Sydney Roosters Hold Off Brave Newcastle Knights to Win Thrilling NRL Grand Final

After a Cinderella season that took them from wooden spooners to a grand final, Newcastle went within a whisker of one of the greatest upsets in rugby league history, falling 19-18 to a dominant Sydney Roosters in the NRL decider in Sydney. Outclassed all day but never outgunned, the Knights scored with minutes to play to set up a thrilling finish, only for the men from Bondi to deny them at the death.

Led by their inspirational captain, James Tedesco – a worthy Clive Churchill winner – the Roosters squeezed the life out of Newcastle’s rags to riches story, farewelling their rugby union-bound stars Angus Crichton and Mark Nawaqanitawase in style, the dynamic winger crossing for two spectacular tries as the Roosters’ kicking game nailed the Newcastle underdogs in their own half and didn’t let them out.

The sonic booms of 80,814 fans fuelled a frantic start, as players fought the urge to shake nerves with early statements. Roosters giant Naufahu Whyte then went head-hunting, rattling the teeth of Dom Young and Kalyn Ponga with heavy shots. But the Knights stayed composed, kicking long and chasing hard. The Roosters soon started to roll though, Sam Walker and Daly Cherry-Evans raining bombs on Ponga.

After going set-for-set for 15 minutes, Whyte looked to have forced the game’s first error, jarring the ball from Tyson Frizell’s grasp. Instead referee Adam Gee blew the game’s first penalty for a high shot. Newcastle charged downfield to 30-metres out and Ponga waved his arms for a set play on the right. But it was a ruse. Like a shark, Francis Manuleleua angled in from the left at warp speed to cross untouched.

The Roosters’ aerial assault had failed, despite Ponga struggling for a clean grab. But after 30 minutes, they finally hit their target as Nawaqanitawase soared, swivelled and touched down. Unfortunately, replays showed a finger-width of displacement. It became a 12-point try when, minutes later, Nawaqanitawase tapped back and Ponga, ghosting behind the lines, scooped it up and raced 95m to score.

At 12-0 up with 48 minutes to play, Newcastle fans were daring to dream. But the Roosters found a riposte with three minutes left in the half, Cherry-Evans dinking a kick for Robert Toia’s sticky fingers. His tap-back found the turf but Nawaqanitawase showed yet more of the invention that has made him a dual-code superstar, smartly dabbing the ball forward off his instep and pouncing to score as it crossed the paint.

As the half-time siren sang, the scoreline defied the statistics. The Roosters had dominated possession 57-43%, charged 286m further and made 30 tackle busts to the Knights’ 11. Both teams had been led from the back, Ponga running for 166m and Tedesco for 178. Despite missing 30 tackles and not one attacking kick, the underdogs were six-points clear. Maybe Lady Luck was a coal miner’s daughter.

The Roosters came out roaring in the second half, hammering at the Knights line. Desperate defence kept them at bay as Salesi Foketi was denied by centimetres and for a while but when hitman Spencer Leniu jolted Young, the Sydney side smelt blood. Leniu re-started the siege, Walker sent it short to Foketi who stood tall and offloaded to Billy Smith and the centre smashed through the tackle to dot down.

All square with 30 minutes to go, Newcastle had tackled themselves to a standstill. Their halves had entered the Roosters’ red zone once, yet been breached 38 times. Having been pounded in the tackle zone all game, they were now being mauled in every collision. The errors started to mount. When their knackered defence infringed, Walker kicked Sydney ahead by 14-12 and coach Trent Robinson went for the jugular.

Again, it was the irrepressible Nawaqanitawase who proved the difference. When a Cherry-Evans grubber hit the goalposts and found the arms of Tedesco, the fullback floated a ball to his winger to spear into the corner for a seventh finals try and an 18-12 lead.

Sensing their final fizzing out, the Knights went into Globetrotters mode, staggering downfield in spurts and sideways moves, only for Fletcher Sharpe to knock on cold.

That got the Roosters fans clucking and when 37-year-old Cherry-Evans, the oldest grand finalist in history, calmly slotted a field goal a few minutes later, the crowd of 80,814 suddenly swarmed with red, white and blue, crowing at a sniff of a 16th title. Even then the Knights wouldn’t lie down. They punched upfield, surging on fumes, and somehow found an overlap for Greg Marzhew to shrug off two men and cross.

At 19-18, the NRL had another grandstand finish in their grand final. The Roosters kicked long and the Knights had a set to scramble. But after a season that strained credulity, reality bit. Their magic ran dry and the bag of tricks came up empty. The Roosters, ruthless all season, squeezed hard and the men from Newcastle snapped. Newcastle had given fans a fairytale run but it was the Chooks taking home the title.