The Sydney Roosters beat the Newcastle Knights 19-18 at Accor Stadium on Sunday, October 4, after referee Adam Gee and the bunker declined to send Kalyn Ponga to the sin bin for a tackle that brought his shoulder into Victor Radley’s head. Roosters captain James Tedesco challenged the decision on the Nine broadcast: “If we're consistent with the rules, that's a shoulder to the head,” he said. “It's been a sin bin all year.” The call stood. Newcastle led 12-0, then lost by a point.
A crowd of 80,814 watched Daly Cherry-Evans’ 70th-minute field goal prove decisive. Newcastle scored late through Greg Marzhew, and Sandon Smith converted from the sideline to cut the margin to one. The Knights had two more possessions but couldn't reach the Roosters’ goal line.
A call, and the authority to make it
Ponga’s shoulder hit Radley’s head midway through the first half. A scuffle between Naufahu Whyte and Jermaine McEwan followed. Tedesco’s appeal put the rules and their enforcement in view; Gee and the bunker made the call, and Ponga stayed on the field. That decision came in a match where Ponga had already scored a 95-metre try to help Newcastle take a 12-0 lead.
Newcastle built its advantage with tries by Francis Manuleleua and Ponga, both converted by Sandon Smith. Manuleleua, 22, scored the opening try after dislocating his elbow in Newcastle’s final home-and-away match on August 30. The grand final came 35 days later. Fletcher Sharpe passed to him, and Manuleleua ran through a gap to score.
Two-time premiership winner Luke Lewis said on the ABC Sport call: “It looked way too easy – didn't look like there was anything wrong … absolutely brilliant football, outstanding pass, but it all looked too easy for the Knights.”
A one-point finish
Ponga’s influence went beyond the try. He caught a kick after it changed trajectory when it struck a cable holding the Spidercam, and stopped a likely Roosters try by knocking the ball from Mark Nawaqanitawase’s grasp. The Roosters answered with tries from Nawaqanitawase and Billy Smith; Sam Walker kicked both conversions.
Nawaqanitawase’s try began the comeback. He kicked a bouncing ball toward the in-goal with his right shin, trapped it under his right boot, then kicked it forward with his left foot before reaching the line. He was playing the final chapter of his NRL career for now before returning to rugby union.
Cherry-Evans’ field goal put the Roosters seven points ahead with 10 minutes to play. Marzhew then broke two tackles and scored in the corner with less than four minutes remaining. Newcastle had been seeking to become the first team since the 1930s to go from wooden spoon to premiers, but its final two possessions brought no try.
The winners, and the people on the road
Tedesco won the Clive Churchill Medal as player of the match. He recorded 385 run metres—the most by a player in any NRL finals match—and made 14 tackle breaks. He also made two important kick receptions in the closing minutes and was described as close to faultless under the high ball. It was his first medal and his first grand final win as captain, and the Roosters’ first men’s premiership since 2019.
“Honestly, it felt like we had them on the ropes, but they just kept coming back,” Tedesco said immediately after the match. “There's so many great attacking players and that game could've gone either way.” He thanked the team’s supporters on stage.
The Roosters also won the women’s competition earlier Sunday, beating defending champion Brisbane Broncos 30-6 after 13 consecutive wins. On Saturday, a vehicle drove into a crowd gathered on a road to cheer the Knights as the team left Newcastle for Sydney, injuring 10 people, including several children. The grand final scoreboard settled at 19-18. The injured people were part of the cost surrounding the spectacle, too.