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2016 NRL Grand Final
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2016 NRL Grand Final
The 2016 NRL Grand Final was a rugby league match between the Melbourne Storm and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to determine the premiers of the National Rugby League for the 2016 season. The match was held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on Sunday 2 October. Cronulla-Sutherland won the match 14–12 in a tight contest before 83,625 spectators, earning the club its first premiership title in their 50-year history. They also became the last of nine Sydney-based teams to win a premiership. Cronulla forward Luke Lewis was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as the best player on ground.
The match was preceded by the 2016 National Youth Competition Grand Final and the 2016 NRL State Championship. Pre-match entertainment was headlined by Keith Urban and former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora with Orianthi. The match was broadcast live throughout in Australia by the Nine Network.
The Melbourne Storm qualified for their sixth grand final in ten years after appearing in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012 deciders, although their only recognised premiership was in 2012 after their 2007 and 2009 titles were withheld due to systemic salary cap breaches. Only coach Craig Bellamy and halfback Cooper Cronk have been involved on each occasion. The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks had never won a grand final in the club's preceding 50 seasons, with their last grand final appearance in a unified competition being in 1978 when they lost to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles through a grand final replay. Cronulla-Sutherland had also appeared in the 1997 Super League grand final, losing to the Brisbane Broncos. The last time Melbourne and Cronulla had faced each other in a finals series was in 2008 when Melbourne denied Cronulla with a decisive 28–0 win to claim a spot against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the grand final.
The Sharks were coached by Shane Flanagan for the 5th season and captained by Paul Gallen. Heading into the season, expectations were high for Cronulla after their 2015 campaign and recruitment over the previous two seasons, which included Michael Ennis, James Maloney and Ben Barba, while bringing up Valentine Holmes from NSW Cup, all of whom were widely praised as the season progressed. Cronulla-Sutherland set the record for the longest winning streak in the club's history during the 2016 season, winning 15 games in a row from round 4 to round 20, whilst also breaking their previous best winning streak of 11 in a row.
Despite a slow start, losing two of their first three games of the season, which included losing to defending premiers the North Queensland Cowboys in round 1; a 14-6 win against the Storm at Shark Park in round 4, has been considered as the turning point of their season as it marked the start of their record-breaking winning streak. Cronulla emerged as one of four teams, along with the Storm, Cowboys and Broncos, with the most game wins when the season took a week off, after winning six games in a row. The performances from veteran players Ennis, Gallen and Luke Lewis playing arguably their best season of their careers, along with the right-side back row of Barba, Holmes and Jack Bird; as well as the form of Maloney contributing to the winning streak. By round 11, Cronulla were at the top of the table based on points differential, which was the first time for the club since round 2 in 2000.
Their 15-game winning streak came to an end in round 21, with an 18-18 draw against the Gold Coast Titans, which left them only one point ahead of the Storm. After the tie against the Titans, the momentum for the Sharks began to slow down, losing four of their last five games in the regular season.
Cronulla had used the least amount of players out of all NRL teams during the 2016 season, with only 24 players taking to the field throughout the season, despite fielding one of the oldest teams with many veteran players, with the lack of injuries attributing to their powerful form throughout the season.
The Storm were captained by Cameron Smith and coached by Craig Bellamy. Storm fullback Billy Slater was ruled out for the season, after re-injuring his shoulder during their round 1 game against the Dragons and undergoing surgery, with Cameron Munster replacing him for the rest of the season. As the Storms injury toll began to grow, as Curtis Scott broke his leg during Round 2. Young Tonumaipea injuring his knee and Will Chambers breaking his foot, and sidelined for three months while in recovery, the Storm had used 11 different players in their back five positions in the first seven rounds, however they remained as one of the top four teams throughout their run of injuries.
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2016 NRL Grand Final
The 2016 NRL Grand Final was a rugby league match between the Melbourne Storm and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to determine the premiers of the National Rugby League for the 2016 season. The match was held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on Sunday 2 October. Cronulla-Sutherland won the match 14–12 in a tight contest before 83,625 spectators, earning the club its first premiership title in their 50-year history. They also became the last of nine Sydney-based teams to win a premiership. Cronulla forward Luke Lewis was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as the best player on ground.
The match was preceded by the 2016 National Youth Competition Grand Final and the 2016 NRL State Championship. Pre-match entertainment was headlined by Keith Urban and former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora with Orianthi. The match was broadcast live throughout in Australia by the Nine Network.
The Melbourne Storm qualified for their sixth grand final in ten years after appearing in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012 deciders, although their only recognised premiership was in 2012 after their 2007 and 2009 titles were withheld due to systemic salary cap breaches. Only coach Craig Bellamy and halfback Cooper Cronk have been involved on each occasion. The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks had never won a grand final in the club's preceding 50 seasons, with their last grand final appearance in a unified competition being in 1978 when they lost to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles through a grand final replay. Cronulla-Sutherland had also appeared in the 1997 Super League grand final, losing to the Brisbane Broncos. The last time Melbourne and Cronulla had faced each other in a finals series was in 2008 when Melbourne denied Cronulla with a decisive 28–0 win to claim a spot against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the grand final.
The Sharks were coached by Shane Flanagan for the 5th season and captained by Paul Gallen. Heading into the season, expectations were high for Cronulla after their 2015 campaign and recruitment over the previous two seasons, which included Michael Ennis, James Maloney and Ben Barba, while bringing up Valentine Holmes from NSW Cup, all of whom were widely praised as the season progressed. Cronulla-Sutherland set the record for the longest winning streak in the club's history during the 2016 season, winning 15 games in a row from round 4 to round 20, whilst also breaking their previous best winning streak of 11 in a row.
Despite a slow start, losing two of their first three games of the season, which included losing to defending premiers the North Queensland Cowboys in round 1; a 14-6 win against the Storm at Shark Park in round 4, has been considered as the turning point of their season as it marked the start of their record-breaking winning streak. Cronulla emerged as one of four teams, along with the Storm, Cowboys and Broncos, with the most game wins when the season took a week off, after winning six games in a row. The performances from veteran players Ennis, Gallen and Luke Lewis playing arguably their best season of their careers, along with the right-side back row of Barba, Holmes and Jack Bird; as well as the form of Maloney contributing to the winning streak. By round 11, Cronulla were at the top of the table based on points differential, which was the first time for the club since round 2 in 2000.
Their 15-game winning streak came to an end in round 21, with an 18-18 draw against the Gold Coast Titans, which left them only one point ahead of the Storm. After the tie against the Titans, the momentum for the Sharks began to slow down, losing four of their last five games in the regular season.
Cronulla had used the least amount of players out of all NRL teams during the 2016 season, with only 24 players taking to the field throughout the season, despite fielding one of the oldest teams with many veteran players, with the lack of injuries attributing to their powerful form throughout the season.
The Storm were captained by Cameron Smith and coached by Craig Bellamy. Storm fullback Billy Slater was ruled out for the season, after re-injuring his shoulder during their round 1 game against the Dragons and undergoing surgery, with Cameron Munster replacing him for the rest of the season. As the Storms injury toll began to grow, as Curtis Scott broke his leg during Round 2. Young Tonumaipea injuring his knee and Will Chambers breaking his foot, and sidelined for three months while in recovery, the Storm had used 11 different players in their back five positions in the first seven rounds, however they remained as one of the top four teams throughout their run of injuries.