NRL Grand Final 2012: Player Ratings

 

By , 30 Sep 2012

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    The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Greg Eastwood tackles the Melbourne Storm's Todd Lowrie during the NRL Grand Final at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

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    Individual player ratings from the 2012 NRL Grand Final between Melbourne Storm and Canterbury Bulldogs.

    Melbourne player ratings

    1. BILLY SLATER – Scored a try but looked to be hampered by his knee problem. Not as assured as we’ve come to expect under the high ball, but much better in the second half. 6

    2. SISA WAQA – Very solid in defence, made two vital plays to deny Canterbury certain tries. 7

    3. DANE NIELSEN – Attacked well when given the chance and did nothing wrong in defence. 6.5

    4. WILL CHAMBERS – Came out on top in the battle with Josh Morris, a great way to end a season that contained a cancer scare. 7

    5. JUSTIN O’NEILL – Showed great athleticism to haul in a Cooper Cronk kick for his side’s third try just before halftime. 7

    6. GARETH WIDDOP – Set up the first try and made a brilliant tackle on Sam Perrett that led to his side’s second. First Englishman in 10 years to win a premiership. 7.5

    7. COOPER CRONK – A magnificent game from the Queensland and Test halfback. Had a hand in all three first-half tries and set up O’Neill with a magnificent kick on the run. 8.5

    8. JESSE BROMWICH – The young prop more than held his own against the Bulldogs vaunted pack. A premiership winner at 23. 7.5

    9. CAMERON SMITH – Made a key play to hold up Michael Ennis under the posts to prevent a certain try. Struggled with the boot in missing five goals, but otherwise outstanding as always. 8

    10. BRYAN NORRIE – A huge game from the veteran prop, whose career looked over after he was released by Cronulla two years ago. Clocked up over 150 metres. 8

    15. KEVIN PROCTOR – The all-action Kiwi did his job well and adds a premiership ring to the Toyota Cup title he won in 2009. 7

    12. RYAN HOFFMAN – A great season from the former NSW back-rower was capped off with the first try of the game. 7

    13. TODD LOWRIE – Another one of the Storm’s unheralded heroes signs off in his final game for the club with a premiership. 6.5

    Bench:

    14. RYAN HINCHCLIFFE – Did a decent job off the bench, little chance to shine in attack, but worked hard when introduced in defence. 6

    11. SIKA MANU – Wasn’t on the field for long, but made a solid impact with his powerful runs. 6.5

    16. JAIMAN LOWE – Ends a solid rather than spectacular career with a premiership win. 6

    17. RICHIE FA’AOSO – Spent much of the match sitting but earned a premiership ring out of his mid-year move. 6

    Canterbury player ratings

    1. BEN BARBA – The best player all season but suffered from stage fright in the biggest game. Was fairly well contained but always had you on the edge of your seat. 7

    2. SAM PERRETT – Did well to score Canterbury’s only try and made good metres out of dummy half. Hampered by lack of opportunity. 6.5

    3. JOSH MORRIS – Looked the most likely attacking option all game but didn’t have enough support. 7.5

    4. KRISNAN INU – Put a big shot on Cooper Cronk early and kicked for Perrett’s try, but didn’t have usual spark. 6.5

    5. JONATHAN WRIGHT – An ugly night, spilled a few kicks putting his team under serious pressure. 5

    6. JOSH REYNOLDS – Tried hard in attack and often willed his team forward, but was targeted big time in defence, missing seven tackles. 6.5

    7. KRIS KEATING – Looked impressive when running the ball but found the chest of Billy Slater far too much with his kicking game. 6

    8. AIDEN TOLMAN – Work rate was down on his usually high levels and gave away a silly penalty in the first half. 6.5

    9. MICHAEL ENNIS – Made a game-high 48 tackles, went close to scoring and spent every spare moment in the referees’ ears. But couldn’t get his team home. 7.5

    10. SAM KASIANO – Not the best performance from the prop of the year. Appeared to struggle with the pace of the game and was outplayed by Bryan Norrie. 5.5

    11. FRANK PRITCHARD – Canterbury’s strike weapon in the pack didn’t break a single tackle all match. Even his decoy runs weren’t working. 6.

    12. JOSH JACKSON – Has had an outstanding rookie season and got through a mountain of work again, but missed five tackles. 6.5

    13. GREG EASTWOOD – Made a season-high 33 tackles which sapped him of energy, rendering him virtually anonymous in attack. 6

    Bench:

    14. JAMES GRAHAM – Had a huge game off the bench and was the Dogs’ best forward but was lucky to stay on the field after his Mike Tyson-eqsue bite of Slater’s ear. 7

    15. DALE FINUCANE – Not sighted until the final 15 minutes and didn’t do a great deal after that. 5

    16. COREY PAYNE – As with Finucane, didn’t get much gametime and had absolutely no impact. 5

    17. DAVID STAGG – Most significant impact on the game was grabbing Slater around the neck, sparking the big brawl in the first half. Now has to decide on retirement plans. 6.

    © AAP 2013

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