One point. That’s all that separated the Sydney Roosters and the Newcastle Knights on Sunday night, after 80 minutes of the best grand final in years.
The Roosters won 19-18 at Accor Stadium, and it took a field goal from Daly Cherry-Evans to do it. He’s 37 now. That made him the oldest player to ever run out in an NRL grand final, and he still had the cool head to win it.
For the Roosters it’s a 16th premiership and their first since 2019. For Newcastle, it’s heartbreak. Still, talk to anyone up there today and they’re as proud as they are gutted.
How it played out
Nobody gave the Knights much of a chance coming in. They’d finished last the year before. The Cowboys in 2017 were the last team to make it from outside the top four, and the Knights did it too. And they were without hooker Phoenix Crossland, who was suspended after the preliminary final.
None of that seemed to matter early. Thirty minutes in, Newcastle were up 10-0. The first points came off a penalty plenty of people are still arguing about.
And then Ponga happened. The Knights captain stopped a certain try at one end, then took off and ran the whole length of the field to score at the other. Francis Manuleleua got one too in the first half. It was only his 15th NRL game.
The second half was a different story. The Roosters simply took over the ball. The ABC counted 51 Roosters tackles down Newcastle’s end. The Knights managed six at the other end. Mark Nawaqanitawase scored twice and Billy Smith once, and the pressure finally told.
Greg Marzhew pinched a try in the second half to keep Newcastle right in it. But with the scores locked at 18-all, Cherry-Evans slotted the one-pointer, and that was it.
Tedesco’s night
James Tedesco took home the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match. It’s his third premiership after 2018 and 2019, but his first as captain and his first Churchill Medal.
The numbers were ridiculous. 385 run metres. No one has ever run for more in an NRL finals game. Add 14 tackle busts on top. He also took two big kicks under pressure in the final minutes, when one drop could have handed the Knights the title.
Speaking after the game, Tedesco admitted the Knights wouldn’t go away. “Honestly, it felt like we had them on the ropes, but they just kept coming back,” he said.
There was a nice touch at the presentation too. The medal was handed over by Parramatta great Peter Sterling, who won the very first Clive Churchill Medal 40 years ago.
For Newcastle, it still counts
It had been 25 years since the Knights last played on grand final day. Their only premierships came in 1997 and 2001, and a whole generation of fans in the Hunter had never seen their team this close.
A sea of red and blue made the trip to Sydney. Back home, the live site at McDonald Jones Stadium was booked out, and the Wests clubs were packed.
It came at a hard time for the community. Only a day earlier, Knights fans at a Wallsend roundabout were hit by a car. Ten people were injured, including a young child. An 18-year-old Sydney man has been charged and refused bail. Plenty of fans said before kick-off that the team would be playing for those people. The city’s mayor, Gavin Morris, simply asked the boys to “give it your best”.
They did. A year ago this club had the wooden spoon. Losing a grand final by a point is nothing to be ashamed of.
The young players are a big reason for hope. Cody Hopwood is 20 and has played 18 NRL games. He made 46 tackles in this one. Add Dylan Brown, Trey Mooney, Jacob Saifiti and Crossland returning next season, and this group looks like it’s only getting started.
The Roosters’ double
Bondi had plenty to celebrate. A few hours before the men, the Roosters’ NRLW side belted Brisbane 30-6. That completed an undefeated 13-0 season and a third NRLW title, with Tarryn Aiken named best on ground and Brydie Parker scoring a hat-trick.
Two premierships on the same day is a rare double, and a big lift for Sydney sport after a few rocky weeks off the field for the Swans.
The bottom line
Grand finals are usually remembered by the winners. This one might be remembered for both teams.
Tedesco gets his medal and the Roosters get the trophy. But Newcastle went from wooden spoon to a one-point grand final loss in a single season, while carrying a city that had a really rough weekend. Fans in the Hunter won’t be letting that go any time soon.