They say you have to lose a Grand Final to win one, and that saying certainly came true last night for the Manly Sea Eagles - who put on an unbelievable display against the Melbourne Storm.

No one in their right mind would have believed the Sea Eagles could have put 40 points on the Storm, let-a-lone keep the Storm scoreless - but the Sea Eagles were unstoppable on their way to their first Grand Final victory since 1996.

The Storm looked shell shocked as the Sea Eagles dominated the game right from the kickoff. And, while it took around 25 minutes for Manly to score their first try, from that moment on they just kept the four pointers coming. Michael Robertson scored three of the eight trys, and set up the Beaver with his 180th try in the NRL - not a bad way to end a sixteen year career with the Sea Eagles.

Brent Kite was outstanding as he made hit-up after hit-up, keeping the Sea Eagles on the front foot and, most importantly, giving the backs great field position from which to attack. Kite was rewarded for his excellent performance with the Clive Churchill Medal, which will help him erase any bad memories of missing out on Origin this year.

The Sea Eagles can now put last years disappointing Grand Final behind them, while the Storm are left to ponder what on earth happened.

For a team that boasts the likes of Billy Slater, Greg Inglis, Israel Falou and Cooper Cronk, last nights efforts will be one they'll never want to remember. It was one of their worst displays in a long time, and unfortunately for them they saved it for the biggest game of the year.

They've looked tired since their game against the Warriors in Round 11 of the playoffs, while the Sea Eagles looked refreshed and ready to do battle.

While we wouldn't count the Storm out in 2009, it does seem as though their era of dominance may be starting to crack - and they're losing some key players for next year's competition, too.

For the Sea Eagles, last night was all about redemption - and, most importantly, sending the long serving Steve Menzies out on a high. They achieved both, and brilliantly.

Menzies now heads to Bradford to end his illustrious career that spanned sixteen years, 349 NRL games (a record he now shares with Bulldogs great Terry Lamb), fifteen State of Origin campaigns with New South Wales, and twenty Tests for the Kangaroos. He is the epitome of the word 'legend', and it's been an absolute pleasure to have watched him play over the past sixteen years.

We wish him all the best for the rest of his career.

The rugby league world now turns it's attention to the World Cup, which kicks off in a couple of weeks - no doubt there'll be a few Sea Eagles in the Australian squad...