Watch and vote for your favourite NRL grand final moment from the past 30 years
Skill, desperation, bravery and poise – our rankings of the top NRL grand final moments have it all. But which incredible act is No.1? Watch them all and have your say.
The symmetry is simply poetic …
As the Newcastle Knights sprinkle their special brand of stardust over the finals, the finest day in their club’s history has been ranked the greatest moment of the past 30 NRL grand finals.
Darren Albert’s iconic four pointer in the closing seconds of the 1997 grand final has been ranked the top seed in a long list of gems by our three man judging panel of Phil Rothfield from The Daily Telegraph, NRL senior journalist Martin Lenehan and myself.
Our CODE Sports Top 30 NRL Grand Final Moments celebrates the 30-year anniversary of Tina Turner’s unforgettable pre-game entertainment before the 1993 grand final featuring rousing renditions of NRL anthems Simply The Best and What You Get Is What You See.
WATCH EVERY INCREDIBLE MOMENT IN THE PLAYER ABOVE AND SCROLL TO VOTE
Skill, desperation, playing through pain, poise under pressure … our list contains it all.
Just 20 seconds were left on the clock and the scores tied 16-all when winger Albert played the ball 20m out from the Sea Eagles line.
A few seconds later, Albert found himself quick-stepping into the fabled pages of the game’s most magical grand finals after halfback Andrew Johns’ surprisingly slipped in at dummy half, ducked the blind side and opened up space for Albert to run 15m and seal the Knights first grand final win.
This epic event was saluted by thousands of fans in Newcastle including many who had parties on traffic roundabouts circled by the team bus on the way home.
In a split vote, Albert edging out Johnathan Thurston’s field goal in extra time in the 2015 grand final which gave the Cowboys their first and only title.
Had not Thurston pleaded for a new stadium on the presentation dais it was extremely unlikely a complex tapestry of state and federal government support would have been woven for the construction of the palatial $250 million Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
In ranking the top moments we had a collective soft spot for pivotal plays in first title wins which had a special sort of historical gravitas.
Time has not dulled the impact of Andrew Fifita beating four men to score an epic try in Cronulla’s sole premiership win in 2016 or magic man Benji Marshall’s iconic flick pass in the Wests-Tigers only title in 2005 because they took their clubs to a place they have not been before or since.
Scott Sattler’s career-defining cover tackle for Penrith on Rooster Todd Byrne in the 2003 grand final ranked three on the list.
For good measure, we could not ignore Tina Turner’s magical performance so she get a special mention.
Have your say on our CODE Sports Top 30 NRL Grand Final Moments.
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