The five best grand final moments in NRL history

The NRL grand final is an opportunity for moments of greatness, and haven’t there been some rippers over the years? Today on The Roar, we count down the best five moments in grand final history.

From miracle tries to last minute-field goals and defensive efforts which have to be seen to be believed, the grand final is where players stand up and be counted.

Keep in mind, we are keeping it from the NRL era. So, anything before that won’t be on the list.

5. 1999: That penalty try
Total disclaimer: for obvious reasons (Dragons fan here), I don’t necessarily agree with this one being good, great or part of the best list – at all.

But, writing from a completely objective point of view, it was a moment that stands out from the rest and has to be included on any list when we are talking about grand final moments which have shaped the game.

To put it simply, a dumb high tackle cost the St George Illawarra Dragons the 1999 grand final.

Whether it was accidental or not doesn’t matter. Jamie Ainscough’s high tackle stopped Craig Smith from scoring a certain match-winner three minutes from full-time. It was a penalty try.

Smith dropped the ball because of foul play, and while Dragons fans whinge about it to this day, there’s no denying what happened, and that the correct result was churned out by the video referee.

That match also holds the record for largest NRL attendance ever with 107,558, who witnessed one of the best grand final tries, with Nathan Blacklock streaking away to score.

4. 2016 : The Sharks defend nine passes, 28 seconds and 45 metres to turn the porch light off
The final play of the 2016 grand final started 15 seconds from the fulltime siren, almost on halfway. It ended 13 seconds after the siren five metres away in the corner.

In between then, the Storm had what looked like two or three genuine try-scoring opportunities and looked dangerous every step of the way. There were nine passes, an offload from the ground, and 28 seconds of madness.

In the end, the tackle was made and the vision of Michael Ennis hugging the ballboys will be forever capped with the Ray Warren words “Cronulla have done it. 14 to 12. You can turn the porch light off now.”

Even as a neutral fan, it gave you goosebumps watching 80,000 Cronulla fans erupt. They finally had their first premiership, and the moment, despite not being flashy brilliance, went down in history.

3. 2003: The try try-saver to end all try-savers
Let’s wind it all the way back to 2003. The Penrith Panthers taking on the Sydney Roosters. It was the minor premiers versus the second best side all season, and the score was locked at 6-6 with 27 minutes to go in an even tussle everyone expected.

Then, it happened. A grubber from Ryan Girdler was played at by the Roosters and Brad Fittler would dive on it, throwing a pass almost off the ground to flying winger Todd Byrne. He went away down the sideline, but Penrith’s inspirational lock Scott Sattler read the whole play from quite a distance away and ran an angle to cut Byrne down.

While Luke Lewis was shrugged off early in the run, Sattler caught Byrne and then made a fantastic tackle. Any junior watching the game should be shown it – the old saying ‘you can’t run without legs’ provided true as Sattler took Byrne straight over the sideline.

At the time, calling for radio, Ray Hadley said it could turn the game, and it did. The Panthers skipped away with an 18-6 victory to pick up their first premiership in over a decade.

2. 2005: Benji’s flick of the gods
Scott Prince might have won the Clive Churchill medal in the Wests Tigers’ first grand final win, but it wasn’t what the match was remembered for.

It was Benji Marshall, who had set the NRL on fire in 2005, and his flick pass of the gods in the first half. With scores tied at six-all, Marshall gathered a ball deep out of his own half and set sail.

To just get around the defence and be on his way was superb in itself. He had to run back on an angle and beat three converging defenders before he stretched out, getting around Mitchell Sargent while he was at it. He then took Matthew Bowen to the sideline and, looking like he was going out of play, found winger Pat Richards in support.

What followed was magic. Absolute magic. A flick pass back in behind his body to Richards. It couldn’t have been executed any better.

Richards would run away – and unleash a monster fend-off – to score one of the most famous tries in grand final history.

1. 2015 – Kyle Feldt’s miracle try and Johnathan Thurston’s field goal
Was the number one moment ever going to be anything different? 2015 was probably the best grand final of the modern era, capped off by one of the great plays and some extra-time drama to go with it.

This is really a two-part moment, but we are counting it as one, because they were both so good – and so interlinked. The Cowboys, trailing by four points against the Broncos in the final minute, looked dead and buried, and even more so when Johnathan Thurston was put on his back.

An offload though, and away went Michael Morgan. He skipped around defenders, dragged some more in and then found Kyle Feldt, who scored in the corner.

Then, there was the dramatic three-minute build-up to Thurston’s conversion which spun in and hit the upright, sending the game to extra time.

The rest, as they say is history. Ben Hunt dropped the kick-off, Thurston iced the game with a field goal and then came up from a head collision looking like he had gone ten rounds with Muhammad Ali.

But he didn’t care. The Cowboys had their first premiership in dramatic, incredible circumstances.

Roarers, what are your favourite moments in grand final history?