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==Audience==
==Audience==
The [[1999 NRL Grand Final]] saw a new rugby league world record crowd of 107,999 was at [[Stadium Australia]] for the game. The attendance, which saw 67,142 more people attend than had done so for the [[1998 NRL Grand Final]] at the [[Sydney Football Stadium]], broke the record attendance for a grand final, eclipsing the previous record of 78,065 set in [[1965 NSWRFL season#Finals|1965]] when [[St. George Dragons|St. George]] defeated [[South Sydney Rabbitohs|South Sydney]] 12–8 at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]].
The [[1999 NRL Grand Final]] saw a new rugby league world record crowd of 107,999 was at [[Stadium Australia]] for the game.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How To Watch The 2021 NRL Grand Final Live Stream, Reddit, Crackstreams And Match Preview - Sports Report|url=https://sreurl.com/rugby/how-to-watch-the-2021-nrl-grand-final-live-stream-reddit-crackstreams-and-match-preview/|access-date=2021-10-02|language=en-US}}</ref> The attendance, which saw 67,142 more people attend than had done so for the [[1998 NRL Grand Final]] at the [[Sydney Football Stadium]], broke the record attendance for a grand final, eclipsing the previous record of 78,065 set in [[1965 NSWRFL season#Finals|1965]] when [[St. George Dragons|St. George]] defeated [[South Sydney Rabbitohs|South Sydney]] 12–8 at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]].


The [[2014 NRL Grand Final]] had a crowd of 83,833 was the largest attendance at a sporting event at [[Stadium Australia]] since its 2001 reconfiguration.<ref>http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/nrl-gf-the-mostwatched-match-ever-20141006-3hdq1.html</ref><ref>http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/rabbitohs-2014-nrl-grand-final-win-the-mostwatched-game-in-rugby-league-history/story-fni3fbgz-1227081472109?nk=ab7edc6e4e330a8ca6d1338dbdf76df3</ref>
The [[2014 NRL Grand Final]] had a crowd of 83,833 was the largest attendance at a sporting event at [[Stadium Australia]] since its 2001 reconfiguration.<ref>http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/nrl-gf-the-mostwatched-match-ever-20141006-3hdq1.html</ref><ref>http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/rabbitohs-2014-nrl-grand-final-win-the-mostwatched-game-in-rugby-league-history/story-fni3fbgz-1227081472109?nk=ab7edc6e4e330a8ca6d1338dbdf76df3</ref>

Revision as of 21:20, 2 October 2021

NRL Grand Final
LocationSydney, New South Wales
Teams2
First meeting1908 (1998 NRL)
Latest meeting2020
Next meeting2021
BroadcastersNine Network
StadiumsSuncorp Stadium
Statistics
Meetings total111

The NRL Grand Final, which determines the Australian rugby league football season's premiers, is one of Australia's major sporting events and one of the largest attended club championship events in the world.[citation needed] Since 1999 it has been contested at Sydney's Stadium Australia, which was the primary athletics venue for the 2000 Olympic Games.[1] The first year it was held at Stadium Australia, the National Rugby League grand final broke the record for attendance at an Australian rugby league game, with 107,999 people attending.[2]

The grand final had traditionally been played on Sunday afternoons, however from 2001-2007 the game was moved to an evening start to make the most of prime time television. Between 2008-2012, a compromise was reached between official broadcaster Nine Network's preferred starting time of 7 pm and the traditional starting time of 3 pm, with the grand final beginning at 5 pm AEDT.[3] However, in 2013 the evening start resumed and has occurred every year since. Between 1908-2000, the grand final had no set date on which it was to occur, unlike the VFL/AFL Grand Final which traditionally occurs on the last Saturday of September. However since 2001 (with the exception of 2020), the grand final has always been played on the Sunday falling between 30 September and 6 October.

Each year the NRL Grand Final Breakfast, a function that is attended by both teams, hundreds of guests and screened live on Australian television is held during the week before the game. However, in 2015 the breakfast was cancelled

The game itself is usually preceded by an opening ceremony featuring entertainment and the singing of the national anthem by well-known Australasian and international musical acts. After the pre-game entertainment it is traditional for the Provan-Summons Trophy, the NRL's official premiership trophy, to be delivered to the field by an Australian Army helicopter shortly before kick off.

At the conclusion of the grand final there is a presentation ceremony where the winning team are awarded premiership rings.[4] The player adjudged to be the man-of-the-match by the Australian national team selectors is awarded the prestigious Clive Churchill Medal and the Prime Minister of Australia is typically on-hand to hand the Provan-Summons Trophy to the winning captain.

In 2019 the Government of New South Wales secured the grand final for Stadium Australia until at least 2046.[5]

It and the AFL Grand Final have been referred to as "The Australian Super Bowl".[6][7]

History

First grade rugby league in NSW began in 1908, the first premiership deciding game was played at the Royal Agricultural Society Showground, with Souths defeating Easts 14–12. From 1912 to 1925, no finals system was in place, however in 1916, 1922, 1923 and 1924, a match was played as a tiebreaker to decide the season's premiership winner. From 1926 to 1953, finals were played under the Argus system, which produced a deciding game in two slightly differing ways.

All of these deciding games are now deemed to be grand finals, whether they were referred to as such at the time or not. From 1954 to the present, using a variety of systems, the deciding match has been explicitly termed a grand final, and no distinction is made between grand finals played under the auspices of the various governing bodies.

Stadiums

The NRL grand final is held in Sydney since it has the most clubs in the NRL and the current venue for the grand final, Stadium Australia is the second highest capacity stadium in Australia, after the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

It was announced in June 2019 that the 2020 and 2021 Grand Finals will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, while Stadium Australia undergoes redevelopment.[8] However, after the Government of New South Wales scrapped plans to redevelop Stadium Australia in July 2020, the Grand Finals would return to being planned at Sydney Olympic Park until at least 2046.

In 2021, the NRL Grand Final will be played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, as it is not possible for the match to be played at Stadium Australia due to the COVID-19 lockdown in New South Wales, which is ongoing as of 26 June 2021.[9]

City Stadium Years
Australia Brisbane Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre 1997 (SL)
Australia Brisbane Lang Park 2021
Australia Sydney Sydney Cricket Ground 1908–1987
Australia Sydney Sydney Football Stadium 1988–1998
Australia Sydney Stadium Australia 1999–2020

Qualification for World Club Challenge

The winners of the grand final qualify to play the winners of the Super League Grand Final in the World Club Challenge.

Trophy and awards

Provan-Summons Trophy

The Provan-Summons Trophy is the NRL's main prize, awarded to the team that wins the premiership. Its sculptured design is similar to the Winfield Cup trophy, which was introduced for the 1982 NSWRFL season. It is a three-dimensional cast of a famous photo called The Gladiators,[10] which depicts a mud-soaked Norm Provan of St. George and Arthur Summons of Western Suburbs embracing after the 1963 NSWRFL season's grand final. It was not officially named the Provan-Summons Trophy until 2013, the 50th anniversary of the 1963 grand final.[11] The trophy is awarded following each grand final to the captain of the winning club.

Clive Churchill Medal

The Clive Churchill Medal is the award given to the player judged to be man-of-the-match in the National Rugby League's annual grand final. The award was created to honour Clive Churchill, one of the greatest rugby league players in Australian history, following his death in 1985. A prestigious honour in the NRL, The medal's recipient is chosen by the selectors of the Australian national team and announced and awarded to the player judged best and fairest on the ground at every post-grand final ceremony.

The Clive Churchill Medal has been awarded ever since the 1986 NSWRL season when its first recipient was Parramatta's Peter Sterling. The only two players to have won the award more than once are Canberra's Bradley Clyde (1989 and 1991) and Melbourne Storm's Billy Slater (2009 and 2017). In 2010, the Melbourne Storm were stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships due to salary cap breaches exposed by the NRL, however the Clive Churchill Medallists from those years still continue to be recognised.

Premiership rings

The NRL present premiership rings for the players and coach of grand final winning sides. After the 2004 NRL Grand Final which was won by the Bulldogs, one of their players, Johnathan Thurston gave his premiership ring to teammate Steve Price who missed the decider due to injury. The Melbourne Storm were stripped of their premierships in 2007 and 2009, but the players involved in those premierships were still allowed to keep their premiership rings. In 2014 NRL premiership ring was worth $8000 made by Zed N Zed Jewellery. Since 2015 Affinity Diamonds have produced the NRL premiership rings[12][13][14]

Prize money

Prize money is awarded to the victorious club.

However the amount is probably not reflective of the magnitude of participating in the event. It is often assumed simply that the winner of the premiership typically experiences an increase in revenue through increases in membership and merchandise sales.

Results

Season Date Winners Score Runners up Venue Attendance Clive Churchill Medal
1998 27 Sep Brisbane Broncos 38–12 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Sydney Football Stadium 40,857 Gorden Tallis
1999 26 Sep Melbourne Storm 20–18 St. George-Illawarra Dragons Stadium Australia 107,999 Brett Kimmorley
2000 27 Aug Brisbane Broncos 14–6 Sydney Roosters Stadium Australia 94,277 Darren Lockyer
2001 30 Sep Newcastle Knights 30–24 Parramatta Eels Stadium Australia 90,414 Andrew Johns
2002 6 Oct Sydney Roosters 30–8 New Zealand Warriors Stadium Australia 80,130 Craig Fitzgibbon
2003 5 Oct Penrith Panthers 18–6 Sydney Roosters Telstra Stadium 81,166 Luke Priddis
2004 3 Oct Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 16–13 Sydney Roosters Telstra Stadium 82,127 Willie Mason
2005 2 Oct Wests Tigers 30–16 North Queensland Cowboys Telstra Stadium 82,453 Scott Prince
2006 1 Oct Brisbane Broncos 15–8 Melbourne Storm Telstra Stadium 79,609 Shaun Berrigan
2007* 30 Sep Melbourne Storm 34–8 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Telstra Stadium 81,392 Greg Inglis
2008 5 Oct Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 40–0 Melbourne Storm ANZ Stadium 80,388 Brent Kite
2009* 4 Oct Melbourne Storm 23–16 Parramatta Eels ANZ Stadium 82,538 Billy Slater
2010 3 Oct St. George-Illawarra Dragons 32–8 Sydney Roosters ANZ Stadium 82,334 Darius Boyd
2011 2 Oct Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24–10 New Zealand Warriors ANZ Stadium 81,988 Glenn Stewart
2012 30 Sep Melbourne Storm 14–4 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs ANZ Stadium 82,976 Cooper Cronk
2013 6 Oct Sydney Roosters 26–18 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles ANZ Stadium 81,491 Daly Cherry-Evans
2014 5 Oct South Sydney Rabbitohs 30–6 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs ANZ Stadium 83,833 Sam Burgess
2015 4 Oct North Queensland Cowboys 17–16 Brisbane Broncos ANZ Stadium 82,758 Johnathan Thurston
2016 2 Oct Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 14–12 Melbourne Storm ANZ Stadium 83,625 Luke Lewis
2017 1 Oct Melbourne Storm 34–6 North Queensland Cowboys ANZ Stadium 79,722 Billy Slater
2018 30 Sep Sydney Roosters 21–6 Melbourne Storm ANZ Stadium 82,688 Luke Keary
2019 6 Oct Sydney Roosters 14–8 Canberra Raiders ANZ Stadium 82,922 Jack Wighton
2020 25 Oct Melbourne Storm 26–20 Penrith Panthers ANZ Stadium 37,3031 Ryan Papenhuyzen
2021 3 Oct Suncorp Stadium

1Reduced crowd due to stadium capacity restrictions

Winners

Club Wins Winning years Runners Up Runners Up Years Total Grand Finals
1 Sydney Roosters 4 2002, 2013, 2018, 2019 4 2000, 2003, 2004, 2010 8
1 Melbourne Storm 4 1999, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017, 2020 4 2006, 2008, 2016, 2018 10
2 Brisbane Broncos 3 1998, 2000, 2006 1 2015 4
3 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2 2008, 2011 2 2007, 2013 4
4 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 1 2004 3 1998, 2012, 2014 4
4 North Queensland Cowboys 1 2015 2 2005, 2017 3
4 Penrith Panthers 1 2003 1 2020 2
4 St George Illawarra Dragons 1 2010 1 1999 2
4 Newcastle Knights 1 2001 0 1
4 Wests Tigers 1 2005 0 1
4 South Sydney Rabbitohs 1 2014 0 1
4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 1 2016 0 1
5 Parramatta Eels 0 2 2001, 2009 2
5 New Zealand Warriors 0 2 2002, 2011 2
5 Canberra Raiders 0 1 2019 1
  • Melbourne Storm Wins in 2007 and 2009 were subsequently annulled

The Gold Coast Titans are the only team currently competing in the competition who have not featured in a grand final since the start of the NRL (1998).

Kickoff times

Time Years
3pm 1908–2000
5pm 2008–2012
6:30pm 2021**
7pm 1997*, 2002–2007, 2013–2019
7:30pm 2020
8pm 2001

*The 1997 Super League grand final was a night time match.

**The 2021 NRL Grand Final will be played at Suncorp Stadium with a kick-off time of 6:30pm local time (7:30pm in New South Wales/Victoria) due to daylight saving

Television broadcast

Australian metropolitan television viewers
Year Viewers Rank Network Ref.
1998 Nine Network [15]
1999
2000
2001 2.097 million 17
2002 2.177 million 10
2003 2.352 million 8
2004 2.107 million 13
2005 2.563 million 5
2006 2.553 million 7
2007 2.422 million 3
2008 2.051 million 10
2009 2.528 million 6
2010 2.168 million 14 [16]
2011 2.172 million 13 [17]
2012 2.568 million 11 [18]
2013 2.240 million 14 [19]
2014 2.621 million 4 [20]
2015 2.458 million 3 [21]
2016 2.670 million 4 [22]
2017 2.310 million 8 [23]
2018 2.141 million 4 [24]
2019 1.868 million 8 [25]
2020 2.106 million 4 [26]
2021 TBA

Notable grand finals

1909 – South Sydney win the premiership by forfeit over Balmain. There was an agreement that both sides would play the match, however Balmain never showed up, South Sydney kicked off to a side that did not turn up, scored a try and were declared premiers.[27]

1924 – Balmain defeat South Sydney 3–0 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the lowest scoring grand final.[28]

1943 – Newtown defeat North Sydney 34–7 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in front of a then record crowd of 60,922. This grand final would be North Sydney's final appearance in a decider before exiting the competition in 1999 and also Newtown's last premiership before their exclusion at the end of 1983.[29]

1952 – Western Suburbs defeated South Sydney 22–10. The match was remembered due to its controversy with claims the referee George Bishop had put a big wager on Western Suburbs winning the game. Souths claimed that they were denied two fair tries and Wests had scored one try off a blatant knock on. Western Suburbs player Hec Farrell was sent off in the second half of the match. This would prove to be the last premiership Western Suburbs would win as a stand-alone entity before exiting the competition in 1999. South Sydney captain-coach Jack Rayner reportedly never spoke to George Bishop following the grand final even though both men lived in the same suburb of Sydney for years after the match.[30][31]

1956 – St. George beat Balmain to claim the first of a world record 11 straight premierships.[32]

1963 – St. George beat Western Suburbs 8–3 in a match famous for the iconic 'Gladiators' photo of Norm Provan and Arthur Summons covered in mud. It is also notable for a controversial try scored by Dragons winger Johnny King. Wests players tackled him and believed him to be held, however the referee rules play on.[33]

1965 – A then record crowd of 78,056 packed into the Sydney Cricket Ground to see St. George captain Norm Provan play his last NSWRFL game. It was also St. George's 10th straight premiership.[citation needed]

1966 – St. George win their 11th straight premiership, at the time a world record in any football code.[34]

1969 – Balmain win a controversial grand final 11–2 over South Sydney. The game causes controversy due to Balmain's lay down tactics.[35]

1975 – Eastern Suburbs beat St. George by a then record 38–0 score line. St. George fullback Graeme Langlands plays the game in white boots and has a painkiller injection go wrong.[36]

1977 – St. George and Parramatta play out the first drawn grand final, 9-all after extra time. They come back the next week for a grand final replay and St. George win 22–0.[37]

1978 – Manly and Cronulla play out the second drawn grand final, 11-all. There is no extra time and the replay is played on the following Tuesday, won by Manly 16–0.[38]

1987 – Manly defeat Canberra 18–8 in the last grand final played at the Sydney Cricket Ground.[39]

1989 – Known by many as the best grand final ever, Canberra come from 14–2 down to beat Balmain 19–14 in extra time.[citation needed] Canberra became the first team outside of NSW to win the competition.[citation needed]

1992 – The Brisbane Broncos defeat St. George 28–8 to become the first Queensland team to win the grand final.[citation needed]

1997 – Brisbane defeat Cronulla for their third premiership in the Super League grand final. This was the first night grand final, the first (and currently only) top level rugby league grand final to be played outside of Sydney before a record crowd for any sporting event in Queensland of 58,912.[40]

1997 – Newcastle winger Darren Albert scores a try with six seconds left to deliver Newcastle their first ever premiership, 22–16 over Manly.[41]

1999 – A world record crowd of 107,999 watch the two newest clubs Melbourne Storm and St George Illawarra Dragons battle it out. St. George Illawarra lead 18–14 before a late penalty try to Melbourne winger Craig Smith gives the Storm a 20–18 win to become the first Victorian team to win a NRL premiership and the quickest NRL club to win their first ever premiership in only their second season.[42]

2001 – Newcastle win the first night grand final in Sydney, 30–24 over Parramatta.[43]

2002 – Pre-game entertainment Billy Idol arrived on ground on board a hovercraft, but due to technical issues – "waiting for some power" – he did not perform.

2005 – Wests Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall throws a magic flick pass to winger Pat Richards as the Tigers become the first joint venture to win the premiership, 30–16 over the North Queensland Cowboys.[citation needed]

2008 – Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles secure a record 40–0 win over Melbourne Storm.[citation needed]

2011 – Lights at the stadium accidentally go out causing the post game ceremony to go delayed.

2014 – South Sydney Rabbitohs win their first premiership in 43 years, beating Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 30–6.[44]

2015 – The North Queensland Cowboys' first premiership after 21 seasons in the NRL and widely regarded as one of the all-time best (along with the Raiders' '89 win). The first all-Queensland NRL grand final sparked talk of future deciders being held in Queensland.[citation needed] It was also notable as Brisbane Broncos ended their biggest drought from a grand final since entering the competition (in 1988) and it was Bennett's first season back in Brisbane after leaving in 2008.[citation needed] North Queensland Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt scored a try from a Michael Morgan try-assist after the full-time siren to level the game at 16-all. After Jonathan Thurston missed the sideline conversion, hitting the right post, the match went to golden point extra time, the first grand final to do so. The Kyle Feldt kick-off to begin golden point was dropped by the Broncos' Ben Hunt. From the ensuing set of six, Thurston kicked the winning field goal, and was subsequently awarded the Clive Churchill Medal. It also ended Brisbane's undefeated streak in grand finals, having won all six previous deciders.

2016 – Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks win their first premiership in their 50th season by defeating Melbourne Storm 14–12. This was also only their 4th grand final appearance since entering the competition in 1967. Their other grand final appearances came in 1973, 1978 and 1997. The Sharks won only one of their final five regular-season games. But it was enough to break through for their inaugural premiership.

2019 – Sydney Roosters become the first team to win back-to-back premierships in 26 years by defeating the Canberra Raiders 14–8. The last team to achieve successive premierships in a unified competition was the Brisbane Broncos in 1992–93. The Roosters' win did not come without any controversy during the game. In the third minute, a Luke Keary kick was charged down, only for the ball to ricochet off the head of the Roosters' trainer who was on the field at the time; a scrum feed was then awarded to the Roosters, and 3 minutes later Roosters' Sam Verrills scored a try adjacent to the goalposts. The Raiders then started to dominate the match, with their five-eighth Jack Wighton scoring a try in the 31st minute. Roosters' Cooper Cronk was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes for a professional foul (tackling a player not in possession of the football). With a man down, the Roosters' defence was stoic; despite numerous attacks the Raiders were unable to score. The 72nd minute saw what was arguably one of the most controversial moments in a rugby league match (let alone for a NRL grand final). A Jack Wighton bomb kick saw the ball bounce off the shoulder off a Raiders' player (who was contesting the ball against the Roosters' fullback James Tedesco) and the ball bounced back to the Raiders. Initially, the primary referee Ben Cummins believed that the ball was touched by Tedesco and subsequently Cummins called that the Raiders had another set of six tackles while the ball was still in play, however, Cummins was quickly notified by other match officials that Roosters had not touched the ball and as such the Raiders were still on their last tackle. Wighton was tackled, and despite his protests to the referees, handed the ball over to the Roosters. Four tackles later, the Roosters ran 80 metres, the ball passing between Keary, Latrell Mitchell, Daniel Tupou, and finally Tedesco who scored the match winning try.

2020 – Contested on 25 October, three weeks later than originally scheduled, due to the season being suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.[45]

Audience

The 1999 NRL Grand Final saw a new rugby league world record crowd of 107,999 was at Stadium Australia for the game.[46] The attendance, which saw 67,142 more people attend than had done so for the 1998 NRL Grand Final at the Sydney Football Stadium, broke the record attendance for a grand final, eclipsing the previous record of 78,065 set in 1965 when St. George defeated South Sydney 12–8 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The 2014 NRL Grand Final had a crowd of 83,833 was the largest attendance at a sporting event at Stadium Australia since its 2001 reconfiguration.[47][48]

Entertainment

Early NRL grand finals featured a halftime show consisting of marching bands but as the popularity of the game increased, a trend where popular singers and musicians performed during its pre-game ceremonies and the halftime show emerged. Traditionally, Advance Australia Fair is sung before every match. When the New Zealand Warriors play, God Defend New Zealand is also sung.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Aussie Stadium". Australian Stadiums. Retrieved 22 January 2007. ... however grand finals were transferred to the much larger Olympic Stadium at Homebush when it opened in 1999.
  2. ^ http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/nrl-premiership/stats-things-you-didnt-know-about-nrl-grand-finals-over-104-years-of-rugby-league-history/story-fn2mcuj6-1226482629915#.UTvAqzD06gR
  3. ^ "NRL to host a twilight grand final". ABC News. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2008.
  4. ^ "Fellowship of the rings". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 March 2005.
  5. ^ "NRL Grand Final to be played at SCG in 2020, 2021 after $12 million deal". News.com.au — Australia's Leading News Site. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Meet Mason Cox, the former Dallas-area soccer standout, Big 12 basketball player who is set to star in Australia's biggest sporting event". 27 September 2018.
  7. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/macklemore-australia-gay-marriage-1.4311236
  8. ^ Chammas, Michael (12 June 2019). "SCG set to host 2020, 2021 NRL grand finals". NRL.com. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  9. ^ "NRL grand final leaving Sydney for first time, will be played at Brisbane's Lang Park". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  10. ^ "The Gladiators". St George Leagues Club. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  11. ^ "NRL Trophy named after Provan and Summons". nrl.com. National Rugby League. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  12. ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-end-jeweller-allan-zreiks-contract-to-make-premiership-rings/story-fnp0lyn3-1227437262078?sv=1311380462fc5b557b136da599d8e501
  13. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/lord-of-the-rings-first-look-at-the-most-soughtafter-prize-in-the-nrl-20150927-gjvzy9.html
  14. ^ https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-grand-final-2015-dumped-nrl-grand-final-ring-maker-blasts-code-bosses/news-story/d076d79411e0348eb02dee1e137e4047
  15. ^ "Top 20 programs shown on television, 1998–2009". Screen Australia. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  16. ^ Knox, David (4 December 2012). "2010: The Top 100". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  17. ^ Knox, David (25 October 2020). "The Block "Winner Announced" tops 2011". TV Tonight. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  18. ^ Knox, David (4 December 2012). "2012 Ratings: Seven wins Total People, Nine wins Demos". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  19. ^ "The ratings reality show: the most watched TV of 2013". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 December 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  20. ^ Knox, David (1 December 2014). "2014 Ratings: Seven wins Total People, Nine scores demos". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  21. ^ Knox, David (30 November 2015). "2015 ratings: Seven wins Total People, Nine tops Demos, TEN rises". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  22. ^ Hickman, Arvind (29 November 2016). "AdNews analysis: The top 50 TV programs of 2016". AdNews. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  23. ^ Hickman, Arvind (1 February 2018). "AdNews Analysis: The top 20 TV shows of 2017". AdNews. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  24. ^ Knox, David (7 February 2019). "2018 ratings: the final word". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  25. ^ Knox, David (2 December 2019). "Nine wins 2019 ratings year". TV Tonight. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  26. ^ Knox, David (30 November 2020). "Nine wins 2020 ratings year". TV Tonight. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  27. ^ "Tigers have century-old axe to grind". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  28. ^ "Tigers, Souths love a ruckus". Herald Sun. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  29. ^ "Newtown's Finest Hour on Its Biggest Stage". newtownjets.com.
  30. ^ "From the Vault: Magpies' last Grand Final victory". 28 March 2012.
  31. ^ "A Man of His Word". 16 July 2018.
  32. ^ "The Joy of Six: NRL grand final controversies". The Guardian.
  33. ^ "John Hayes recalls the controversy of '63". Wests Tigers. 12 April 2013.
  34. ^ "Dragons Win 1966 Premiership!". dragons.com.au.
  35. ^ "Beetson lived in disappointment of 'the one that got away'". The Daily Telegraph. Australia.
  36. ^ "Sydney Roosters to fly 1975 premiership winning team to Arthur Beetson's funeral". The Daily Telegraph. Australia.
  37. ^ "THROWBACK – 1977 Grand Final replay". Parramatta Eels. 10 August 2017.
  38. ^ "Cronulla's NRL premiership pays back the loyal fans of The Shire". The Guardian.
  39. ^ "30 years since 87' Grand Final". seaeagles.com.au.
  40. ^ "A history of heartbreak: Cronulla Sharks' tale of woe in NRL finals". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  41. ^ "What happened to the 17 champion players". theherald.com.au.
  42. ^ Read, Brent (4 October 2010). "Wayne Bennett's Dragons blow away critics to end 31-year drought". The Australian. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  43. ^ "Knights draw 2001 grand final inspiration". NRL.com.
  44. ^ "South Sydney Rabbitohs win 2014 NRL grand final, defeating Canterbury Bulldogs 30–6". The Daily Telegraph.
  45. ^ Newton, Alicia (28 April 2020). "NRL announces 20 round competition for 2020". NRL.com. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  46. ^ "How To Watch The 2021 NRL Grand Final Live Stream, Reddit, Crackstreams And Match Preview - Sports Report". Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  47. ^ http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/nrl-gf-the-mostwatched-match-ever-20141006-3hdq1.html
  48. ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/rabbitohs-2014-nrl-grand-final-win-the-mostwatched-game-in-rugby-league-history/story-fni3fbgz-1227081472109?nk=ab7edc6e4e330a8ca6d1338dbdf76df3