2019 NRL Grand Final

The 2019 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2019 National Rugby League season and was played at Sydney's ANZ Stadium.[1][2] The match was contested between defending premiers the Sydney Roosters and the Canberra Raiders. The match was won by the Roosters 14–8 in a tight contest to claim their 15th premiership title, making them the first club to win back to back Premierships in a unified competition, the first club in 26 years since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 and 1993 and the first Roosters side to win consecutive titles since 1974 and 1975. The Clive Churchill Medal was awarded to Raiders five-eighth Jack Wighton as the game's man of the match, while retiring Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk became the first player since nine of the Parramatta Eels from 1981-83 to be involved in three straight premiership victories.[N 1]

2019 (2019) NRL Grand Final  ()
12 Total
SYD 86 14
CAN 62 8
Date6 October 2019
StadiumANZ Stadium
LocationSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Clive Churchill Medal Jack Wighton
Australian National anthemNatalie Bassingthwaighte
RefereesBen Cummins
Gerard Sutton
Nick Beashel (Touch Judge)
Chris Butler (Touch Judge)
Attendance82,922
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters
Commentators

The match was preceded by the 2019 NRL State Championship and the 2019 NRL Women's Premiership Grand Final. Pre-match entertainment was headlined by American pop rock band OneRepublic; Natalie Bassingthwaighte performed the Australian National Anthem. The match was broadcast live throughout Australia by the Nine Network.

Background

It was the first time the Sydney Roosters and the Canberra Raiders contested an NRL Grand Final. Having defeated Melbourne in the 2018 Grand Final, the Roosters aimed to become the first team since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992-93 to win consecutive premierships in a unified competition. The Raiders broke the longest grand final drought in the league by appearing in their first grand final since their 36–12 win over Canterbury-Bankstown in 1994. Trent Robinson coached his third grand final in his seventh year coaching the Roosters. Ricky Stuart coached his first grand final in his sixth year coaching the Raiders, it was Stuart's fourth grand final as a coach, after coaching the Roosters in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 grand finals.

Sydney and Canberra finished second and fourth on the premiership ladder respectively. Both sides lost their final home and away games in round 25. The sides faced each other twice during the season, with the Roosters winning both games, a 30–24 win at Suncorp Stadium in round 9, and a 22–18 win at GIO Stadium in round 21. Both teams defeated the first-placed Melbourne and third-placed South Sydney to progress to the grand final. Canberra, playing at Melbourne's AAMI Park, defeated the Storm 12–10 in the first qualifying final. Sydney, playing at the Sydney Cricket Ground, defeated the Rabbitohs 30–6 in the second qualifying final, (after losing to them twice during the home and away rounds). Earning a direct passage to the preliminary finals in week 3 of the finals series, Canberra, earning a home preliminary final at Canberra's GIO Stadium, defeated South Sydney 16–10 in front of a sold out crowd of 26,567 to become the first team to qualify for the grand final. Sydney then defeated Melbourne 14–6 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in a rematch of the 2018 Grand Final.

Teams

Sydney
Canberra
Sydney
Roosters
Position Canberra
Raiders
James Tedesco Fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
Daniel Tupou Wing Nick Cotric
Latrell Mitchell Centre Jarrod Croker (c)
Joseph Manu Centre Joseph Leilua
Brett Morris Wing Jordan Rapana
Luke Keary Five-eighth Jack Wighton
Cooper Cronk Halfback Aidan Sezer
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves Prop Josh Papalii
Sam Verrills Hooker Josh Hodgson (c)
Isaac Liu Prop Sia Soliola
Boyd Cordner (c) 2nd Row John Bateman
Mitchell Aubusson 2nd Row Elliott Whitehead
Victor Radley Lock Joseph Tapine
Angus Crichton Interchange Bailey Simonsson
Nat Butcher Interchange Emre Guler
Sio Siua Taukeiaho Interchange Corey Horsburgh
Jake Friend Interchange Dunamis Lui
Trent Robinson Coach Ricky Stuart

Sydney Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk became the first player since Ron Coote in 1975 to play in nine first grade grand finals. Only Norm Provan and Brian Clay have played in more grand finals, with ten apiece. The grand final was also Cronk's final game before his retirement after playing 372 first grade games, 323 of which were for the Melbourne Storm, making him the second most-capped NRL player in the competition's history. Brett Morris, Sam Verrills, Angus Crichton, Nat Butcher were the only new additions to the Roosters' grand final winning squad from the previous year. For the Canberra Raiders, all but one of their players played in their first NRL grand final, with centre Joseph Leilua having last played for the Roosters in the 2010 Premiership decider. Second-row forward John Bateman has the most first grade grand final experience amongst the Canberra squad, having played in four Super League grand finals for the Wigan Warriors, winning two titles in 2016 and 2018.

Officials

The officiating team, comprising two referees, two touch judges, two review officials and a stand-by in each position is given below. All four on field officials, Ben Cummins, Gerard Sutton, Nick Beashel and Chris Butler, have officiated in previous NRL grand finals.

Position Stand-By
Referees: Ben Cummins (5) Gerard Sutton (5) Grant Atkins
Touch Judges: Nick Beashel (3) Chris Butler (2) David Munro
Bunker: Jared Maxwell Ben Galea

Numbers in brackets represent the number of grand finals officiated, including 2019.

Match summary

Sunday, 6 October
7:40pm (AEDT)
Sydney Roosters 14 8 Canberra Raiders
Tries:
Sam Verrills (7') 1
James Tedesco (73') 1
Goals:
Latrell Mitchell 3/5
(8', 21' pen, 74')
Sin Bin:
Cooper Cronk (50')
1st: 8 6
2nd: 6 2
Tries:
1 (31') Jack Wighton
Goals:
2/2 Jarrod Croker
(32', 50' pen)
ANZ Stadium
Attendance: 82,922
Clive Churchill Medal: Jack Wighton
Referee: Ben Cummins, Gerard Sutton

Opening games

NRL State Championship

Sunday, 6 October
1:35pm (AEDT)
Newtown Jets 20 16 Burleigh Bears
Tries:
Sione Katoa (54', 76') 2
Jackson Ferris (63', 80') 2
Goals:
Braydon Trindall 1/4
(19' pen)
Greg Eastwood 1/1
(80')
Sin Bin:
Ronaldo Mulitalo (38')
1st: 2 10
2nd: 18 6
Tries:
2 (22', 30') Anthony Don
1 (47') Jamal Fogarty
Goals:
2/3 Jamal Fogarty
(32', 48')
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Todd Smith, Tyson Brough

NRL Women's Premiership Grand Final

Sunday, 6 October
4:05pm (AEDT)
Brisbane Broncos Women's 30 6 St George Illawarra Dragons Women's
Tries:
Lavinia Gould (4') 1
Raecene McGregor (16') 1
Julia Robinson (39') 1
Chelsea Lenarduzzi (42') 1
Amber Pilley (49') 1
Goals:
Meg Ward 5/6
(18', 33' pen, 41', 43', 50')
1st: 10 0
2nd: 20 6
Tries:
1 (51') Kezie Apps
Goals:
1/1 Maddie Studdon
(52')
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Kasey Badger, Daniel Schwass

Notes

  1. Peter Sterling, Brett Kenny, Ray Price, Steve Edge, Mick Cronin, Steve Ella, Eric Grothe, Paul Taylor and Steve Sharp were present in all three of Parramatta's premiership wins.

References

  1. "Roosters sneak past Raiders to win successive premierships in controversial fashion". www.abc.net.au. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  2. "'Six again': Two words this NRL grand final will forever be remembered for". www.abc.net.au. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
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