Chocolate, hot-cross buns…and footy.
The date changes every year, but one reliable constant of the four-day holiday weekend is drama-charged rugby league.
From the traditional Friday and Monday rivalries, to the classic one-off encounters, relive the NRL’s greatest Easter moments from the past 40 years.
‘Bozo’ v Bill (1987)
“I hope you get run over by a truck. I hope it’s a cement truck.”
It’s one of the most famous quotes in rugby league history, with referee Bill Harrigan’s performance in a Manly-Cronulla clash in 1987 leaving Sea Eagles coach Bob Fulton bereft of Easter spirit.
‘Bozo’s’ outburst overshadowed a momentous 18-13 victory for Jack Gibson’s Sharks, who overturned a 12-4 halftime scoreline – aided by a 13-4 penalty count in their favour – and grabbed the winning try three minutes from time through Greg Nixon, after opposing No.7 Des Hasler had been sin-binned.
Mal-led Easter(n) massacre (1990)
Canberra rewrote the record books on Easter Sunday in 1990, eviscerating Eastern Suburbs 66-4 at Bruce Stadium in a 12-try onslaught.
Skipper Mal Meninga was the chief destroyer for the defending premiers, scoring 38 points from five tries and nine goals – the equal-second-biggest individual tally in premiership history.
Veteran Raiders winger John ‘Chicka’ Ferguson also toyed with the Roosters courtesy of sizzling hat-trick in a match that kicked off a 10-match winless run for Easts that would bring down the axe on coach Russell Fairfax.
Belmore bounces for grand final prelude (1994)
Nearly 25,000 fans crammed into Belmore Oval for a 1994 Easter Monday blockbuster, pitting home side Canterbury-Bankstown against star-studded Canberra.
Evergreen captain Terry Lamb engineered a commanding 17-4 halftime lead for the Bulldogs, but the Raiders came home with a wet sail in the second stanza to go within an ace of snatching the game in a 17-12 loss.
The Raiders scored three tries to two but goalkicking proved vital: David Furner missed with all three of his shot, while Daryl Halligan landed four-from-four.
The clubs would meet twice that September – the Bulldogs winning an extra time major semi classic 19-18, before the Raiders turned the tables 36-12 in a grand final blitzkrieg.
Premiers stamp authority (2003)
Sydney Roosters and Brisbane Broncos had a standing Good Friday date for several years in the 2000s – and the rivalry peaked in an explosive 2003 encounter.
There was no shortage of bad blood following the Roosters’ preliminary final eclipse of the Broncos on their way to the previous year’s title, along with the presence of fiery ex-Brisbane prodigy Justin Hodges in the Tricolours’ line-up.
Brisbane led the SFS showdown 20-12 during the first half through tries to Dane Carlaw, Michael De Vere and Stuart Kelly, but the Roosters rallied to win 27-20 on the back of a Brad Fittler masterclass.
‘Freddy’ scored two tries and set two up in a performance that drew wide acclaim and cemented the Roosters’ status as the NRL’s new preeminent force.
Tigers take out points-fest (2005)
One of the performances that epitomised Wests Tigers’ iconic rise to take out the 2005 premiership was a thrill-a-minute 37-36 defeat of defending champs the Bulldogs on Easter Sunday.
The Tigers trailed 18-6 late in the first half but piled on five unanswered tries in less than 30 minutes to lead 36-18. The Bulldogs fought back, however, with three tries in 10 minutes – including a solo equaliser to Braith Anasta with two minutes on the clock.
But an error from Roy Asotasi in the Bulldogs set from the restart offered up a last-ditch opportunity to avoid golden point for the Tigers, which Scott Prince iced with a field goal 20 seconds from fulltime.
The Bulldogs’ total equalled the premiership record for most points by a losing team.
Sharks stun in Melbourne (2008)
Cronulla foreshadowed a rise from also-ran status to a top-four finish in 2008 with a Round 2 boilover at Olympic Park, snatching a 17-16 Easter Sunday victory over Melbourne.
The Greg Bird-inspired Sharks raced to a 14-0 lead in 12 minutes but the defending premiers rallied to level scores. A Brett Kimmorley field goal on his old stomping ground with two minutes left sealed a memorable upset.
Anzac Day boilover (2011)
No strangers to producing boilovers at Olympic Park themselves, the Warriors snapped the Storm’s nine-match winning streak at AAMI Park in their first visit to the venue in 2011.
The Easter Monday clash doubled as the fledgling Anzac Day fixture between the clubs. After conceding a try to Beau Champion in the third minute, the Warriors crossed three times in 11 minutes to lead 18-8 at the break.
Melbourne cut the deficit to four points just three minutes into the second half, but that’s where the score remained as the Warriors produced a mammoth defensive display to hold on – a prelude to their epic preliminary final victory at the same ground five months later.
Storm surge in Suncorp stunner (2013)
This Good Friday blockbuster in Brisbane almost marked Melbourne’s 400th match in the NRL – and the Storm were in celebration mode early as they raced to a 14-0 lead in even time with Billy Slater bagging a double.
Slater set up another for a 20-6 halftime advantage, but the Broncos rallied spectacularly with the first three tries of the second stanza to hit the front.
Incomparable fullback Slater climbed to take a bomb for his hat-trick and the lead in the 62nd minute. Brisbane kept pushing, however, and the archrivals added another try apiece in a thrilling climax as Melbourne held on 32-26.
‘Hodko’ the hero (2014)
A week after sinking the Warriors at Eden Park with a late field goal, Canterbury halfback Trent Hodkinson buried South Sydney on Good Friday with a one-pointer in the 78th minute in front of more than 43,000 fans at ANZ Stadium.
Sam Burgess barged over for the only try of the first half just before the break, but Mitch Brown responded for the Bulldogs after the resumption.
Rabbitohs skipper John Sutton’s solo try restored an eight-point lead, before Corey Thompson hot-stepped his way over and a subsequent penalty goal locked up the scores – setting the stage for Hodkinson to coolly slot the winner for a 15-14 result Souths would avenge on grand final day.
Bulldogs explode on ‘Bad Friday’ (2015)
The grand final rematch boiled over into a Good Friday horror show as Canterbury and South Sydney went hammer and tongs, culminating in one of the most explosive finishes to a match in the NRL era.
The Bulldogs let 10-0 and 16-8 leads slip in wet conditions at Homebush, the Rabbitohs fighting back level. Trent Hodkinson appeared to have repeated his match-winning turn from a year earlier with a 77th-minute field goal…but the drama was only just beginning.
Bulldogs skipper James Graham’s ugly challenge on Adam Reynolds’ field goal attempt incurred a penalty. The Englishman unloaded on referee Bernard Sutton, as did David Klemmer, who was dispatched to the sin bin.
With Reynolds injured, Bryson Goodwin knocked over the penalty goal from in front for a controversial 18-17 win, prompting unruly Bulldogs fans to pelt the match officials with bottles as they left the field.
Graham and Klemmer both received three-match bans for dissent, with Graham getting one more week on a dangerous contact charge.
Grand final rematch for the ages (2016)
Six months after producing one of the greatest grand finals of all time, Brisbane and North Queensland put together another rugby league masterpiece on Good Friday.
A crowd of 46,176 turned out at Suncorp Stadium for the blockbuster and were treated to a rollercoaster.
The Cowboys fought back from 10-0 down to grab an 18-14 lead inside the last 10 minutes, before the mercurial Anthony Milford cut through and found James Roberts to finish off a 70-metre go-ahead try. Johnathan Thurston slotted a penalty goal from out wide to send the match into golden point.
Kyle Feldt looked to have raced over for the winner but the pass to the Cowboys winger was ruled forward and Thurston was denied a try, knocking the ball on as he scrambled over. Milford clinched a 21-20 result for the Broncos with a booming 40-metre field goal in the 85th minute.
Manic Monday (2017)
Parramatta and Wests Tigers produced a typically helter skelter Easter Monday thriller in 2017 at ANZ Stadium.
Tigers halfback Mitch Moses gave the Eels a tantalising preview of the player they would acquire in a mid-season switch just a month later, scoring his side’s first try and – along with brilliant fullback James Tedesco – leading them to a 22-10 lead.
Two tries in quick succession to the Eels – with Kirisome Auva’a scoring then setting one up for Josh Hoffman – cut the deficit to two points with 14 minutes left, before Semi Radradra capped a big game by going over for the go-ahead try.
Eels open new stadium in style (2019)
Mitch Moses was the Easter Monday star again two years later but in a blue-and-gold jersey, torturing Wests Tigers as Parramatta powered to a sizzling 51-6 win at the opening of the new Western Sydney Stadium.
The No.7 posted the venue’s first try, outsprinting the Tigers defence on a 75-metre run to the line – the first of several long-range stunners the Eels would score.
Moses finished with 19 points, Michael Jennings scored two of the Eels nine tries and the likes of Shaun Lane ran riot on a memorable day for Parramatta.
Hastings snatches thriller (2022)
In just his third match back from a four-year NRL hiatus, Jackson Hastings nailed one of the great field goals to earn Wests Tigers a stunning 21-20 Easter Monday upset over Parramatta.
The battling Tigers went into the showdown 0-5 but were fired up for the occasion and led 20-10 when Ken Maumalo dived over in the corner early in the second half.
Mitch Moses laid on tries for Reed Mahoney and Marata Niukore, but he missed the conversion of the latter to leave the scores tied at 20-all.
After Moses pushed a field goal attempt wide with less than a minute left golden point seemed imminent. Hastings had other ideas, though, sending a 38-metre attempt down the middle as the clock ticked down to zero.