||||||||
Rd.8 | Cowboys | Panthers | ||||||||
Rd.9 | Raiders | Titans | ||||||||
Rd.10 | Titans | Knights | ||||||||
Rd.11 | Bye | Rabbitohs | ||||||||
Rd.12 | Broncos | Bye | ||||||||
Rd.13 | Bulldogs | Roosters | ||||||||
Rd.14 | Cowboys | Tigers | ||||||||
Rd.15 | Eels | Cowboys | ||||||||
Rd.16 | Dragons | Storm | ||||||||
Rd.17 | Bye | Bye | ||||||||
Rd.18 | Rabbitohs | Titans | ||||||||
Rd.19 | Knights | Bulldogs | ||||||||
Rd.20 | Panthers | Rabbitohs | ||||||||
Rd.21 | Tigers | Raiders | ||||||||
Rd.22 | Roosters | Broncos | ||||||||
Rd.23 | Eels | Knights | ||||||||
Rd.24 | Bulldogs | Panthers | ||||||||
Rd.25 | Storm | Dragons | ||||||||
Rd.26 | Broncos | Cowboys | ||||||||
QF | Cowboys | Broncos | ||||||||
SF | DNP | Tigers | ||||||||
PF | Broncos | Storm | ||||||||
Legend: Win Loss |
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles finished second on the competition ladder behind the
It would be Manly's 18th Grand Final appearance, a record seventh consecutive decade in which the club had achieved the feat, and a chance for the club to win its eighth premiership. Coach Des Hasler made his third Grand Final in the position after appearing in three others as a Manly player.
New Zealand Warriors
For only the second time in the club's entire history the New Zealand Warriors would search for their first premiership title up against the second-placed Manly side. Having finished sixth on the competition ladder with 32 points, they lost their first match of the finals series to the Brisbane Broncos in their heaviest defeat of the season losing 40–10 but however earned a second chance, only due to the two lower-ranking teams also losing.[9] They then upset the Wests Tigers in the semi-finals after many gave them a slim chance of winning and they were down 18–6 at half time before mounting a comeback to be down just 20–18 with a few minutes remaining before Kristian Inu scored the match winner for the Warriors as they won 22–20.
The New Zealand Warriors then went on to post a major upset over the 2011 minor premiers the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park in their Grand Final qualifier. The New Zealand Warriors were down 6-0 after 5 minutes due to some poor defence that Gareth Widdop took advantage of to put Sika Manu through a gap to score; the try was converted by Cameron Smith. the Warriors would hit back in the following dozen minutes through Bill Tupou and James Maloney scoring in the 12th and 16th minutes for the Warriors to lead 12–6. The Melbourne side would hit back through a Beau Champion try in 36th minute which Cameron Smith would convert to level the scores at 12-12. Before half time the Warriors were given a penalty which they opted to kick a penalty goal which James Maloney successfully converted for the Warriors to lead 14–12 at half time. The second half was a heated battle with the Warriors starving Melbourne of the ball and any good field position throughout the entire 40 minutes as the Warriors defence superbly defending anything the Melbourne Storm threw at them. The Warriors were believed to have scored in the 72nd minute through Lewis Brown only for the try to be disallowed due to an earlier knock on from Kevin Locke but the Lewis Brown would then go on to score in the 77th minute after some nifty footwork from Warriors young gun Shaun Johnson. James Maloney would beautifully convert a sideline conversion to put any hope of a Storm comeback impossible. This win would then qualify New Zealand for their second ever Grand Final.[10]
The Grand Final was Ivan Cleary's last match as coach of the club, having signed to take over the Penrith Panthers the following season.[11] Coincidentally, his last match as a player was when he was the fullback in the New Zealand Warriors side that lost the 2002 Grand Final to the Sydney Roosters, another club Cleary played for in the NRL. Cleary grew up on Sydney's northern beaches, and started his professional career with Manly playing alongside Des Hasler, now his opposing coach.[12]
The New Zealand Warriors also fielded teams in the NSW Cup and Toyota Cup Grand Finals, thus becoming the first team since the Sydney Roosters in 2004 to field sides in three different-grade Grand Finals; at the time, the other two grades were the Jersey Flegg Cup and the Premier League Cup. The Warriors' Toyota Cup successfully defended its 2010 title defeating the North Queensland Cowboys in golden point extra time by the scoreline of 31–30.
Match day
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles |
Posit. | New Zealand Warriors |
---|---|---|
1. Brett Stewart
|
Fullback | 1. Kevin Locke |
2. Michael Robertson | Wing | 2. Bill Tupou |
3. Jamie Lyon (c) | Centre | 3. Lewis Brown |
4. Steve Matai | Centre | 4. Krisnan Inu |
5. Will Hopoate
|
Wing | 5. Manu Vatuvei |
6. Kieran Foran | Five-eighth | 6. James Maloney |
7. Daly Cherry-Evans | Halfback | 7. Shaun Johnson |
8. Joe Galuvao | Prop | 15. Russell Packer |
9. Matt Ballin | Hooker | 14. Lance Hohaia |
10. Brent Kite | Prop | 10. Jacob Lillyman |
11. Anthony Watmough | Second-row | 17. Elijah Taylor |
12. Tony Williams | Second-row | 12. Simon Mannering (c) |
13. Glenn Stewart | Lock | 13. Micheal Luck |
14. Shane Rodney | Interchange | 8. Sam Rapira |
15. Jamie Buhrer | Interchange | 9. Aaron Heremaia |
16. Vic Mauro | Interchange | 11. Feleti Mateo |
17. George Rose | Interchange | 16. Ben Matulino |
Des Hasler | Coach | Ivan Cleary |
Pre-match
Two other matches were played before the NRL Grand Final. At 12.00pm, the
Entertainment included performances by American singer
Match details
For the third year in a row, grand final day was a rainy one. Russell Packer, Lance Hohaia and Elijah Taylor swapped places with Sam Rapira, Aaron Heremaia and Feleti Mateo respectively from their interchange spots before the match.
First half
After a tight opening 28 minutes, Manly prop
Second half
Manly stretched its lead to 16 points after half-time following a try to Glenn Stewart, set up by a blind flick pass from William Hopoate just before he was pushed into touch. The New Zealand Warriors then scored two unconverted tries in the final fifteen minutes to Vatuvei (which attracted controversy due to the blatantly forward pass from Johnson to Vatuvei) and Elijah Taylor to narrow the deficit to eight points; however, Manly held onto its lead and celebrated victory with a try to captain Jamie Lyon in the final minute of play. Regular goal kicker Lyon then handed the ball to winger Robertson (who had played his last game for the club) for the conversion. Robertson calmly kicked the goal from out wide after the siren to bring the curtain down on both the game and his successful NRL career.
Sunday, 2 October
5:15 pm |
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 – 10 | New Zealand Warriors |
---|---|---|
Tries: Brett Stewart (30') 1 (80') 1/1Daly Cherry-Evans (40') 1 Glenn Stewart (57') 1 Jamie Lyon (79') 1 Goals: Jamie Lyon (31', 40', 59') 3/3 Michael Robertson |
Tries: 1 Manu Vatuvei (63') 1 Elijah Taylor (68') Goals: 1/3 James Maloney (28' pen) |
ANZ Stadium
Attendance: 81,988 Clive Churchill Medal: Glenn Stewart Referee: Tony Archer, Matt Cecchin Touch judges: Paul Holland, Daniel Eastwood |
Post-match
Manly lock forward Glenn Stewart was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as the player of the match.[22] It was also the 10th time that brothers Brett and Glenn Stewart had each scored a try in the same game for Manly, with the club winning all 10 games. It was also the first time since the 1929 Premiership final when Alf and Frank O'Connor scored for South Sydney that two brothers had each scored a try in the premiership decider.
See also
References
- ^ Dean, Ritchie (8 August 2011). "Storm, Sea Eagles heading for grand final". Herald Sun. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
- stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ Prentice, Andrew (5 September 2011). "Jamie Lyon says the Eagles will miss the Brookvale Oval vibe". Manly Daily. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- ^ Crawford, Adrian (24 September 2011). "Manly reaches final over Lockyer's Broncos". ABC Sport. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- Sydney Morning Herald. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ "Healthy Dragons primed for finals". ABC Sport. 3 September 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ Mascord, Steve (11 September 2011). "Young Broncos given free rein in pursuit of title". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- ^ Ritchie, Dean (29 June 2011). "New Zealand Warriors coach Ivan Cleary was always the first choice of Penrith Panthers football director Phil Gould". Herald Sun. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- ^ Kent, Paul (27 September 2011). "Cheering the Sydney Warriors". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ "2011 Telstra Premiership Grand Final Information". NRL News. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- ^ "NRL Grand Final 2015: North Queensland Cowboys outgun Brisbane Broncos to win premiership". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 October 2015.
- ^ "NRL Grand Final Player Ratings". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- ^ Nicolussi, Christian (2 October 2011). "New Zealand Warriors trump the North Queensland Cowboys after an extra-time field goal from halfback Jordan Meads". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ^ "Live updates: NRL grand final". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ "Kelly Clarkson gets an eyeful of NRL idols". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- NRL. 30 September 2011. Archived from the originalon 4 January 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ "Motorsport Video |Motorsport Highlights, Replays, News, Clips".
- ^ "Sea Eagle George Rose Cited Over Grand Final Forearm To Warriors Head". The Courier Mail. [dead link]
- ^ "Hasler praises Churchill winner Stewart". ABC Sport. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.