Stacey Jones, Benji Marshall, The Sharks, Nathan and Ivan Cleary
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Storm v Panthers
Kick-off: 9:30pm, Sunday 6 October NZT
Accor Stadium, Sydney
Live updates on RNZ Sport
The 2024 NRL season will draw to a close when the Melbourne Storm take on the Penrith Panthers in the grand final at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
And while there’s no doubt this weekend’s game will produce its own iconic moments, there’s been no shortage of memorable buzzer-beaters, try-saving tackles and moments of heartbreak during grand finals over the years.
Here’s a look back at some classic grand final moments from the NRL era – and one that slightly predates it.
Knights v Sea Eagles 1997
Newcastle taste premiership glory after all-time buzzer-beater
With only six seconds left on the clock, Andrew ‘Joey’ Johns set up winger Darren Albert for one of the most famous grand final tries of all time as Newcastle snatched their first ever premiership 22-16, breaking the hearts of Manly fans. Just 10 years after the Newcastle Knights’ inception, the club had brought home their first ever title – albeit during the ARL/Super League wars of the late 1990s.
The Johns brothers famously crossed over on live news at roughly 7am the next day from the Newcastle Working Men’s Club stating winning the premiership was “better than Lego”.
Roosters v Warriors 2002
The one that got away
An absolute Stacey Jones special wasn’t enough to get the Warriors home in their first ever grand final appearance, going down 30-8 despite a valiant effort against Brad Fittler’s Sydney Roosters.
The 2002 NRL grand final is often a sore spot for Warriors faithful, with some opting to never watch the game again – but those were true glory days for the club as they dominated the competition, winning the minor premiership and truly putting NZ and Pasifika rugby league on the map.
Tigers v Cowboys 2005
Benji Marshall sets the world alight, slicing the Cowboys apart
A young Benji Marshall made himself a household name overnight, exploding onto the scene with one of the all-time grand final performances. No one will ever forget when the Wests Tigers brought home their maiden premiership after Benji’s razzle dazzle no-look flick pass to winger Pat Richards setting up arguably the greatest grand final tries of all time.
The moment went down in history, inspiring a generation of young players such as Shaun Johnson and Nathan Cleary to chuck a few sidesteps of their own in years to come. The Cowboys missed out in their first grand final – but fortune would swing their way a decade later.
Sea Eagles v Warriors 2011
Johnson comes up short as Warriors fall to Foran and DCE’s Manly
Recently retired Shaun Johnson’s very first season in first grade NRL saw the Warriors make an all-time run straight into the club’s second ever grand final against one of the most overlooked clubs of the late 2000’s era – the Manly-Warringah Sea eagles.
With the likes of Manu Vatuvei, James Maloney and Ben Matulino taking on a young Daly Cherry Evans and Kieran Foran alongside the infamous Stewart brothers, Manly came up on trumps 24-10 over a heartbroken Warriors side, in what would be the last time either side would play in a grand final to date.
Rabbitohs v Bulldogs 2014
Inglis and Burgess break the South Sydney title drought
The stars finally aligned for the South Sydney faithful as they claimed their first premiership since 1971 in one of the all-time modern day grand finals. Rabbitohs captain Sam Burgess heroically fractured his jaw and eye socket in his first hit up of the game, after clashing heads with Bulldogs captain and fellow Englishman James Graham. He went on to win the Clive Churchill medal for player of the game.
Souths blew the Bulldogs out of the water 30 – 6 with an Greg Inglis try in the 80th minute to finish it all off as the boys from Redfern finally broke the 43-year curse.
Broncos v Cowboys 2015
The Cowboys finally bring it home as Thurston breaks Broncos’ hearts
In what will go down as one of the most epic battles in NRL history, the Cowboys Premiership fairytale couldn’t have been written any better. Squaring up against their arch-rivals in the Brisbane Broncos, this was the first time we’d ever seen an all-Queensland grand final.
In an absolutely nail biting contest – the Broncos looked to have it in the bag up 16-12 in dying minutes of the game – the Cowboys pulled a rabbit out of the hat; producing an 80th minute team special that saw the ball change through almost half the players’ hands before winger Kyle Feldt scored in the corner.
Thurston famously missed a conversion that could have secured the win, striking the goal posts and sending the game to overtime. It was during overtime Thurston then famously slotted a field goal, winning North Queensland their first ever grand final.
Sharks v Storm 2016
Sharks finally win their long-awaited first premiership
Cronulla-Sutherland famously squared up against the powerhouse Melbourne Storm in a grand final that could’ve been a Hollywood movie. The Sharks were faced with a David v Goliath battle, with everyone’s money sitting on a Melbourne side who had been there and done it all before.
It was a relatively low-scoring affair, with both teams trading the lead back and forth; the Sharks took the lead early by way of Ben Barber, before the Storm took it back late in the second half. It was a try by club hero David Fifita and converted by James Maloney that put the Sharks up 14-12 over the Storm, and despite wave after wave of Melbourne attack, the Sharks walked away grand final winners for the first time in the club’s 49-year history.
Panthers v Rabbitohs 2021
The Cleary dynasty begins
The first ever NRL grand final to be played outside of Sydney due to Covid-19, Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium hosted Latrell Mitchell’s South Sydney Rabbitohs and Nathan Cleary’s Penrith Panthers – a side that tasted grand final defeat the year before against the Melbourne Storm.
After a tight back-and-forth contest, Adam Reynolds famously missed a kick in one of his last acts as a South Sydney Rabbitoh that could have sent the game to overtime.
Cleary steered the Panthers to a narrow victory, 14-12 – the club’s first premiership since 2003. His status as best player in the comp was further cemented, winning the Clive Churchill medal for player of the game.
Panthers v Broncos 2023
Penrith bounce back from the jaws of defeat to claim three-peat
Now two-time back-to-back defending champions, Penrith’s road to the ultimate sporting glory of a ‘three-peat’ was blocked by one of the most outstanding offensive rugby league sides of all time: Reece Walsh’s 2023 Brisbane Broncos.
The Broncos absolutely took it to the Panthers, disrupting their attempts to controlling the pace of the game. This was particularly evident at the start of the second half, when Ezra Mam managed to score a hat trick of tries in just 10 minutes, in one of the wildest passages of NRL grand finals footy we’d ever seen.
But just when the Panthers looked down and out, Brisbane hearts were broken as Penrith came back from a 16-point deficit to score three tries in the final 20 minutes of the game, taking the score to 26-24 and securing their third consecutive title.
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