The 2023 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2023 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos on Sunday the 1st of October at Accor Stadium in Sydney. Penrith, who were the two-time defending premiers and the defending minor premiers, won the match 26–24 to claim their fifth premiership title, and became the first club in forty years to win three consecutive first-grade premierships following the Parramatta Eels in 1983. Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary, who scored the winning try for his team, was awarded his second Clive Churchill Medal for being judged as the man of the match. The grand final was notable for featuring the largest comeback victory in a premiership decider, with the Panthers overcoming a 24-8 deficit after 56 minutes by scoring 18 unanswered points to ultimately win the match.[1]
This was the first NRL grand final between the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos, and the first to feature both a New South Wales and Queensland based side since 2005. Their last clash in a finals series was in 2017, with the Broncos winning 13–6. The Panthers became the first side since the Melbourne Storm in 2009 to reach four consecutive grand finals, and were vying for their fifth premiership title after defeating the Canberra Raiders in 1991, Sydney Roosters in 2003, South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2021 and Parramatta Eels in 2022. It was Ivan Cleary's fifth grand final appearance as a coach, with two prior losses (NZ Warriors v Manly 2011 and Penrith Panthers v Melbourne Storm 2020) and two prior wins coaching Penrith (v Souths 2021/Parramatta 2022) leading into the 2023 decider.[2]
The Broncos were aiming for their seventh premiership victory; their most recent being against the Melbourne Storm in 2006. Their last grand final appearance was a defeat to the North Queensland Cowboys in 2015. The match was Kevin Walters' first grand final appearance as a coach, becoming only the second person, after Wayne Bennett, to coach the Broncos to a grand final.[3]
The grand final was a highly anticipated match-up between the top two teams of the regular season, with both teams finishing the regular season with eighteen wins and six losses, and Panthers claiming the minor premiership with a far superior points differential.[4] Both teams also achieved dominant wins against the third-placed Melbourne Storm and fourth-placed New Zealand Warriors in their preceding qualifying and preliminary finals matches.
The 2023 Brisbane Broncos season was the 36th in the club's history. Coached by Kevin Walters and captained by Adam Reynolds, the club were based at the Clive Berghofer Centre and played their matches at Suncorp Stadium. The season saw a club record membership tally of 40,207.[5][6]
Co-headlining with the cast of the musical were Indigenous Australian rock band King Stingray, who also provided the soundtrack for Fox League's 2023 Finals advertising campaign.[9][11]
Officiating
Adam Gee refereed his first NRL grand final, with touch judges Chris Sutton and David Munro. Ashley Klein was the bunker official.[12]
Attendance
Grand Final tickets went on sale in early August, with club allocations released following the Preliminary Finals on Monday, September 25. The game was officially sold out a day later. 81,947 people attended.[13]
Nathan Cleary(pictured representing Australia) made a try-assist, kicked a 40/20, and scored the match-winning try in the final 23 minutes of the match. He was ultimately awarded a second Clive Churchill Medal for his performance.
Both teams played aggressively in the opening exchanges, dominated by brutal hit-ups and tackles from the forwards. Penrith had the better share of the early possession and field position, courtesy of several handling errors by Brisbane players. However, due to strong Brisbane scramble defence on their own line, Penrith were unable to score any points until the 17th minute when an attempted short kick-off by Adam Reynolds was knocked back by Herbie Farnworth, and with no Broncos player in position to gather the loose ball, it bounced back towards the try line and was picked up by Mitch Kenny to score the opening try of the match unmarked. Brisbane managed to find some field position and momentum, managing to score through Thomas Flegler in the dying seconds of the first half and leaving the score 8–6 at half-time.[14]
The second half started with a 10 minute hat-trick by Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam, which left the score at 24–8 in favour of the Broncos.[15] With star players Jarome Luai (shoulder), Isaah Yeo and Scott Sorensen (both HIA) forced off the field due to injury, and staring at a 16 point deficit with only 20 minutes of the match remaining, the Panthers looked to be in an almost impossible situation.[16] However, in the 62nd minute, Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary forced a clean line-break on the Brisbane 40m line, fending off former teammate Kurt Capewell and passing back inside to Moses Leota in support who scored under the goalposts. With the try converted, the score was left at 24–14 to the Broncos.[citation needed]
On the next set, the Penrith halfback kicked a 40/20 on the 3rd tackle. Whilst unable to directly capitalise, this provided field position for the Panthers. An error by Broncos lock Patrick Carrigan on the half-way line handed Penrith another opportunity in attacking field position. In the 67th minute, Nathan Cleary found a long pass to a rushing Stephen Crichton, catching the ball on the 10m line, placing a strong right-hand fend on the chest of opposing centre Kotoni Staggs and powering his way through another two would-be defenders to roll over the try line. This was his fourth consecutive try in NRL Grand Finals, in his 100th and final game for the Panthers. With Cleary successfully converting from close to the side-line, the deficit had now been reduced to 24-20.[citation needed]
Brisbane continued to play their expansive style of football, with Reece Walsh managing a line-break with 10 minutes to go. However Dylan Edwards, the Panthers fullback made a cover tackle on Walsh, stopping an almost certain try in the last line of defence. With a handover on their own 20m line, the Panthers found their way forwards to the Brisbane 40m line, where centre Stephen Crichton placed a kick over the defence, finding Reece Walsh out of position in defence and chasing his own kick to force Walsh back into the in-goal. On the drop-out, Reynolds' kick went out on the full, and Panthers elected to take the penalty tap.[17] The attacking set following ended with a grubber collected by Selwyn Cobbo, and Brisbane then managing to return the ball up to their own 40m line.
With five minutes remaining, Stephen Crichton forced yet another line drop-out with a precise grubber into the corner, and Sunia Turuva tackling Kotoni Staggs back into the in-goal. This repeat set would prove decisive, where on the fifth play, dummy-half Mitch Kenny passed the ball on the short side to his co-captain Nathan Cleary, who identified a tiring Broncos defence, stepping around four defenders and bursting through a last-ditch tackle from Reece Walsh to score the match-winning try with only two minutes remaining.[18][19]
After the conversion, the Broncos had one final set to win, in which they had to advance 82m. On the fourth tackle, Reece Walsh seemed to find space but was tackled by Stephen Crichton. Walsh attempted to pass an offload, however the pass was taken by Scott Sorensen, sealing the result for Penrith.[citation needed]
For his match-winning performance, Nathan Cleary was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal, which he had previously won in 2021 also. His second-half efforts have also been described by commentators and fans alike to be the best solo grand final performance in history.[20] It was later revealed that Cleary suffered a knee injury in the tenth minute of play.[21]
Statistics
The 16 point comeback achieved by the Penrith Panthers is the greatest in grand final history, surpassing a previous record held by Melbourne Storm since 1999, the Melbourne's comeback from 14 points down against St George Illawarra in 1999, as the biggest-ever in a decider The Panthers overturned a 24-8 deficit into a 26–24 final score in the final 20 minutes of the match.[citation needed]
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based 55 km (34 mi) west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith are the current reigning NRL Premiers, having won the title five times, including the last three times consecutively.
Ivan Cleary is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a fullback and centre in the 1990s and 2000s.
The history of the Penrith Panthers stretches back to the 1960s when a team from Penrith entering Sydney's elite competition was first mooted. After admission to the NSWRFL premiership in 1967, the club struggled on-field until reaching the finals for the first time in the 1980s, and reaching the grand final in the 1990s. The Panthers were a part of 1997's Super League competition before continuing in the re-unified NRL competition. To date they have won five premierships: 1991, 2003 2021, 2022 and again in 2023.
Apisai Koroisau is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker and is the captain of the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has also represented New South Wales in the State of Origin series.
Isaah Ferguson-Yeo is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock and second-row forward for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and Australia at international level.
Scott Sorensen is a New Zealand international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward and lock for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL.
Nathan Cleary is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback for the Penrith Panthers in the Australian NRL and Australia at international level. He won the Clive Churchill Medal in 2021 and 2023 as well as Dally M Halfback of the year in 2020 and 2021. As co-captain, Cleary also led the Penrith Panthers to three consecutive premiership wins from 2021 to 2023. Being the captain in all 4 of his grand final appearances, he is considered one of the best halfbacks of all time.
Moses Leota is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop and lock for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL. He has played for both Samoa and New Zealand at international level.
Jarome Luai is a Samoan international rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL. He is a three time premiership winning player with the Panthers, and he has represented the NSW Blues in State of Origin, Samoa at test and 9's level and the Māori All Stars at international level.
Jaeman Salmon is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row or five-eighth for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Thomas Flegler is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop and lock for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League (NRL). He also represents Australia at international level.
Maika Sivo is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Fiji at international level.
Brian To'o is an Australian international rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL.
Stephen Crichton is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who plays for and captains the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL and Samoa at international level. He has represented the NSW Blues in State of Origin.
The 2020 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2020 National Rugby League season held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on October 25. The match was contested between minor premiers Penrith Panthers and second-placed Melbourne Storm. Melbourne led the game 22-0 at half-time before holding off a late Penrith comeback to win 26-20, claiming their fourth premiership title. Melbourne fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as the official man of the match. The match was attended by 37,303 spectators due to an enforced limit to stadium capacity by the NSW government as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The game would be the last for Melbourne hooker and captain Cameron Smith after announcing his retirement in the following year, making him the most-capped player in the NRL with 430 games, and the most for a single club.
Reece Walsh is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL). He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL.
The 2021 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2021 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Sunday 3 October at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Penrith won the match 14–12 to claim their third premiership title, and their first since 2003. Penrith co-captain and halfback Nathan Cleary was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as the official man of the match.
The 2022 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2022 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the Parramatta Eels on Sunday the 2nd of October at Accor Stadium in Sydney. Penrith, who were both the defending premiers and minor premiers, won the match 28–12 to claim their fourth premiership title, and their first back-to-back premierships in the club's 56-year history. Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for being judged as the man of the match.
The 2023 Brisbane Broncos season was the 36th in the club's rugby league football history. Competing in the 2023 NRL season, the captain Adam Reynolds and head coach Kevin Walters continued in their roles from the previous year.
The 2024 Penrith Panthers season is the 58th season in the club's history. Coached by Ivan Cleary and co-captained by Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo, the Panthers are competing in the National Rugby League's 2024 Telstra Premiership.
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Nathan Cleary 
