Twenty years ago this week, Manly and Parramatta played the first-ever golden point match at Brookvale Oval.
The NRL unveiled the controversial new concept for matches tied up after 80 minutes in 2003 – much to the chagrin of many of the premiership’s coaches and rugby league traditionalists.
Golden point has been – and remains – a frequently maligned concept.
But despite regular broadsides from figures within the game and suggestions to tweak the format (including a revamp to the way competition points are allocated), golden point persists in its original guise: five minutes each way of frantic first-scorer-wins footy.
A total of 151 golden point matches have been played since 2003, including six finals encounters.
After North Queensland’s historic 2015 grand final victory over Brisbane in golden point, the NRL added 10 minutes of non-sudden-death extra-time for finals games.
A total of 92 golden points matches were decided by a field goal, 30 via a try and 12 by penalty goal, while 17 finished in a draw.
Canterbury Bulldogs are the kings of golden point, winning 10 and drawing one of their 14 golden point games, while Brisbane Broncos’ 10-4-4 record ranks them as the second-most successful side.
Wests Tigers have endured more golden point pain than any club – winning five and losing 15 – and Newcastle Knights boast just three golden point wins from 17 games but have also drawn four.
North Queensland Cowboys and Cronulla Sharks simultaneously played in a record 22nd golden point match during the 2022 finals.
Daly Cherry-Evans has produced the most match-winning plays in golden point with six – all field goals.
For all its faults, golden point has produced some of the modern era’s truly magic moments. Here’s the best.
Golden point gets off the mark (2003)
After the hoopla of golden point’s introduction, curious fans had to wait until Round 10 of the 2003 season to witness the first instalment.
Manly and Parramatta finished locked at 34-all (which would have equalled the premiership record for the highest-scoring draw) at Brookvale Oval.
In the 86th minute, Sea Eagles five-eighth Ben Walker coolly slotted a penalty goal to give his side the inaugural golden point victory – but embarrassingly, the NRL was forced to admit the offside call that brought the Eels undone was incorrect.
The first golden point try (2003)
Three weeks after the inaugural golden point match, Penrith wrecking ball Joe Galuvao earned a place in history as the first-ever golden point tryscorer.
With just over a minute of extra time remaining against North Queensland in Townsville, the second-rower barrelled his way under the posts from close range to clinch a 28-24 win.
Stacey slots maiden field goal (2003)
In an extraordinary clash at the Sydney Football Stadium, the heavyweight Warriors clawed back from a 24-6 deficit to lead eventual wooden spooners Souths 30-24 before the Rabbitohs scored a late try to set up the NRL’s third golden point match.
Warriors linchpin Stacey Jones ended the contest with a sweetly-struck 30-metre field goal – golden point’s first.
Minto magic (2003)
The last of four golden point matches and the undisputed highlight of the concept’s maiden season – and the most iconic moment of cult hero winger Scott Minto’s career.
Melbourne and Brisbane could not be separated in regulation time during an Olympic Park thriller, but it’s rarely remembered that Minto missed a last-minute chance to win the game when Billy Slater’s desperate cover tackle forced him to put a foot on the sideline.
Minto atoned a few minutes later when burly tyro Corey Parker served up an offload and the lanky tyro set sail for the corner before famously leaping gazelle-like into the tackle of Slater and dotted down for the match-winner.
Timmin’s golden Origin moment (2004)
Golden point arrived in the State of Origin arena in just the concept’s second season, courtesy of only the third Origin match to be tied at the end of 80 minutes.
A tense Stadium Australia showdown was locked 8-all at the fulltime siren, before unlikely hero and makeshift NSW five-eighth Shaun Timmins nailed the first field goal of his career in the 83rd minute from 37 metres out to put the Blues one-nil up.
Bowen snatches series opener (2005)
For the second year in a row, Origin I went into golden point.
The Blues fought back from 19-0 down to hit the front but debutant Johnathan Thurston’s late field goal sent the Suncorp Stadium clash into extra time.
NSW halfback Brett Kimmorley was the unfortunate fall guy, gambling on a long cut-out pass on his own 40-metre line that was plucked out of the air by Queensland livewire Matt Bowen, who zipped away for the game-ending try.
JT lays on ‘Try-Nations’ victory (2006)
Another golden moment in representative football that decider the epic 2006 Four Nations final.
Australia and New Zealand had battled to 12-all after 80 minutes at the SFS to set up a historic golden point period – the first ever in Test football.
In the seventh minute of added time, a trademark show-and-go from Kangaroos halfback Johnathan Thurston 35 metres out from his own line split the Kiwis’ defence and mercurial skipper Darren Lockyer backed up to score the winning try under the posts.
Lockyer goes from post to post (2007)
Broncos behemoth Dave Taylor’s 78th-minute try sent their 2007 clash with the Titans into golden point, setting the stage for an unforgettable field goal by Darren Lockyer that was launched from the 40-metre line and incredibly hit both uprights before dropping over for a 19-18 victory.
Locky’s ‘flu game’ (2008)
Lockyer was at it again at the Titans’ expense, climbing out of his sick bed to inspire a stunning 25-21 win at Suncorp Stadium in 2008.
Forced to abort a field goal attempt by the rushing Gold Coast defence, the five-eighth genius touched the ball twice in a 40-metre movement that finished with Greg Eastwood crashing over for the match-winner for Brisbane.
Debuting Rabbits wins it on the bell (2010)
Arguably the most extraordinary to a golden point match as Souths scored an incredible after-the-90th-minute-siren try to upset Wests Tigers 34-30.
Rhys Wesser found a gap on a crossfield run just as golden point time ran out before firing a long ball to Shaune Corrigan, who offloaded brilliantly to winger Dylan Farrell – who had already scored two tries on debut in regulation time – to score in the corner.
SKD’s 100th-minute winner (2010)
An NRL finals match belatedly went into golden point in the concept’s eighth season – and it didn’t disappoint.
Sydney Roosters and Wests Tigers’ 2010 qualifying final was already an instant classic, particularly after Roosters five-eighth Braith Anasta’s amazing after-the-bell field goal leveller.
After 19 minutes of nerve-shredding golden point drama, an ill-conceived long ball from Tigers back-rower Liam Fulton was seized upon by Roosters centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall on his own 40-metre line.
SKD outlasted the Tigers’ cover on a thrilling run to the opposite corner to close out the epic 19-15.
Sandow the halfway hero (2011)
Chris Sandow slotted what is widely regarded as the finest field goal in golden point’s two-decade history during the 2011 Rivalry Round.
The South Sydney halfback launched an 87th-minute attempt from inches inside Sydney Roosters’ half, dropping it just over the crossbar to snatch a 21-20 result.
Lockyer’s heroic last act (2011)
Despite suffering a fractured cheekbone late in Brisbane’s semi-final against St George Illawarra, Darren Lockyer stepped up to be a golden point hero one last time.
The Dragons had rallied late to send the dramatic sudden-death encounter into extra time, but the retiring legend snapped a 25-metre field goal with the defence all over him to win it. It would be Lockyer last act in a Broncos jersey: the injury ruled him out of the following week’s prelim loss.
Hodkinson wins finals shootout (2014)
Canterbury halfback Trent Hodkinson and Manly counterpart Daly Cherry-Evans traded field goals late in a 2014 sudden-death semi-final – but it was Hodkinson who had the final say, ending his former club’s season 18-17 with a superb 84th-minute strike.
Hunt-ing down the Roosters (2015)
Just months before his moment of golden point grand final horror, Brisbane halfback Ben Hunt produced a memorable match-winning try at the Roosters’ expense.
With only seconds of the first period of golden point remaining, Hunt’s 30-metre solo try finished the gripping Suncorp Stadium encounter 22-18.
Reynolds gets Bulldogs over the line (2015)
A dramatic late penalty allowed St George Illawarra to kick a score-levelling penalty goal from long range in a 2015 elimination final against Canterbury.
But the Bulldogs regrouped and Josh Reynolds – who would go on to win two golden point games for his club in 2016, via a field goal against the Titans and a try against the Sea Eagles – calmly popped off the season-extending one-pointer from 18 metres out in the 84th minute.
Golden Grand Final (2015)
Johnathan Thurston booted the most valuable golden point to deliver North Queensland’s maiden premiership.
After Thurston and Michael Morgan conjured a last-second equaliser for Kyle Feldt in the 2015 grand final, JT’s after-the-siren conversion from the sideline hit the post.
But following Broncos No.7 Ben Hunt’s infamous drop of the extra time kick-off, Thurston stepped up to pilot the decisive field goal through and finish off the greatest decider of the NRL era.
RTS Comes Back to Haunt Roosters (2016)
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s first match against his former Sydney Roosters teammates was the prevailing storyline ahead of the Warriors’ visit to Central Coast Stadium in 2016 – and the brilliant fullback turned it into a fairytale.
After a rollercoaster encounter finished at 26-all after 80 minutes, a magnificent kick return from Tui Lolohea paved the way for RTS to sprint 45 metres for an unforgettable golden point winner.
Wighton’s Howler (2016)
Raiders fullback Jack Wighton etched his name into the annals of golden point infamy in 2016, handing the Dragons two competition points on a platter with an intercept pass swooped upon by Euan Aitken.
SJ Dances through Panthers (2016)
Penrith paid the price for blatant offside play to thwart the Warriors’ field goal attempts in a wet and wild 2016 clash at Mt Smart Stadium.
Shaun Johnson evaded a slew of would-be charge-down attempts and skipped through a staggered defensive line to score a sensational extra-time solo try.
The result was a soothing one for the Warriors, who had lost three golden point games (including two in their last two outings) in the previous five rounds.
Rapana’s Freakish Winner (2016)
The finals-bound Raiders fought back from 22-0 down to force the last-placed Knights into extra-time and produced one of golden point’s most freakish match-winners.
Canberra pivot Blake Austin sprayed a field goal attempt, but the ball took a demonic bounce in the in-goal into the hands of a flying Jordan Rapana, who put it down for a 29-25 victory.
Cowboys Ride Their Luck (2017)
A Round 1 heartbreaker for Canberra, with Johnathan Thurston’s short-range field goal stab cannoning off the underside of the crossbar.
Raiders fullback Zac Santo – in what would be his last NRL appearance – inexplicably failed to go after the loose ball and Cowboys second-rower Gavin Cooper pounced just before it went dead.
End-to-end Nail-biter (2021)
Perhaps the most bizarre finish to a golden point match.
Souths prop Tom Burgess crashed over under the posts in extra time but appeared to lose the ball, with Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks playing to the whistle and running over 100 metres to dot down at the other end.
Gerard Sutton awarded the try to Brooks, but the Bunker overruled the on-field referee by confirming Burgess had in fact scored – handing a unique 18-14 result to the Rabbitohs.
Stone-cold Match-winner (2022)
The most bittersweet winner in golden point history, Parramatta utility Ray Stone suffered a season-ending knee injury when he followed up a Mitch Moses field goal attempt that hit the post and stepped past Melbourne’s Jahrome Hughes to score a memorable try in an AAMI Park boilover.
Welcome Back, Shaun (2022)
Shaun Johnson’s 2022 Warriors homecoming after three seasons at Cronulla was largely disappointing, with the club enduring one of its worst-ever campaigns and the veteran halfback struggling for form.
But he proved the match-winning magic was still bubbling somewhere near the surface when he drained a pair of golden point field goals in the space of three weeks at Redcliffe to sink the Cowboys and Raiders.
Holmes Away from Home (2022)
Jason Taumalolo’s last-minute try sent North Queensland’s 2022 Qualifying Final with Cronulla into extra-time.
When the added 10 minutes still left the rivals locked, a former Sharks premiership winner proved the difference in the first post-season golden point match since the 2015 grand final.
Cowboys centre Valentine Holmes, who kicked two golden point field goals for the Sharks in 2015, broke the hearts of the Cronulla faithful with a towering 44-metre, two-point field goal in the 93rd minute to secure a preliminary final spot 32-30.
NRLW History (2022)
Only one NRLW match has gone into golden point: last season’s Round 4 clash between Brisbane and St George Illawarra.
Dragons halfback Rachel Pearson needed less than 90 seconds of the added period to slot a field goal for a 19-18 victory.
Cleary’s Two-one Punch (2023)
Nathan Cleary broke Newcastle’s hearts in Round 7 this year, firstly kicking a 78th-minute equalising field goal, then nailing a magnificent 39-metre one-pointer just 45 seconds into golden point time – the third extra-time winner of his career.