KEY POINTS:
The Warriors' run through the NRL playoffs is expected to promote Steve Price and Brent Tate into the Kangaroos side to be named today and the club will also make a big contribution to the Kiwis squad for the World Cup tournament.
The Kiwis are sweating on the availability of fullback Brent Webb who missed the weekend Super League grand final with a back complaint that is still being assessed.
In Webb's place, Lee Smith was man-of-the-match as Leeds and former Kiwis coach Brian "Bluey" McClennan outsmarted his old mentor Daniel Anderson to conjure a 24-16 result against St Helens.
Anderson won nine trophies while in charge at Saints from mid-2004 and remains without an NRL job despite his stated intention to return to the Australian premiership. At his old club Parramatta, Michael Hagan has been given the deadline of March, before the season opens, to prove he should keep his job so an opening may be coming for Anderson.
Smith's performance replacing Webb, who pulled out hours before kick-off and was so sore he could not travel to the game, will see him elevated as back-up for Paul Wellens in Tony Smith's England World Cup squad which is named overnight and is expected to be stacked with players from the two finalists.
The only other player from Super League to make the Kiwis will be Wigan halfback Thomas Leuluai.
The Storm's record grand final loss to Manly is not expected to dent the chances of Sika Manu making his Kiwis debut or second rower Jeremy Smith. But bench prop Adam Blair may have played his way out of contention.
The New Zealand Rugby League was running through medical checks with players yesterday, with Webb and Manly centre Steve Matai the major concerns. Matai has been playing with floating bone chips in his shoulder and needs surgery but is desperate to turn out and make amends for his send-off for the high shot on Mark Gasnier a year ago. The selectors hope the surgery can be delayed and there was no sign of Matai holding back in defence as the Eagles rocked 2007 champions the Melbourne Storm in front of a near-capacity 80,388 at the Sydney Olympic Stadium on Sunday night.
Manly are expected to contribute fullback Brett Stewart who outplayed Billy Slater, his brother Glenn and fellow backrower Anthony Watmough, and the grand final Clive Churchill Medal winner Brent Kite who made 167 metres and 26 tackles on Sunday, to the Australian team.
The Eagles completed 34 of 43 sets of six to Melbourne's 24/34, they carried the ball a total of 1612m to the Storm's 1162m and so Melbourne were forced to make 310 tackles to the Eagles' 273.
Kite said afterwards that the heavy loss to the Storm in 2007 fired them up. "No one was going to beat us tonight."
The suspended Melbourne captain Cameron Smith described watching from the sideline as the toughest day of his 24 years. Centre Israel Folau, who is Brisbane-bound, cried.
The Storm also lose Matt Geyer (retiring), Jeremy Smith (Dragons) and Michael Crocker (Hull). In 2009 Manly will be without Mark Bryant, Luke Williamson and Steve Bell and hero Steve Menzies (Super League) who equalled Terry Lamb's all-up record of 349 games on Sunday and has been offered a one-off appearance by the Eagles in 2009, so he can be sole holder of that mark.
Manly used just 27 players through the season, an indication of a relatively injury-free run with the only crucial players affected for a time being halves Matt Orford and Jamie Lyon, Menzies the replacement at that stage. The Eagles had their best side on the park, the Storm were missing Smith who will still be named Aussie hooker today and Ryan Hoffman, who may miss out through leg injury.
The Storm's 40-0 loss eclipsed the previous record, Easts' 38-0 hiding of the Dragons in 1975.
The All Golds team to play a Maori selection in New Plymouth at the weekend is to assemble in Auckland today and travel to Taranaki tomorrow. The trimmed Kiwis squad will be named after that game.
