The 2008 Carnegie World Club Challenge was contested between Super League XII champions, the Leeds Rhinos and National Rugby League season 2007 premiers, the Melbourne Storm. For the fifth consecutive year the English home team defeated their Australian counterparts.
| 2008 World Club Challenge | |||||||||||||
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 Elland Road hosted the match | |||||||||||||
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| Date | 29 February 2008 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Elland Road | ||||||||||||
| Location | Leeds, United Kingdom | ||||||||||||
| Man of the Match | Kevin Sinfield  | ||||||||||||
| Referee | Ashley Klein | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 33,204 | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast partners | |||||||||||||
| Broadcasters | |||||||||||||
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Qualification
editLeeds Rhinos
editLeeds Rhinos qualified through being the 2007 Super League champions, defeating St. Helens 33–6 in the Grand Final.
Melbourne Storm
editMelbourne Storm clinched the 2007 National Rugby League title in a 34–8 belting of Manly, earning them a place in the World Club Challenge.
Melbourne played a warm-up game against National League One team Halifax.[1]
Teams
editMelbourne's squad included 11 members of the 2007 premiership team, but were missing captain Cameron Smith who had stayed in Australia to be present for the birth of his first child.[2]
| Leeds Rhinos | Position | Melbourne Storm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| Brent Webb | 1 | 1 | Billy Slater | |
| Lee Smith | 5 | 2 | Steve Turner | |
| Clinton Toopi | 3 | 3 | Will Chambers | |
| Keith Senior | 4 | 4 | Israel Folau | |
| Scott Donald | 2 | 5 | Anthony Quinn | |
| Danny McGuire | 6 | 9 | Matt Geyer | |
| Rob Burrow | 7 | 7 | Cooper Cronk (c) | |
| Kylie Leuluai | 8 | 8 | Jeff Lima | |
| Matt Diskin | 9 | 11 | Jeremy Smith | |
| Jamie Peacock | 10 | 10 | Brett White | |
| Jamie Jones-Buchanan | 11 | 14 | Antonio Kaufusi | |
| Gareth Ellis | 12 | 12 | Ryan Hoffman | |
| Kevin Sinfield (c) | 13 | 13 | Dallas Johnson | |
| Ali Lauitiiti | 14 | 6 | Russell Aitken | |
| Ryan Bailey | 16 | 15 | Adam Blair | |
| Nick Scruton | 17 | 16 | Sika Manu | |
| Carl Ablett | 19 | 17 | Sam Tagataese | |
 Brian McClennan |
Coach |
 Craig Bellamy
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Match details
edit| Leeds Rhinos
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11 – 4 |  Melbourne Storm
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|---|---|---|
| Tries: 1 Donald  38'Goals: 3 Sinfield  pen 11', 39', pen 60' (3/3)Drop goals: 1 Sinfield 68' |
1st: 8 – 4 2nd: 3 – 0 Report |
Tries: 1 Hoffman 16'Goals: 0/1 Turner (0/1) |
Summary
editThe match was played in cold and windy conditions, four rounds into the 2008 Super League competition and one week before the start of the 2008 NRL season. 33,204 spectators turned out at Elland Road, in Leeds for a hard-fought, low-scoring match in which each side scored a try apiece, with Leeds ultimately coming out winners, due largely to the goal kicking of Kevin Sinfield. The win meant the English champions side defeated their Australian counterparts for the fifth consecutive year.
First half
editKevin Sinfield opened the scoring for Leeds, converting a penalty goal from directly in front of the posts, but Melbourne would score the first try with acting captain Cooper Cronk sending Ryan Hoffman over the line in the 16th minute to take a 4–2 lead.[2][3]Steve Turner could not add the conversion in the blustery conditions.
Danny McGuire would leave the field in the half due to a shoulder injury,[3] however in his absence, Leeds would take a half time lead when Brent Webb floated a pass to Scott Donald to score a try in the corner. Sinfield's conversion from the sideline giving Leeds a 8–4 lead.[2]
Second half
editHeavy rain greeted the players upon the resumption. Turner would not return for Melbourne after half time due to concussion. Clinton Toopi would then join McGuire on the sidelines through injury for Leeds, with Toopi suffering an arm injury.[3] A biting allegation against Leeds winger Lee Smith was a minor controversy midway through the second half, but despite immediately reporting the incident to the touch judge, Melbourne's Will Chambers refused to file an official complaint at full time.[2]
In a battle of attrition, defence won out as the half progressed, with Melbourne unable to find a way through the Leeds line.[4] Chambers came close to a late try in the 78th minute, but his foot found the touch line before he could ground the ball.[4] In the end Sinfield's penalty goal in the 60th minute and drop goal 12 minutes from full time, were the only points in the second half.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Quins to warm up Storm". Sky Sports. 12 November 2009. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f Middleton, David. 2008 Official Rugby League Annual. Sydney: News Magazines. p. 34.
- ^ a b c Wilson, Andy (1 March 2008). "Rhinos top of the world as brave Burrow rides storm". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ a b "World Club Challenge". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2023.