MANLY winger Michael Robertson was the unlikely hero of the grand final with three tries in 17 minutes - but he has revealed how close he went to blowing his opportunity because of a party lifestyle while a teenager in Canberra.

Robertson was lost for words in the Manly dressingrooms after the game. "I'm just walking around in circles," he said. "It all feels surreal. I dead-set don't know what to do."

Maybe it has something to do with the knowledge of how close he went to not being here. He admits he embraced the party lifestyle too easily in Canberra, living every 18-year-old's dream and celebrating as though it would last forever.

But before the fast life claimed him, Robertson decided to switch to Manly in 2006 and now finds himself as a premiership winner and the first to score three tries in a decider since Broncos centre Steve Renouf in his side's Super League grand final victory over Cronulla in 1997.

Robertson showed a turn of foot and his noted finishing ability to sneak in for his first try just six minutes before half-time, despite suspicions he had put a foot on the sideline.

"I thought it was a try," he grinned. "It was close. I had a couple that were really close. But I think I got there."

His two tries just after the break buried any thoughts of a Storm comeback - a far cry from earlier in his career when the Raiders no longer wanted him.

Whenever Robertson catches a case of complacency, he need only look towards his twin brother Adam, or friend Todd Carney.

"I've got a lot of family and friends still down in Canberra," he said. "To get out of the same rut of going out every weekend was pretty tough. But coming up here was a big opportunity to play for a side like Manly, I didn't want to let that slip by.

"It was a decision I made when I came here. I knew it was either going to be make or break coming up here for me. Everything has worked out all right so far."