Late-season brain snaps over the weekend cost Sydney Roosters front-row cornerstone Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Canberra enforcer Corey Horsburgh dearly, suspended for seven and four matches, respectively, after unsuccessfully challenging their charges at the judiciary.
The pair added their names to the annals of untimely bans, stymieing both their personal ambitions and their teams’ chances of a deep NRL finals run.
The following band of unfortunate players – including some of rugby league’s biggest names – have had their NRL grand final dreams destroyed by late-season suspensions.
Although several of the banned bunch had previously tasted premiership success or later went on to win a title, some did not get another bite at the grand final cherry and were left to lament what might have been.
Arthur Beetson
Balmain’s famous grand final victory over Souths in 1969 – regarded as the greatest grand final upset of all time – was made all the more remarkable by the fact the Tigers went into the match without one of their biggest weapons.
Legendary attacking forward Arthur Beetson was sent off in the one-point loss to the Rabbitohs in the major semi-final, with the subsequent suspension ruling him out of the remainder of Balmain’s finals campaign.
The Tigers went on to win the grand final 11-2, while Beetson, who had earlier turned out for the club in the loss to St George in the 1966 decider, joined Easts in 1971. He captained the Roosters to premierships in 1974-75 and was later named as an Immortal of the game.
Greg Pierce and Dane Sorenson
Cronulla’s quest for a maiden premiership in 1978 was dealt a double-blow courtesy of the suspension of their skipper Greg Pierce and Kiwi enforcer Dane Sorenson. Sorensen was outed for four games by the judiciary for a high tackle on Wests firebrand Les Boyd in the final round.
Pierce, who earlier in the season became the first Shark to captain Australia, was sent off for fighting with Magpies hard-man John Donnelly in the major semi. Despite a clean judiciary record, Pierce was rubbed out of the grand final and the Sharks went on to lose to Manly in a replay.
Pierce retired in 1980 after more than 200 first-grade games and Sorenson set a club record with 216 appearances, while Cronulla’s only subsequent grand final appearance was a loss to Brisbane in the 1997 Super League decider before the club memorably broke the title drought in 2016.
John Gray
On the other side of the ledger, Manly also had a player ruled out of the 1978 grand final through suspension. British hooker John Gray had played three seasons for Norths but joined the Sea Eagles for the opportunity to win a title.
Gray was well on the way to achieving that ambition in his first season at Brookvale, until the infamous major semi-final replay against Parramatta.
The match is best known for a series of blunders by controversial referee Greg Hartley that conspired to eliminate the Eels, but crafty rake Gray was also sent off for elbowing Parramatta second-rower Bob Jay.
The resultant suspension cost him grand final glory as his side went on to defeat the Sharks in another replay to win the premiership.
Les Boyd
Les Boyd was one of the finest forwards of the 1970s and ’80s, touring twice with the Kangaroos. But the Cootamundra product was a notorious firebrand – and his reckless style saw him receive some of the heaviest suspensions in rugby league history.
After smashing Queensland forward Daryl Brohman’s jaw during the 1983 Origin series, ex-Wests back-rower Boyd was suspended for 12 months, ruling him out of the remainder of Manly’s campaign.
The Sea Eagles were runaway minor premiers but sorely missed their sidelined enforcer as Parramatta outplayed them in the grand final 18-6 (Boyd was a tryscorer in Manly’s 21-8 loss to the Eels in the 1982 decider).
Boyd was handed a 15-month ban for gouging just three matches into his comeback in 1984, effectively ending his Australian career.
Steve Roach
A lengthy suspension for a tackle on Penrith’s Chris Mortimer in the fifth-place playoff ruled Steve Roach out of Balmain’s entire 1988 semi-final campaign – but he and the club did not take the penalty without a fight.
As the Tigers won a spectacular series of sudden-death matches to qualify for an unlikely grand final berth, Roach embarked on a brazen voyage to make himself eligible for the decider. He travelled to the other side of the world in an attempt to serve out his suspension with an English club.
The bold bid was eventually ruled invalid and Balmain went down 24-12 to Canterbury in the big one with their front-row spearhead on the sideline.
Roach endured more grand final day heartache the following season, when he and Paul Sironen were controversially replaced late in the 1989 decider against Canberra as coach Warren Ryan attempted to close the game out with defensive forwards Michael Pobjie and Kevin Hardwick.
The gamble backfired as the Raiders drew level in the dying minutes and won the title 19-14 in extra-time.
John Lomax
Fiery Canberra and Kiwi Test prop John Lomax was the recipient of several lengthy suspensions, but it was a one-match ban that provided the most gut-wrenching penalty – ruling him out of the 1994 grand final.
Lomax was sent off for a high tackle in the first half of the preliminary final against Norths. Fortunately for the Raiders, Bears back-rower Gary Larson was marched soon after and the Green Machine advanced to the decider with a 22-9 victory – but the judiciary put paid to Lomax’s grand final aspirations.
Lomax’s replacement, Paul Osborne, laid on the first two tries in a famous grand final cameo as Canberra blitzed Canterbury 36-12. Lomax retired in 2000 after 15 Tests for the Kiwis, but never received another chance to play in a grand final.
Jim Serdaris
Robust and creative rake Jim Serdaris was 1989’s rookie of the year from Souths, before touring with the Kangaroos in 1994 and earning Origin honours with NSW in 1995 while playing for Wests.
He won a premiership with Manly in 1996, his first season for the club, but suspension robbed him of the chance to make it a second in 1997. Serdaris was slapped with a one-match ban after being cited for a dangerous throw in the Sea Eagles’ 17-16 preliminary final defeat of the Roosters.
Newcastle triumphed over Manly a week later in the grand final with a try in the dying seconds, with young back-rower Anthony Colella starting at hooker and specialist rake Scott Fulton – son coach Bob – receiving an interchange call-up for the decider. Serdaris retired at the end of 1999.
Barry Ward
The Bulldogs’ incredible charge from ninth spot in a ten-team finals series all the way to the 1998 grand final is one of the finest chapters in the club’s colourful history. But it was less auspicious for burly front-row stalwart Barry Ward.
Ward became embroiled in a racial vilification row following the Bulldogs’ 20-12 victory over the Dragons in the first week of the finals, accused of abusing St. George’s indigenous star Anthony Mundine.
Six days later, Ward was slapped with a grade two charge for striking Jason Taylor in a 23-2 defeat of Norths and was outed for four matches.
Ward missed Canterbury’s extra-time victories over Newcastle and Parramatta, and the 38-12 grand final loss to the Broncos. He left the Bulldogs after representing City Origin in 2001 and won a Super League grand final with St Helens in 2002.
Peter Ryan
Brisbane hitman Peter Ryan was no stranger to the judiciary during a nine-season career with the Broncos. His late, high tackle on Melbourne halfback Brett Kimmorley early in a 1998 elimination semi-final dulled the star No.7’s influence, allowing the Broncos to cruise to a 30-6 victory.
But it also earned Ryan a three-match ban, ruling him out of Brisbane’s preliminary final and grand final thrashings of the Roosters and Bulldogs, respectively. Ryan was earlier part of the Broncos’ 1993 and 1997 (Super League) grand final-winning squads.
Luke Ricketson
Roosters veteran Luke Ricketson’s desire to stand up for his skipper ultimately saw him ruled out of the 2004 grand final. The Test lock was slapped with a grade three striking charge for felling Cowboys halfback Nathan Fien after Roosters captain Brad Fittler became involved in an altercation in the preliminary final.
Ricketson pleaded for leniency but was found guilty of the charge and copped a three-match ban, sparking calls for a revamp of the judiciary system from the Roosters’ camp.
The Roosters lost the decider 16-13 to the Bulldogs, while Ricketson, a premiership-winner with the club in 2002, inherited the captaincy from the retiring Fittler the following season and hung up the boots himself at the end of 2005 after 301 first-grade games for the Tricolours.
Carl Webb
Renowned for his ability as a boxer, dynamic North Queensland forward Carl Webb’s fists cost him a grand final appearance in 2005. Webb punched future Test team-mate Ryan Hoffman in retaliation to an alleged ‘grapple tackle’ in the Cowboys’ final-round win over the Storm.
He pleaded not guilty to the grade four striking charge – to no avail as he was outed for six weeks, sidelining Webb as the Cowboys marched to a maiden grand final appearance.
Cameron Smith
In one of the most controversial and highly-publicised finals suspensions ever, invaluable Melbourne hooker and captain Cameron Smith was rubbed out of the 2008 grand final on a contrary conduct charge.
Cited for unnecessary contact to the head and neck after a tackle on Brisbane’s Sam Thaiday in the Storm’s dramatic 16-14 semi-final victory, Smith copped a two-match ban after pleading not guilty.
Melbourne cruised to a 29-0 win over Cronulla in the preliminary final, but missed Smith’s influence as they were overwhelmed by a record 40-0 by Manly, with five-eighth Russell Aitken wearing the No.9 jumper.
Smith, skipper of the 2007 grand final-winning side, atoned a year later with victory over Parramatta in the 2009 decider, but both premierships were stripped in 2010 following revelations of salary cap breaches by the club. He was still at the helm as the Storm won grand finals in 2012, 2017 and 2020.
Issac Luke
South Sydney’s second-longest-serving player in 2014 after captain John Sutton, brilliant Kiwi hooker Luke’s finals suspension ranks as arguably the most heart-breaking on this list.
Luke’s lifting tackle on Sonny Bill Williams in the Rabbitohs’ thrilling prelim win over the Roosters saw him slapped with a grade one charge – and due to his previous record, his only chance of playing in the grand final was fighting the charge.
He had no joy at the judiciary and was replaced at hooker by Apisai Koroisau, who featured in Souths’ first grand final win in 43 years in just his 14th NRL game. Leaving the club at the end of 2015, Luke made just one further finals appearance in subsequent stints with the Warriors, Dragons and Broncos.
Latrell Mitchell
In one of the most explosive on-field incidents of recent years, South Sydney fullback Mitchell’s shocking high shot on former grand final-winning teammate Joey Manu in his side’s win over Sydney Roosters in the penultimate round of 2021 had wide-ranging consequences.
While Manu was ruled out of the Roosters’ finals campaign with a broken cheekbone, the ugly hit incurred a six-match suspension for Mitchell, who missed the Rabbitohs’ charge to the grand final, which they lost to Penrith.