Daly Cherry-Evans’ 70th-minute field goal gave Sydney’s Roosters a 19-18 win over Newcastle in Sunday’s NRL grand final, after the Roosters came back from 12 points down. The result denied the Knights a historic leap from last place to premiership glory in a single season. At Accor Stadium, a crowd of 80,814 watched the defending battlers escape by a point. Newcastle had aimed to become the first team since the 1930s to make that unlikely jump. It didn’t happen. Greg Marzhew’s late try brought the Knights within one, but Cherry-Evans’ kick held as the difference.
Newcastle looked in control early, the kind of underdog side that had clawed its way into contention. Francis Manuleleua scored the opening try just 35 days after dislocating his elbow in the home-and-away rounds on August 30, breaking through with an assist from Fletcher Sharpe. Kalyn Ponga then ran 95 metres to stretch the Knights’ lead to 12-0, and an upset seemed within reach. Two-time premiership winner Luke Lewis, calling for ABC Sport, remarked on how easily Newcastle moved the ball: “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.”
The Turning Point
Sydney began its comeback with Mark Nawaqanitawase’s unusual try. He kicked a bouncing ball into the in-goal with his right shin, trapped it beneath his boot, then kicked it forward with his left foot before reaching the line. That score swung momentum toward the Roosters. Billy Smith followed with another try, while Sam Walker’s conversions brought the scores closer. The game remained tight in the second half, and officials’ calls shaped the action.
Midway through the first half, Ponga’s shoulder struck Roosters player Victor Radley’s head during a tackle. Roosters captain James Tedesco immediately alerted referee Adam Gee: “If we’re consistent with the rules, that’s a shoulder to the head,” and, “It’s been a sin bin all year.” Gee and the bunker kept Ponga on the field, a call that showed how razor-thin the margins can be when premierships are decided.
Cherry-Evans played his final NRL match after a high-profile offseason move from Manly to Sydney, then slotted the decisive field goal with ten minutes remaining. The former Queensland State of Origin captain’s kick secured the Roosters’ first men’s premiership since 2019. With under four minutes left, Marzhew broke two tackles and scored in the corner. The Knights couldn’t get one more possession to the Roosters’ goal line, despite two further chances.
Who Bears the Weight
James Tedesco carried the Roosters through the match. He made 385 run metres—the most by any player in an NRL finals match—along with 14 tackle breaks and near-faultless handling under the high ball. He claimed the Clive Churchill Medal as player of the match, his first as captain and his third premiership overall. Tedesco had won back-to-back premierships with Sydney in 2018 and 2019. This year, captaincy gave him a different responsibility: guiding a mid-table team to the title in a single year. His medal joins a Wally Lewis Medal from the 2019 State of Origin series and Dally M awards from 2019 and 2025. Retired Parramatta great Peter Sterling presented the medal, 40 years after becoming its first winner—a symbolic passing of the torch.
Tedesco told the crowd straight after the match: “So proud of this team, what a game. Honestly, it felt like we had them on the ropes, but they just kept coming back. There’s so many great attacking players and that game could’ve gone either way.” On stage, he thanked the supporters who’d stayed with the team all year: “To our boys, to our supporters that came out supported us all year, thank you.”
The Roosters also completed a fairytale of sorts, winning the women’s competition earlier Sunday by beating defending champion Brisbane Broncos 30-6. They finished the season with 13 consecutive wins. Yet neither team’s triumph erased the violence surrounding the lead-up. 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.
Why This Matters:
The final shifts the season’s story toward institutional resilience and leadership under pressure. Tedesco’s third premiership, and first as captain, shows that individual excellence works within a collective effort; a captain must do more than play brilliantly and keep a team together when momentum turns. Newcastle’s near-miss, after an extraordinary climb from the wooden spoon, shows that even historic underdog runs can meet structural barriers. The Knights couldn’t turn two late possessions into a win, a reminder of the razor-thin differences at the elite level, where a marginal call—such as the shoulder contact that went unsanctioned—can shape the outcome.
For working communities in Newcastle who’d invested emotionally in their team’s improbable rise, the loss stings. Sydney supporters, who’d endured seven years without a premiership, can feel the weight of relief. The sport moves on, but the violence before the final remains a troubling reminder: public gatherings and shared celebrations need genuine community safety frameworks. Ten people, including children, were injured on Saturday.