NRL Grand Final / Andy Morris / 05 October 2009 / Leave a comment Bet Now

Melbourne Storm held off a fightback by the Parramatta Eels to win their second grand final in three years, 23-16, writes Andy Morris.

Just as they had done throughout the playoffs, the Storm held their opponents scoreless in the first half and that proved crucial.

They went into the break 10-0 ahead, and though the Eels hit back with the first try of the second half and pressured late on when they were just six points behind, a Greg Inglis field goal three minutes from the end sealed it for Melbourne.

In front of nearly 83,000 at ANZ Stadium, the Storm got off to a great start when Ryan Hoffman beat two defenders to score the game's first try inside five minutes.

The Storm went further ahead when Cooper Cronk broke through and found Aiden Tolman in support to make it 10-0.

There were few chances for the Eels in the first half, and they knew they had to score first in the second half to get back into the game.

Eric Grothe beat three defenders to touch down, and Luke Burt's conversion made it 10-6.

But Melbourne had the man in form in the shape of Cronk, who delivered a bomb for Inglis to score his side's third try, then set up Adam Blair who delivered a final pass for Billy Slater to scramble over.

It looked all over at that point, with the score 22-6, but the Eels found heart and Joel Reddy leapt high to catch a Jeff Robson kick and reduce the deficit.

Then Fuifui Moimoi burst his way over to score a converted try with eight minutes on the clock, making it 22-16.

In truth that was as close as Parramatta could come, as they made several mistakes late on and the field goal broke their hearts.

The Eels played their part, but there was no denying the Storm, who were worthy winners.