STARTERS
Brett STEWART - Fullback
League Player Rating: 7.5/10 Statistical Rating: 15.1
Scouting Report: Scored the first try of the game in typical Brett Stewart fashion. Used his speed to split a small hole on the inside shoulder of Daly Cherry-Evans and beat Kevin Locke to score. Came close to scoring late in the 1st half and absorbed early punishment on kick-returns.
Michael ROBERTSON - Left Wing
League Player Rating: 7.0/10 Statistical Rating: 12.9
Scouting Report: Finished off Glenn Stewart's big play (the grubber that may have been mentioned before halftime) and wisely passed off to Matt Ballin to get tackled so the obstruction he was involved with wasn't referred to the Video Ref. Veteran leaves with two titles to his name at Manly and should have a Clive Churchill to go with it from 2008. Solid.
Jamie LYON (c) - Right Centre
League Player Rating: 7.0/10 Statistical Rating: 18.5
Scouting Report: The Manly captain finished off arguably the best second half of any season he has played to date with a good performance in the Grand Final. Great to see him want the ball in the dying seconds to score a try rather than just put the ball out. Kicked 3/3 when the game was alive.
Steven MATAI - Left Centre
League Player Rating: 5.0/10 Statistical Rating: 7.6
Scouting Report: Pretty ordinary in a team that played very well. Was bashed early and when he tried to get some back he split his right eyebrow open. Returned but was well beaten on the outside by a converted backrower playing centre in Elijah Taylor for the Warriors' 2nd try.
Will HOPOATE - Right Wing
League Player Rating: 8.0/10 Statistical Rating: 18.7
Scouting Report: Superb performance on the wing. Came looking for work and finished with the most hitups in the match with 24 - 5 clear of his nearest rival. May have had the first error of the game dropping a bomb but his amazing flick pass to send Glenn Stewart over was a thing of beauty. Great game.
Kieran FORAN - Five-Eighth
League Player Rating: 6.5/10 Statistical Rating: 13.3
Scouting Report: Didn't have the impact everyone was expecting but his halves partner was riding the hot hand so Foran let the ball go to Cherry-Evans more often than not. Claimed a try that may well have been given in a regular season round after an error by Krisnan Inu but he did set up Glenn Stewart's try with a deftly placed cross kick. Good but not great.
Daly CHERRY-EVANS - Halfback
League Player Rating: 9.0/10 Statistical Rating: 24.2
Scouting Report: The best player on the field. Glenn Stewart may have had one more 'bigger' moment but Cherry-Evans ran the show for Manly, just as he has done all Finals Series. His kicking game was so much better than his Warriors' counterparts and his keenness for the ball time after time no matter where Manly were on the field was influential. Set up two tries, scored on himself and was involved in the fourth and final try to Jamie Lyon. And he's a rookie.
Joe GALUVAO - Prop
League Player Rating: 6.5/10 Statistical Rating: 12.8
Scouting Report: The veteran did his job early and made sure the Manly ruck defence was tight when he was on the field.
Matt BALLIN - Hooker
League Player Rating: 7.0/10 Statistical Rating: 8.3
Scouting Report: You barely notice Ballin most of the time but that means he is just doing his job in defence and feeding his halves in attack. Almost scored a try before half-time but wisely let Sam Rapira run him down so the Video Ref wasn't called into play from an earlier indiscretion.
Brent KITE - Prop
League Player Rating: 7.5/10 Statistical Rating: 14.4
Scouting Report: His hitups in the second half were very very good. Kept returning whatever the Warriors could dish up with strong runs of his own. Maybe played better than his Clive Churchill Medal winning performance in 2008... it's still hard to fathom how he won it that day. But this game made up for that - very good and played 57 minutes.
Anthony WATMOUGH - Second Row
League Player Rating: 7.0/10 Statistical Rating: 19.3
Scouting Report: His best game of the Finals was last week but he was a contributor this week. Missed a few tackles up the middle but put his hand up for the gut busting runs when needed. Came up with a couple of borderline defensive plays that went Manly's way - credit to him for that.
Tony WILLIAMS - Second Row
League Player Rating: 5.0/10 Statistical Rating: 5.0
Scouting Report: A non-factor. Manly's wrecking ball missed his call time for the Grand Final - but Manly didn't suffer as a result. Disappointing.
Glenn STEWART - Lock Forward
League Player Rating: 8.5/10 Statistical Rating: 25.1
Scouting Report: Grabbed the Clive Churchill Medal and you can't deny he had an impact on the game. Scored one try, set up the last try and rolled the dice on the play of the Grand Final when he grubbered 15m out from his own line with 30 seconds left in the first half. Quality performance after missing a month of footy.
BENCH
Shane RODNEY - Bench Backrower
League Player Rating: 5.0/10 Statistical Rating: 4.8
Scouting Report: Did what he had to do in his 33 minute stint but didn't have any moments that you really noticed him being out there.
Jamie BUHRER - Bench Backrower
League Player Rating: 5.0/10 Statistical Rating: 2.6
Scouting Report: Young backrower came on to play centre when Steven Matai cut his eyebrow open, then sat back down when Matai returned.
Vic MAURO - Bench Prop
League Player Rating: 6.5/10 Statistical Rating: 15.9
Scouting Report: Best performing bench player for Manly. His form in the final month or two of the season has been a real bright spot for Manly.
George ROSE - Bench Prop
League Player Rating: 5.0/10 Statistical Rating: 3.2
Scouting Report: Was extremely lucky his errant elbow didn't decapitate Aaron Heremaia soon after he came on the field. Placed on report and faces 2 weeks suspension. Not much else to report other than he was the first person to congratulate Brett Stewart when the fullback opened the scoring... so naturally his support play was excellent.
Total Score: 113.0
STARTERS
Kevin LOCKE - Fullback
League Player Rating: 8.0/10 Statistical Rating: 16.3
Scouting Report: The shining light for the Warriors. Would like that one on one tackle on Brett Stewart back from the opening try but other than that he was superb. Stopped Brett Stewart soon after with a try-saver and popped up all over the place in attack - the only issue was the Warriors didn't try to attack nearly enough to give him more opportunities. His intent on kick returns must be commended.
Bill TUPOU - Right Wing
League Player Rating: 6.0/10 Statistical Rating: 6.4
Scouting Report: Was good for the 47 minutes he was on before a head clash with Steven Matai ended his night.
Lewis BROWN - Left Centre
League Player Rating: 5.0/10 Statistical Rating: 10.7
Scouting Report: A bit player in the game. Tackled well, ran the ball occasionally but apart from one deft grubber late to force a repeat set, didn't make a difference.
Krisnan INU - Right Centre
League Player Rating: 5.5/10 Statistical Rating: 11.1
Scouting Report: Up and down like a yo-yo but that's Krisnan Inu. Pulled off a couple of good hits early and ran the ball well but also came up with a few bad errors. Someone needs to find that intensity switch and lock it into the on position.
Manu VATUVEI - Left Wing
League Player Rating: 7.5/10 Statistical Rating: 17.0
Scouting Report: The Beast made his runs count, saved one try and scored one himself. He can hold his head high for what he contributed but had he knocked that Shaun Johnson bomb back instead of forward right after his try... well, what might have been.
James MALONEY - Five-Eighth
League Player Rating: 5.0/10 Statistical Rating: 14.9
Scouting Report: His early knock on was huge in the context of the game. The Warriors had just got a golden opportunity to score first and he knocked on from the scrum. Never really recovered to put his stamp on the game and bar one line break from a Feleti Mateo pass, was well and truly out of the match.
Shaun JOHNSON - Halfback
League Player Rating: 6.5/10 Statistical Rating: 13.4
Scouting Report: Like Maloney he struggled with his long kicking game in the first half (although his kick for Manu Vatuvei early was almost perfect) but took over both the playmaking and kicking duties in the second half and got the Warriors back in it. Should learn plenty from the game.
Russell PACKER - Prop
League Player Rating: 4.5/10 Statistical Rating: 8.0
Scouting Report: Very disappointing performance from the big unit. Just four runs before being subbed in the opening half then just two after the break when the Warriors needed him to make a statement. Yes he's young but this was disappointing.
Lance HOHAIA - Hooker
League Player Rating: 5.0/10 Statistical Rating: 8.2
Scouting Report: Started for Aaron Heremaia and wanted to get out of dummy half for a run but Manly wouldn't let him. Didn't add a great deal either half.
Jacob LILLYMAN - Prop
League Player Rating: 7.0/10 Statistical Rating: 13.1
Scouting Report: Hurled himself in the game early but not nearly as effective in the second half.
Elijah TAYLOR - Second Row
League Player Rating: 6.5/10 Statistical Rating: 12.7
Scouting Report: Was asked to play defensive specialist early and did his job. Came back on for Bill Tupou when the winger copped a head knock and beat Steven Matai easily for the Warriors' second try of the game.
Simon MANNERING (c) - Second Row
League Player Rating: 7.0/10 Statistical Rating: 15.0
Scouting Report: Played the same game he has for practically his whole career - effort on effort on effort. Didn't see much ball in attack and as a result didn't get a chance to work over Kieran Foran on Manly's left. Manly wisely went to the other side of the field when they wanted to attack - taking Mannering out of the game's key moments.
Micheal LUCK - Lock Forward
League Player Rating: 7.0/10 Statistical Rating: 13.2
Scouting Report: Gave his all but was replaced late in an attempt by Ivan Cleary to inject more strike... but sadly for Luck and his team-mates that safety first approach killed the Warriors in the end. But Luck's game is not to blame, he was gallant.
BENCH
Sam RAPIRA - Bench Prop
League Player Rating: 6.0/10 Statistical Rating: 9.5
Scouting Report: His best play of the night actually hurt the Warriors. Tracking back desperately after the Glenn Stewart grubber and Michael Robertson run - Rapira made a try-saver on Matt Ballin just 5m out from the tryline. But had Rapira let Ballin score - the Warriors go to halftime down by just 6-2 rather than 12-2. Tried hard to lift the team in the second half but couldn't.
Aaron HEREMAIA - Bench Hooker
League Player Rating: 5.5/10 Statistical Rating: 3.1
Scouting Report: Another player involved in that 'play' involving Glenn Stewart's grubber. Was obstructed by Cherry-Evans but that's history now. Long held the belief he is a better option to start the game and it showed as the Warriors couldn't provide him a platform when he came on for Lance Hohaia in the first half. Didn't find any room.
Feleti MATEO - Bench Backrower
League Player Rating: 7.0/10 Statistical Rating: 13.8
Scouting Report: Had to play 80 minutes. Finished with just 57. Yet after benching Mateo the past two weeks - the Warriors went behind early in both games with Mateo on the bench for a defensive specialist - the Warriors actually led 2-0 when he came on. His footwork gave Manly's edge defenders problems all night but he never found the ball two wide enough to really make things happen for his outside men.
Ben MATULINO - Bench Prop
League Player Rating: 7.5/10 Statistical Rating: 18.5
Scouting Report: Just behind Locke as the Warriors' best. Made metres with every run and hit hard. Hopefully his form of the past month is a sign we will see him be a big factor in the Four Nations and more of the dominant runner we've seen this Finals Series - next season. Great young player.
Total Score: 106.5 
