Played on Sunday, 30 September at Sydney's ANZ Stadium between the minor premiers Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the second-placed Melbourne Storm.

It was also the third time coaches Craig Bellamy and Des Hasler oversaw their sides in a premiership decider after each claimed grand final success in their 2007 and 2008 meetings.

This loss gave Melbourne a chance to claim the minor premiership, however a 42–10 win over the Sydney Roosters in round 26 ensured the Canterbury club finished first.

The Melbourne Storm finished second on the regular season competition leader just behind Canterbury-Bankstown on 38 premiership points, with 17 wins from 24 games.

The relentless pressure was rewarded with a 7th minute try to Ryan Hoffman, bursting through a yawning gap after taking Gareth Widdop's lovely short ball 10m out from the line to make it 4–0.

The Canterbury side took this as a sign of respect to their brutal defense and went on the attack, resulting in a 25th minute try to Sam Perrett, who beat Melbourne fullback Billy Slater to Krisnan Inu's perfectly placed grubber kick.

Inu, reacting to what he thought was an illegal play by Slater, pushed Melbourne fullback away, sparking an all in brawl which led to one of the biggest controversies in Grand Final history.

Referee Tony Archer placed the incident on report and it was referred straight to the judiciary;[3] Graham later received a 12 match ban.

The closest the Canterbury side came to scoring was in the 61st minute where Barba made a break down the left hand wing, kicked over the top to centre Josh Morris, who failed to capitalise due to the bounce of the ball and Slater's desperate defending.

The Melbourne Storm's premiership victory qualified them to compete against the Super League XVII champions, Leeds Rhinos in the 2013 World Club Challenge.