Nathan Cleary, Valynce Te Whare, Jahream Bula and Murray Taulagi have all had magic moments at magic round. Credit: Graphic: Bethany Rae
Four years of Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium has produced some of the best tries, tackles, hits and heroes of the NRL.
From old dogs to debutants, premiership favourites and wooden-spooners, fans are guaranteed to be entertained. After the Covid-19 pandemic halted the magic in 2020, the circus rolled back into Brisbane in 2021.
As the NRL prepares for its fifth iteration of the event, here are some of our favourite Magic Round moments.
10. 56 tickets and a try on debut for Jake Arthur (2021)
Jake Arthur celebrates with mates after scoring on debut for Parramatta in 2021.Credit: NRL Photos
With Parramatta five-eighth Dylan Brown out suspended, Jake Arthur made his NRL debut against the Warriors at Magic Round in 2021.
The fresh-faced 18-year-old, and son of Eels coach Brad Arthur, had big shoes to fill and 56 of his closest friends and family watching on at Suncorp Stadium.
The Warriors had a late surge, but Arthur raced through defenders to score in the 75th minute and seal the deal for Parramatta, while dad Brad punched the air with pride and joy up in the coaches’ box.
9. Titans beat Dragons with try in golden point (2022)
Five failed field goal attempts, one sin bin and a bungled two-point field goal. The Titans and the Dragons match in 2022 was a complete circus.
With the score locked 16-16 at full-time and rain bucketing down at Suncorp, the Titans and the Dragons headed to extra-time.
As field goal attempts flew left and right, a fumbled ball from Talatau Amone gave the Gold Coast a scrum feed 10 metres out from the Dragons’ line with less than two minutes left in the second half of golden point.
The Titans lined up for a try instead of another attempt at goal, and sent the ball out to Jamayne Isaako on the wing who beat Jack Bird, Tyrell Sloan and Mosese Suli to score.
8. Marshall and Farah orchestrate Tigers victory (2019)
Club veterans Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall put on a masterclass against the Panthers.Credit: NRL Images
Premiership-winning duo Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah put on a masterclass against the Panthers and Ivan Cleary, who had left the Tigers at the end of the previous season.
It was the old dogs against the rising stars – many of the Panthers’ now three-time premiership-winning group, such as Nathan Cleary, Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris, were in that team.
But Farah and Marshall proved they still knew a thing or two about football, as they orchestrated the Tigers’ 30-4 victory at the first Magic Round.
7. Turbo thrills as Sea Eagles soar in sin bin city (2021)
Tom Trbojevic and the Manly Sea Eagles punished the Broncos at Magic Round in 2021. Credit: Getty
It was the year of Tom Trbojevic. After 14 fairly-matched minutes, Jason Saab ran away with the ball, and Manly ran away with the game.
The Sea Eagles scored eight tries – including doubles for Saab and Trbojevic – to the Broncos’ one, with three of those tries coming while Brisbane duo Tyson Gamble and Jordan Riki were in the sin bin.
There was some 79th-minute drama as Josh Schuster and Lachlan Croker were also sent to the bin, but the damage was well and truly done as the Broncos suffered their heaviest defeat to the Sea Eagles.
6. Selwyn Cobbo’s hat-trick (2022)
This time, it was the Broncos’ turn to embarrass Manly. Selwyn Cobbo and Adam Reynolds, come on down.
A bungled kick-off was just the start of the Sea Eagles’ pain, with Cobbo soaring over for try from a precise Reynolds kick.
The pair linked up for Cobbo’s second try, before the Broncos flyer intercepted a Manly pass and ran 90 metres to score his hat-trick, and the Broncos held Manly scoreless.
5. Dolphins debutant becomes instant cult hero (2023)
Dolphins centre Valynce Te Whare becomes an instant cult hero after scoring a double on debut.Credit: Getty
Little-known centre Valynce Te Whare, who was mowing lawns just a year earlier, scored a double on debut in the Dolphins’ first-ever Magic Round match.
The towering rugby union convert from New Zealand was electric, pulling out all the stops to prove to super coach Wayne Bennett that he made the right decision handing him a jersey.
Te Whare shook off three Cronulla defenders to barge over for his first try, before his second was put on a silver platter by Anthony Milford.
4. Bula’s match-winning tackle (2023)
It was the battle of the cellar-dwellers.
The Tigers were in last place with one win for the season, while the Dragons sat just two places ahead of them with only two wins.
A Ben Hunt grubber and line break with two minutes remaining in the game put the Dragons on the attack. Mikaele Ravalawa picked the ball up on the wing, and dove for the corner. But rookie Tigers fullback Jahream Bula put his body on the line, denying the Dragons a try and sealing a much-needed victory for his team.
3. Storm sweep away Parramatta (2019)
Josh Addo-Carr scored a double in Melbourne’s thumping of the Eels in 2019.Credit: NRL Images
Josh Addo-Carr’s love affair with Magic Round started where it all began – in 2019.
A rampant Melbourne Storm managed to put 64 points on Parramatta – which included doubles for Addo-Carr and Cameron Munster.
The 64-10 loss was made worse for the Eels by a Maika Sivo sin-binning, but Melbourne were flawless, with Cameron Smith bagging 18 points of his own.
2. Nathan Cleary puts on a show against Titans (2021)
There’s no stopping Nathan Cleary once he gets going.
That’s exactly what happened in the Panthers’ 2021 Magic Round victory against the Titans.
The superstar playmaker scored two tries inside the first 16 minutes, before completing his hat-trick in the 78th minute.
1. Murray Taulagi’s magic pass (2022)
The most magical moment of them all is Murray Taulagi’s miraculous pass in the Cowboys’ victory over the Tigers in 2022.
It was like time stood still as the North Queensland flyer appeared to be wrapped up by Jackson Hastings and going over the corner post. With his body contorting in the air, Taulagi managed to free his arm and throw the ball back in the field of play and into the hands of a bewildered Scott Drinkwater.
Taulagi got the pass away just before he went into touch and Drinkwater scored the Cowboys’ opening try.
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