Halfback Matt Orford was presented with the Dally M Award for his performance during the regular season, while fullback Brett Stewart was the league's top tryscorer with 19 tries.

During the regular season, the Melbourne Storm won 17 of their 24 games, winning their third consecutive minor premiership on points differential from Manly and Cronulla.

Melbourne lost this game 18–15 after a Warriors try from Michael Witt two minutes from full-time; becoming the first minor premier side since the introduction of the McIntyre final eight system in 1999 to lose to the eighth-placed team.

[6] Melbourne captain Cameron Smith was controversially suspended for a grapple tackle during the Broncos game; the two-week suspension causing him to miss the rest of the finals season.

Nine minutes later, Manly-Warringah were again on the attack and from ten metres out, moved the ball through the hands to the left wing where Michael Robertson dived over in the corner.

In the forty-seventh minute, The Manly side were within twenty metres of Melbourne's try-line when Matt Orford at first receiver put a grubber kick into the left corner which bounced up perfectly for Michael Robertson racing through on the wing to grab and dive over for his second try.

Ten minutes later the Manly side got another try when, from within Melbourne's ten-metre line, they moved the ball out to David Williams on the right wing to dive over in the corner.

In the seventy-second minute the Manly side ran the ball down toward the left corner with Robertson passing back in to Steve Menzies, who was playing in his 349th and final NRL match to crash over for a try, his 180th.

However, the finale was to come at the seventy-five-minute mark when from their forty-metre line, Manly second rower Glenn Hall burst into open space, passing back inside for Brett Stewart who was running through in support.

Stewart was chased down just short of the try-line by Storm halfback Cooper Cronk, but he managed to flick the ball back without looking into the arms of Steven Bell to also get a try in his last game at the club.