Storm beat Eels 23-16 in NRL grand final

Melbourne elevated their standing to sit amongst the greatest NRL sides of all time
as they withstood a furious Parramatta finish to run out 23-16 winners for their
second premiership in three years at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.
Playing in their fourth grand final in a row, the Storm were simply brilliant as
they brought an unhappy ending to the fairytale that was Parramatta's Cinderella run
to the decider, with Billy Slater named Clive Churchill Medallist for his man of the
match performance.
Not even the relentless defence of Nathan Hindmarsh, who came up with 62 tackles as
he threw his body about in a desperate bid to erase the memory of his 2001 grand
final heartache, could keep the Eels in the contest.
This was the Melbourne machine at its best, grinding the opposition into the ground
before unleashing the likes of Greg Inglis and Slater.
The Storm took a vice-like grip early and never let go as they buried the memories
of last year's record loss to Manly, but they were forced to do it the hard way with
the Eels scoring twice inside the last ten minutes to close to within a converted
try.
With the vast majority of the 82,538 crowd - the biggest since 2001 when the Eels
last made it to a grand final - willing them on, Parramatta surged late with Joel
Reddy scoring off a Jeff Robson bomb before Fuifui Moimoi trampled over several
defenders to cross out wide.
"I was going to call for the trainer to get a change of speedos," said Storm captain
Cameron Smith with a chuckle when quizzed about the gaming becoming so tight at the
death.
A Billy Slater drop near his own line presented the Eels with another invitation
only for Todd Lowrie to be left with the ball on the last tackle when any other
option would have been better.
The Storm, on the back of a controversial stripping penalty against Moimoi on
Slater, regained composure, before erupting in a series of hugs and high fives as
Inglis piloted over a field goal with three minutes on the clock.
"This is all I've ever wanted to do," said Storm five-eighth Brett Finch, who was
shown the door by the Eels after four games this year.
"If I did not do it, I would have had something sitting in the bottom of my guts for
the rest of my life.
"It doesn't matter who we beat, I said that all week."
Having snowballed their way into the grand final on the back of ten wins from their
last 11 matches, the Eels went to water on the biggest stage with the Storm scoring
after just five minutes through Ryan Hoffman, who ran over a non-existent Robson in
defence.
Having been brilliant against the Bulldogs last week, Robson was a target in
defence, and it seemed to affect his attacking game with the Eels let down by poor
last play options.
The Storm were having no such trouble and it was no surprise when Cooper Cronk put
Adam Blair over for a 10-0 lead which they took to the halftime break.
The Eels came out strongly after the break with Moimoi leading the way with some
punishing defence - and it carried through to their attack with Eric Grothe slamming
it down for a 10-6 scoreline.
Melbourne weren't about to give this away however and they hit back with a double
blow through their two superstars, Inglis and Slater scoring thanks to some
sensational lead-up work by Cronk.
Like their storming finish to the season, the Eels left their best until last, but
while they closed to within six points, they were unable to finish the job.