Brisbane Broncos: 2025 NRL Premiers

 The Broncos have claimed their first premiership since 2006 with a stunning 26-22 triumph over the Storm.

With Reece Walsh producing one of the finest performances of his career, the Broncos came back from 22-12 to make amends for the loss to Penrith two years ago.

In front of 80,223 fans at Accor Stadium the Broncos capped a magnificent season as Ben Hunt savoured redemption for 2015 and Adam Reynolds grabbed a second premiership 11 years after his first.

Michael Maguire joins Wayne Bennett, Chris Anderson, Jack Gibson, Tim Sheens and Phil Gould as the only coaches to have won titles with two clubs.

The Misadventures: 2025 NRL Grand Final Special Edition

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Penrith: 2023 NRL Premiers

Panthers superstar Nathan Cleary has produced the finest performance of his career to lead the premiers to a remarkable 26-24 triumph over the Broncos in an epic decider at Accor Stadium.

Trailing by 16 points after an Ezra Mam hat-trick had put the Broncos on track for their first title in 17 years, Cleary took the game by the scruff of the neck to ensure the Panthers would emulate the Eels of 1981-82-83 with a three-peat.

Cleary put Moses Leota over for a try with 17 minutes to play and then came up with a 40-20 before scoring the final try in the 77th minute to leave the Broncos shellshocked and the Panthers faithful in raptures.

The champion No.7 then capped his night by becoming just the third player to win the Clive Churchill Medal for a second time, joining Brad Clyde and Billy Slater in that exclusive club.

In a frantic opening it was Broncos centre Herbie Farnworth coming up with an early error to hand the Panthers field position but a brilliant bomb defusal by Kotoni Staggs helped his team come away.

Broncos hooker Billy Walters then produced a mammoth 40-20 kick out of dummy half but the opportunity was lost when the ball was spun left and Jesse Arthars slipped and went into touch.

When Selwyn Cobbo dropped the ball deep in his own territory the Broncos again found themselves under the pump but their defence again stood strong until a poor play-the-ball by Staggs in the 16th minute invited the Panthers into the red zone and first points followed in bizarre fashion.

A short dropout by Adam Reynolds in the 18th minute was batted back by Farnworth and rather than his Broncos teammates collecting the ball it was Panthers hooker Mitch Kenny who pounced for his first try of the season. Stephen Crichton converted to give the premiers a 6-0 lead.

When Reece Walsh was caught in goal and Reynolds' dropout failed to go 10 metres, the Panthers extended their lead to 8-0 courtesy of a Cleary penalty goal.

Come the 39th minute and the Broncos struck back when Thomas Flegler powered over from close range having only returned to the field three minutes after passing a head injury assessment. Reynolds converted to make the half-time score 8-6 to the Panthers.

On the back of a couple of enormous charges from Flegler the Broncos made the ideal start to the second half when Mam split the Panthers open and raced 50 metres to score wide out. Reynolds converted to give the Broncos a 12-8 lead.

After Panthers five-eighth Jarome Luai left the field holding his shoulder in the 52nd minute the Broncos extended their lead through a second try for Mam, who put some fancy footwork on Isaah Yeo and Cleary and raced away to make it 18-8 to Kevin Walters' men.

Two minutes later Mam had a hat-trick after Walsh sliced through and found the No.6 in support as the Broncos turned the game on its head with a stunning burst.

Trailing by 16 points the Panthers hit back when Cleary found a hole and set up Leota for a try in the 63rd minute before the champion No.7 came up with a 40-20 to set up another opportunity but a superb last-ditch tackle by Kobe Hetherington on Leota kept Brisbane's line intact.

A mistake by Pat Carrigan then opened the door for the Panthers again and Crichton made it four tries in four consecutive grand finals and the premiers were back in business, trailing 24-20.

When Reynolds put a dropout out on the full in the 72nd minute the Panthers had a shot at levelling up but Cobbo plucked a Crichton kick out of the air and the danger was averted.

With the crowd of 81,947 at fever pitch the Panthers remarkably hit the front 26-24 when Cleary took the line on from 10 metres out and put the ball down for the four-pointer that capped the greatest night of his career.

The Panthers' comeback from 16 points down was the biggest in grand final history, eclipsing the Storm's effort to come from 14-0 down to win the 1999 decider against the Dragons.

Match Snapshot 

Broncos prop Thomas Flegler left the field in the 23rd minute for a HIA which he passed and returned to the field in the 36th minute.

Panthers hooker Mitch Kenny's first-half try was just the second of his 83-game career.

Broncos prop Payne Haas had six runs for 70 metres and made 22 tackles in a powerhouse opening stint of 36 minutes.

Panthers prop James Fisher-Harris had 11 runs for 95 metres and broke six tackles in his opening 33-minute stint. He finished with 153 metres and eight tackle breaks.

The Panthers completed 18 of 19 sets in the opening half compared to 13 of 21 by the Broncos. The champions finished the night with an incredible 37 of 38 sets completed at 97 per cent.

Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards was immense with 296 running metres and six tackle breaks.

Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs played his 100th NRL game.

Panthers skipper Isaah Yeo left the field in the 57th minute for a HIA and was followed by back-rower Scott Sorensen in the 59th minute. Both men passed and were able to return.

Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary produced a 40-20 kick in the 65th minute.

Panthers centre Stephen Crichton has scored a try in four consecutive grand finals.

Broncos centre Herbie Farnworth ran for 179 metres and had eight tackle breaks.

The Panthers have won their past nine finals matches.

Plays of the Game

Having steadied the ship in the shadow of half-time with a try to Thomas Flegler, the Broncos hit the front in the 45th minute when Ezra Mam produced one of the great grand final tries. Mam took the ball on halfway and left Lindsay Smith and Tago in his wake with some dazzling footwork before out-pacing Dylan Edwards on the run to the line. The 20-year-old then added a second and a third in the space to complete a hat-trick in the space of 10 sizzling minutes.

What They Said

"I've never felt so under the pump in a game as we were in that second half tonight. I thought the Broncos deserved to be in the lead but over the course of the last few years we have built enough belief that when we get our game on, good things will happen, but I was a little worried midway through the second half. One thing I never doubt is the boys' ability to keep fighting and there was just enough time to make them get nervous. I can't remember the last time we had to come back like that and win. The 2020 grand final comes to mind. We ran out of time that night but tonight was pretty amazing. I thought Nathan looked really clear and the lessons he has learned gave him the clarity to be able to go 'now it is backs to the wall, now I'm going to go after it'." - Panthers coach Ivan Cleary

"There's no emotion in the sheds, it's very quiet. It's hard to get your head around what actually happened. I feel for all the players in there that gave so much but it wasn't enough in the end. I think the whole stadium thought we had done enough [when Ezra scored his hat-trick]. Right now it's a pretty empty feeling. I watched the AFL grand final yesterday and thought that's not a nice way to lose [for the Lions] and here we are sitting here in the same situation. That second period there, for 20 minutes, that's the Broncos that I know and that's where we'll get to, we'll do that for 80, but we're not there yet. But when we do we'll win premierships and that's what it's about. We're not there yet but we're a lot closer now than we were 12 months ago." - Broncos coach Kevin Walters

What's Next 

A host of stars from both sides will front in the Pacific Championship Tests which kick off on October 14 with the Kangaroos facing Samoa in Townsville. For those not playing internationals there's a well-earned break before the 2024 pre-season launches in November.

Penrith Panthers: 2022 NRL Premiers

]The Penrith Panthers have converted three years of dominance into back-to-back premierships with a clinical 28-12 dismantling of Parramatta in Sunday night's NRL Grand Final.

With Clive Churchill Medalist Dylan Edwards (281 metres), Brian To'o (299 metres) and Nathan Cleary delivering command performances on the game's biggest stage, the Panthers became the first team since the Roosters in 2018-19 to win consecutive premierships.

In front of 82,415 fans at Accor Stadium the Panthers scored five tries to two to secure the club's fourth premiership to go with the 1991, 2003 and 2021 trophies.

After a physical opening the Eels tried an early trick shot when Dylan Brown kicked ahead early in the tackle count for Mitch Moses to chase in the eighth minute but To'o covered up well.

Four minutes later it was the Panthers who struck first through centre Stephen Crichton, who took an inside pass from Edwards 25 metres out and turned on the jets to score despite the last-ditch effort of Reed Mahoney and Reagan Campbell-Gillard.

Winger To'o then finished off a slick left side in the 18th minute as the Panthers stretched their lead to 10-0.

With the Eels looking rattled, skipper Clint Gutherson put a short dropout out on the full and Cleary kicked the penalty goal for 12-0.

Relentless pressure from the premiers came up trumps in the 28th minute when Cleary put in a pinpoint grubber for Scott Sorensen to score just his second try of the season. Cleary converted and the Panthers were rocking at 18-0.

Two minutes before the break Viliame Kikau went within a whisker of scoring Penrith's fourth when he chased a Jarome Luai grubber but Waqa Blake came up with a trysaving play when he knocked the ball dead.

A penalty against Ryan Matterson for a crusher tackle in the opening minute of the second half put the Eels on the back foot before a dropped ball by Blake compounded their woes and To'o capitalised with his second try of the night to make it 22-0.

Some slick ball movement by the Eels looked to have opened the door for Maika Sivo to grab their first try of the decider but a last-ditch tackle by Crichton denied the Fijian flyer.

A clever cross field kick by Mahoney opened the door for Bailey Simonsson to race into the back field in the 58th minute but the Eels centre was cut down by Dylan Edwards in a classic cover tackle.

Charlie Staines then finished off great lead-up work by Isaah Yeo, Cleary and Edwards to score and Cleary's conversion made it 28-0.

Cleary went within inches of a try in the 69th minute but lost the ball just short as the Eels clung on grimly despite the scoreline against them.

Eels skipper Gutherson was rewarded for a couraegous effort when he grabbed a consolation try in the 77th minute and Jake Arthur also crossed late but the night belonged to the Panthers.

The Panthers have become the first team in history to win the Jersey Flegg, SG Ball, reserve grade (NSW Cup) and first grade premierships in the one season, confirming their status as the modern masters of rugby league.

Match Snapshot

The first penalty of the night came in the eighth minute against the Panthers for interference in the play the ball.

Star hooker Api Koroisau was injected into the game from the bench in the 17th minute and immediately had a hand in Brian To'o's try.

The Panthers dominated possession in the first half with 60 per cent to the Eels' 40 per cent.

Nathan Brown was thrown into the game by Eels coach Brad Arthur after 31 minutes replacing Reagan Campbell-Gillard.

Panthers winger Brian To'o had 15 runs for 177 metres in the opening half and went on to make a staggering 299 metres for the game. 

Bailey Simonnson tried hard all night for the Eels with 153 metres from 16 runs, as did Reed Mahoney (56 tackles) and Isaiah Papali'i (49 tackles).

Ivan Cleary coached his 200th game for the Panthers in Sunday’s grand final. His record stands at 122 wins, 77 losses and one draw. Cleary has coached the most games of any Penrith coach.

Bailey Simonsson (Raiders, 2019) and Ryan Matterson (Roosters, 2018) were the only Eels players to have previously played in a grand final.

Spencer Leniu was dynamic off the bench again for the Panthers with 104 run metres from nine runs in 21 minutes of game time.

Panthers centre Izack Tago left the field in the 52nd minute for a HIA after a head clash with Reed Mahoney. He passed and was able to return.

James Fisher-Harris was immense up front for the premiers with 201 metres from 20 runs.

Eels centre Bailey Simonsson was forced off in the 58th minute with a shoulder injury.

Jake Arthur took the field with five minutes to play off the Eels bench and grabbed a late try.

Play of the Game

Move over, Scott Sattler, and make room for Dylan Edwards in the Grand Final Cover Tackle Hall of Fame. With the Eels desperately seeking their first try after 58 minutes it was Bailey Simonnson who raced away down the left side, skipping clear of a Charlie Staines tackle before Edwards hit top speed and launched himself in a copybook tackle that must have had Sattler up and out of his seat. Some 19 years after Sattler's tackle on Todd Byrne, the Panthers' brilliant No.1 evoked memories of that magic moment with his classic trysaver.

What They Said

“Look they’re a very good team and they played very well. That first half they just played too fast for us. We’re disappointed but I just said to the boys right now isn’t the time to review or dissect that, we were just beaten by a better team and they were too good for us tonight. At the end of the day, we’ve got 80 minutes of a lifetime and we can’t be looking for excuses, we were just beaten by a better team. It’s a tough road to get here and maybe the tough road took its toll on us but it’s a big achievement. I just want to focus on how proud I am of the guys as individuals and as men.” – Eels coach Brad Arthur

“They’re a quality team and when you give them that much ball on your line, it just felt like they were kicking them anywhere. They’re a great team and they made us pay, it probably could have been more but we just kept turning up. It’s disappointing but someone’s got to lose and unfortunately, it was us.” – Eels captain Clint Gutherson

“It’s hard to put it into words but it’s definitely been an emotional 24 hours. I got a bit emotional yesterday, I don’t even know why, I think it’s just because this team won’t stay together. We’ve done so well for so long and I thought anyone can win on the day and anyone can win any game. I just wanted it to go well on the biggest night and I honestly couldn’t ask for anything more. The boys were unbelievable. That first half was honestly just a dream come true. I sat back and watched the boys go to work. Over the last couple of years in the grand finals we’ve played in I think we’ve learnt a fair bit so we put that to good use. I’m certainly blessed to be their coach.” – Panthers coach Ivan Cleary

“I thought that first half was probably the best 40 minutes we’ve put together almost over that three-year period [2020-22]. Just in terms of what we wanted to do. It was very nice to play the way we wanted to on the biggest stage. We’ve worked hard for that, not only physically but mentally and it came through on the day.” – Panthers captain Nathan Cleary

What's Next

A well earned rest for a number of players while others will head to the World Cup with their respective nations to chase glory on the international stage.

Penrith Panthers: 2021 NRL Premiers

Nathan Cleary played through the pain of a busted shoulder and Stephen Crichton etched his name into grand final folklore as the Panthers won their third premiership with a nail-biting victory over South Sydney on Sunday night.

Redemption has come for the Panthers with their 14-12 win, just 12 months after their heart-breaking loss to the Melbourne Storm.

It is the Panthers’ third premiership after titles in 1991 and 2003, but the first for head coach Ivan Cleary after missing out in 2011 with the Warriors and then last season.

The win came off the back of 57% possession for most of the match, brick wall-defence, and the relentless kicking game by the Panthers – Nathan Cleary making 20 of 26 kicks to add up to over 750 metres.

Some soft defence led to both teams scoring early tries.

Panthers centre Matt Burton accelerated through a hole opened up by Campbell Graham coming off his line too early. Then four minutes later, Cody Walker busted through three defenders on a 30-metre run to the Panthers line to square things up at 6-6.

A Cleary penalty brought up an 8-6 half-time lead to the Panthers. Then four minutes after the break Reynolds booted a penalty to lock it up for a second time.

Penrith tried desperately to get ahead. First a Cleary offload to Viliame Kikau was ruled forward, as was a Dylan Edwards’ tap-on to winger Stephen Crichton.

But Crichton got his grand final moment not long after, when he intercepted a Walker pass to sprint 45 metres to the line untouched.

The Panthers looked home at 14-8 but Souths hit back with six minutes left on the clock when Alex Johnston touched down for the 30th and most important try of his record-breaking season.

Reynolds looked like he was curling the sideline conversion over but it swerved late and the score remained 14-12.

In other action from the game, Jai Arrow failed an HIA after Kikau was placed on report for a swinging left arm into the Souths back rower’s head. Rabbitohs centre Dane Gagai passed his HIA after hitting the hip of Panthers centre Paul Momirovski.

Penrith and South Sydney created history when they ran onto Suncorp Stadium for the first grand final in premiership history to be played outside Sydney.

And this title decider will live long in league folklore as one of the most thrilling contests with both teams throwing everything at their opponents over the course of 80 minutes.

Sydney Roosters: 2019 NRL Premiers

The Sydney Roosters pulled off a controversial 14-8 victory over a brave Canberra to win the 2019 grand final, becoming the first team to win back-to-back premierships since Brisbane in the early 1990s.

The Tricolours defended their title thanks to a dramatic late try, going the length of the field to score when a six-again call was changed to give them the ball.

Referee Ben Cummins briefly signalled six again after a bomb appeared to rebound off James Tedesco and the Raiders regained the ball, but a handover was ordered when the Canberra player in possession was finally tackled.   


The sin-binning of Cooper Cronk for a professional foul on 49 minutes had allowed the Raiders to get on even terms at 8-8.

The defending premiers, who lost veteran back-rower Mitch Aubusson after just 13 minutes to a left knee injury, went into the sheds leading just 8-6 after dominating early as Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, obviously anxious to make up for lost time after missing the preliminary final through suspension, had 10 runs for 108 metres after just 25 minutes.

The Roosters got a lucky break when a kick rebounded from Sia Soliola's head and struck the trainer so instead of Elliott Whitehead chasing it in hopes of a try the Roosters got the feed and Sam Verrills cleverly darted over from dummy-half to open the scoring in the ensuing set.

But the Raiders refused to wilt and slowly worked their way back into the match until they gained their just reward through Jack Wighton who made the most of a repeat set by stepping past Boyd Cordner.

Sydney Roosters: 2018 NRL Premiers

Cooper Cronk was brought to the Sydney Roosters to win a premiership and, on Sunday night – with one arm dangling uselessly by his side – he did just that.

He came and he delivered, albeit barely able to lift the same trophy he did in opposition colours 12 months ago.

Cronk helped destroy his old club's hopes of becoming the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back titles as the Roosters celebrated a 21-6 victory inspired by the performance of five-eighth Luke Keary.

For the best part of a week the rugby league universe revolved around the shoulders of two of the sport's biggest names.

On Tuesday night one shoulder, that of retiring legend Billy Slater, was controversially cleared to take part in the decider.

The other, that of Cronk's, was shrouded with the type of secrecy that has become synonymous with every significant decision in the halfback's career.

The high shot from the helicopter hovering over Allianz Stadium the day before the decider suggested what Cronk first said – a long shot.

No hope, they said. Can't do it.

Even when he hopped off the team bus in the confines of ANZ Stadium two hours before kick off, avoiding the high fives from the children in the tunnel, people were still wondering 'will he or won't he?'.

Technically, he did. For 78 minutes he did. But as Phil Gould so eloquently put it, the Roosters were playing with 12 men and a coach.

A coach that knew every strength and every weakness of the 17 men wearing the jersey he donned for 14 seasons before love lured him to Sydney.

A coach who knew where the opposition wanted to be, when they wanted to be there and how they were going to do it in front of a crowd of 82,688.

As much damage as Melbourne inflicted on Cronk's left shoulder, the Roosters No.7 returned serve with the power of his voice.

He barely touched the ball. His one pass looked like something out of an under 6s game, but what he wasn't able to do, Keary filled in with class and precision.

As much as Cronk's heroics were impossible to ignore, the Roosters five-eighth was the real star of the show.

A show that ended with Slater walking off stage for the last time.

It was a penalty goal that opened the scoring for the Roosters, but they didn't have to wait too long for their first try of the evening after a floating cut-out pass from Keary put Daniel Tupou over in the corner for a 6-0 lead after eight minutes.

In the four occasions Will Chambers and Latrell Mitchell have squared off this season, Mitchell put huge dents into the once impeccable reputation Chambers held in the game.

If there had been any doubt as to the changing of the guard when it comes to the game's premier centre, the ease in which Mitchell brushed past Chambers to score the Roosters' second try was confirmation.

The cheeky, albeit unnecessary, push over the sideline into the advertising boards from Mitchell on Chambers 10 minutes later was just the youngster's way of letting him know.

Suddenly the best defensive team in the competition had a 12-0 lead after 15 minutes.

The Storm's nightmare start got even worse soon after when Cameron Munster was sent to the bin for a professional foul on a runaway Jake Friend, allowing Mitchell to boot the Roosters to a 14-point buffer.

On the stroke of half-time Tedesco combined with Joseph Manu to produce the Roosters' third try of the night, heading into the sheds with an 18-0 half-time lead.

Time looked like it would deny the Storm any hope of a come-from-behind victory, but against the run of play Josh Addo-Carr pounced on a looping Keary pass to run 85 metres and reduce the deficit to two converted tries with 17 minutes on the clock.

But when Keary landed a field goal with 10 minutes remaining, there would be no fairytale finish for the Storm or Slater.

It ended with a brain explosion from Munster, sent to the bin for a second time after kicking Joseph Manu in the head. He was placed on report and could be at risk of suspension in Australia's end-of-year Tests against New Zealand and Tonga.

That's when the party started, as Cronk left the field with nothing to give but a trophy to the club that turned its team upside down to get him.

News & Notes: Cameron Munster became the first man since Canterbury's Terry Lamb in 1995 to be sin-binned in a grand final… Cooper Cronk became the first man to win back-to-back premierships at two different clubs since Johnny Mayes did it in 1973-74 with Manly and Easts… Cameron Smith played in his 36th finals match, eclipsing Darren Lockyer's record of 35… Storm lock Dale Finucane left the field for an HIA midway through the second half. He passed and returned to the game… Crowd: 82,688.