Top Four NRL Finals Moments

Embed from Getty Images

Top Four NRL Finals Moments 

Sydney's ANZ Stadium hosted this year's NRL Grand Final between the Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers.

Having hosted the last 11 finals, ANZ is well equipped to deal with the event. The spiritual home of NRL, with the two Sydney teams, the Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs having won the title 36 times between them, with a total of 64 finals appearances to their names.

Those two sides met for the first time in a finals match in 2014, the first of four memorable finals moments we have selected for you.

Roosters and Rabbitohs (2014) 

The two foundation clubs came head-to-head in a thrilling preliminary final back in 2014. They had never met at the finals stage and both had plenty to play for; the Souths were looking for their first Grand Final appearance since 1971, whilst the Roosters were hunting back-to-back titles. A high-scoring see-saw of a game saw Souths triumph 32-33, with 24 unanswered points helping to seal their place against the Bulldogs at the ANZ, which saw them triumph.

Sea Eagles and Storm (2008)

The top two in the regular season, Melbourne Storm and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles came together in the 2008 final, with Storm looking for a successive victory after their 34-8 win a year before. Storm are ranked as favourites for the 2020 NRL title by Bwin, but in 2008 they were humbled in the main event in a historic NRL moment. Further misery followed as they were stripped of their 2007, and 2009 titles for salary cap breaches. The misery all came on the field in 2008 though, as Manly tore them apart and kept them scoreless, winning 40-0. It was the first, and only time a team has been kept to zero throughout a grand final and something that current favourites Melbourne will be looking to avoid if they make this year's final.

Storm and Dragons (1999) 

It would be remiss to leave Storm with nothing but negativity on the list, and the 1999 final brought them great joy as well as being a match which holds the record for largest NRL attendance ever at 107,558. The decision that won the game for Storm was called, at the time, one of the ‘biggest decisions ever made in a Grand Final in 100 years of rugby league'. Jamie Ainscough's high tackle caught Craig Smith across the throat, and he dropped the ball from a certain match-winning try position. Bill Harrigan gave a penalty try which was converted, handing the victory to Storm.

Cowboys and Broncos (2015) 

82,758 fans packed into the ANZ to watch the North Queensland Cowboys in only their second-ever Grand Finals appearance, and arguably the greatest final ever. Their first trip, in 2005, ended in a 30-16 defeat at the hands of Wests Tigers, and they were second-favourites against the Broncos too. The finish to the game is legendary, a late Kyle Feldt try drew the game to 16-16, but Johnathan Thurston missed his touchline conversion, sending the game to a golden point. ‘This is a horror-movie' screamed the commentator, but Thurston quickly wrote his own fairytale, hitting a drop goal to give the Cowboys the win in dramatic circumstances.