The Brisbane Broncos will head into the 2023 NRL Grand Final as underdogs to the dynastic Penrith Panthers.
It’s a situation they have been in before on Grand Final day with their opponent expected to roll but very rarely does the big day go exactly as everyone expects it.
The occasion invariably evens the scales, however, and teams seemingly with one hand on the silverware often let it slip from their grasp in spectacular fashion.
As the Broncos prepare to conjure the unlikely and unthinkable in Sunday’s NRL decider against the Panthers, relive the most storied grand final boil-overs from the annals of premiership history.
1944 – Balmain 12 d Newtown 8
Balmain’s triumph in the 1944 premiership was overshadowed by allegations that minor premiers Newtown threw the final against the Tigers for the purpose of procuring extra gate-takings via the staging of grand final a week later.
The Bluebags surrendered an 11-0 lead after 20 minutes of the final before going down 19-16 in the wake of a listless second-half display – sparking calls of a rort.
An investigation by the NSWRL upheld the integrity of the Newtown players, while Balmain went on to upset the defending champion Bluebags again in the grand final, 12-8.
1952 – Western Suburbs 22 d South Sydney 12
South Sydney won the 1950-51 and 1953-55 premierships. The only blip was a wildly controversial grand final loss in the 1952 decider as Western Suburbs claimed its last title as a standalone entity.
With both sides missing a host of stars enroute to England with the Kangaroos, the grand final was tainted by the questionable refereeing of George Bishop.
In a violent match, rival forwards Hec Farrell (Wests) and Bryan Orrock (Souths) were sent off in the second half, while an atrocious forward pass call to deny Souths a try and a crucial Magpies try from an obvious forward pass was at the forefront of Souths’ sentiments of being cheated.
Wests ran in four late tries to turn a 12-10 deficit into a 22-12 triumph.
Heavy betting on the match and rumours Bishop placed a £400 wager on Wests – combined with his immediate retirement after the match – have unfortunately clouded the Magpies’ achievement in the annals of history.
1963 – St George 8 d Western Suburbs 3
Wests were responsible for seven-time defending premier St George’s only two regular-season defeats and advanced to the decider with a 10-8 semi-final victory over the Dragons.
Many tipped the Saints’ reign would come to an end in the grand final, but they prevailed 8-3 on an SCG quagmire in a match tainted by controversial decisions by referee Darcy Lawler that went against the Magpies, along with an 18-7 penalty count.
Rumours have persisted that Lawler was on the take – exacerbated by the referee’s immediate retirement – with the likes of Magpies hardmen Jack Gibson and Noel Kelly remaining adamant decades later that the iconic ’63 grand final was fixed.
1969 – Balmain 11 d South Sydney 2
South Sydney’s bid for three straight premierships was thwarted by arguably the greatest grand final upset of all time, as Balmain employed contentious but savvy ‘go-slow’ tactics to throw the Rabbitohs’ momentum.
The Tigers, guided by rookie coach Leo Nosworthy and retiring captain Peter Provan, led 6-0 at halftime and scored the only try of the match through replacement winger Syd Williams in the second half.
English import Dave Bolton’s sweetly-struck field goal with 15 minutes to go – his second of the match – established a nine-point lead and sealed Balmain’s last premiership victory.
The Tigers’ stalling and gamesmanship prevented the shellshocked Rabbitohs from mounting a comeback.
The ’69 grand final is so storied that a book, The Great Grand Final Heist by Ian Heads, was released in 2017.
1989 – Canberra 19 d Balmain 14
Canberra walked the tightrope to reach the 1989 grand final, winning their last five regular-season games after a midyear slump to scrape into fourth in the five-team finals series.
Because they had moved through the playoffs with wins over battle-weary Cronulla, Penrith and Souths, many were unwilling to give the Raiders a chance in the grand final against Balmain.
The Tigers, runners-up in 1988, were coming off a week’s rest and a premiership victory seemed the destiny for a side boasting Wayne Pearce, Garry Jack, Ben Elias, Steve Roach and Paul Sironen, with five-time grand final coach Warren Ryan at the helm.
Down 12-2 at halftime, the Raiders famously forced the game into extra-time, with Mal Meninga’s ankle-tap on a tryline-bound Mick Neil, Elias’ field goal attempt thudding off the crossbar, Pearce dropping the ball with a big overlap begging, and Ryan replacing Roach and Sironen etched into GF folklore.
Following John ‘Chicka’ Ferguson’s hot-stepping late equaliser, Canberra dominated the added 20 minutes with unheralded replacement forward Steve Jackson’s superhuman try capping a stunning 19-14 triumph.
1995 – Canterbury 17 d Manly 4
In all sorts mid-season with inconsistent results compounded by the Super League war that threatened to tear the club apart, the Bulldogs somehow bound together and went on a late-season run to finish sixth.
They eliminated St George first up then caused major boilovers with convincing wins over heavyweights Brisbane and Canberra – but defeating minor premier Manly in the grand final still seemed fanciful.
Arguably the hottest grand final favourites of the past half-century, the Sea Eagles had lost just two games all season and were laced with representative stars in their prime.
But Bob Fulton’s charges threw away the game-plan in the big one, allowing the momentum-riding Bulldogs – aided by a missed forward pass that led to Steve Price’s opener and a try on an erroneous seventh tackle – to carve out a scarcely believable 17-4 win over try-less Manly.
1997 – Newcastle 22 d Manly 16
Manly took out its third straight minor premiership in the 1997 ARL competition and was widely backed to take the grand final for the second year in a row – particularly after spanking opponent Newcastle 27-12 in a semi two weeks earlier.
In fact, the Knights headed into the decider on an 11-match losing streak against the Sea Eagles and with linchpin Andrew Johns spending part of the week in hospital with a punctured lung.
Manly led 16-8 at halftime and seemed odds-on to go on with the job, but Newcastle refused to go away.
In an absorbing second half, Clive Churchill Medal winner Robbie O’Davis’ second try levelled the scores with five minutes left.
The Sea Eagles produced uncharacteristic plays at crunch moments and invited the Knights into their territory in the closing stages.
After Matthew Johns’ field goal attempt agonisingly hit the post, Andrew’s blindside jaunt with only seconds left set up an unforgettable winning try for winger Darren Albert.
1999 – Melbourne 20 d St George Illawarra 18
Debut-season joint venture St George Illawarra’s scintillating 34-10 qualifying final win at Melbourne’s Olympic Park – with Nathan Blacklock nabbing a hat-trick – ensured they carried warm favouritism into a grand final rematch with the Storm.
The Dragons had subsequently dismantled the hotshot Roosters and Sharks, while the Storm had come from behind to pip the Bulldogs and Eels on the way to a decider in just the club’s second year.
The ’99 grand final was going emphatically to script by halftime in front of a world record 107,999-strong crowd with the Saints powering to a 14-0 lead, while they were still 18-6 in front midway through the second stanza.
But with Tawera Nikau wreaking havoc and Brett Kimmorley pulling the strings, the Storm ate away at the deficit and won the premiership in the most dramatic of circumstances: a late penalty try to unconscious winger Craig Smith, who had been poleaxed by Jamie Ainscough in the Dragons’ in-goal.
It remains the biggest grand final comeback of all time.
2001 – Newcastle 30 d Parramatta 24
Parramatta lost just four of its 26 regular-season games in 2001 to win the minor premiership in a canter, racking up a record tally of points along the way. After disposing of the Warriors and Broncos in the playoffs, the Eels headed into the grand final against the Knights as resounding $1.40 favourites.
Newcastle had carved an impressive path through the finals – smashing the Roosters and outlasting the Sharks in a tough prelim – but a 40-0 thrashing at the hands of the blue-and-golds mid-season meant few were willing to back an upset.
Grand final experience was not on the Eels’ side, however, with the club appearing in its first grand final in 15 years, while Andrew Johns had led the Knights to an unforgettable maiden premiership only four seasons earlier.
In the most searing ambush in grand final history, the Knights romped to a 24-0 halftime lead with Bill Peden scoring twice and Ben Kennedy and Johns dominating. The Eels were cooked at 28-6 down midway through the second stanza before staging a late fight-back for a 30-24 final scoreline.
2003 – Penrith 18 d Sydney Roosters 6
Penrith’s capture of the 2003 minor premiership – remarkably, just two years after collecting the spoon – and strong finals wins over the Broncos and Warriors were not enough to secure favouritism ahead of the grand final against defending champs Sydney Roosters.
Brilliant five-eighth and captain Brad Fittler headlined a Tricolours line-up brimming with internationals – and their surge seemed certain to start when Shannon Hegarty’s try early in the second half levelled the scores at 6-all.
But Scott Sattler’s heroic, iconic 54th-minute cover tackle on a runaway Todd Byrne proved the turning point for the underdog Panthers.
Clive Churchill Medal winner Luke Priddis scored a go-ahead try before laying on the sealer for Luke Rooney, the winger’s second on a wet night at Homebush, in an 18-6 triumph.
2006 – Brisbane 15 d Melbourne 8
Runaway minor premiers Melbourne Storm arrived in the grand final having lost just one of their previous 16 – and as warm favourites to beat a Brisbane Broncos side that had only rebounded back to form a few weeks out from the finals and had stage a huge prelim comeback against the Bulldogs.
The dominant Storm froze on the big stage somewhat, though, with scant grand final experience to call upon.
The Broncos boasted seven grand final winners in their 17 – plus five-time premiership coach Wayne Bennett.
Shaun Berrigan shut down dangerman Greg Inglis on the way to the Clive Churchill Medal and skipper Darren Lockyer played the decider to perfection, laying on both of his side’s tries before slotting the field goal that clinched a 15-8 upset.
Bennett rated the victory as the most satisfying of all the Broncos’ titles.
2016 – Cronulla 14 d Melbourne 12
Though Cronulla only eased out as far as $2.16 to win the 2016 grand final, Melbourne’s vast premiership-winning experience – headlined by modern greats Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk – painted the Storm as distinct favourites against a club striving for its maiden title in its 50th season.
The Sharks did everything right to lead 8-0 at halftime but the Storm rallied with tries to Jesse Bromwich and Will Chambers midway through the second half to take a stranglehold on the Provan-Summons Trophy.
Enter Andrew Fifita, who produced a sensational solo try to put Cronulla back in front with 10 minutes left. After holding out a nerve-shredding Storm attacking foray in the dying seconds, the Sharks and their fans erupted into one of the most emotional post-GF celebrations the game has witnessed.