Ahead of a pair of NRL preliminary final blockbusters, we’re looking at the finest individual displays on the penultimate weekend of the season.
Les Cowie (1956)
Among the most prolific tryscoring forwards of his era, South Sydney’s Les ‘Chicka’ Cowie produced one the most notable individual displays in a losing effort in finals history.
Balmain won an absolute classic 36-33, with Souths’ tally the highest ever in a first grade match by a losing team and still a finals record.
Former Test lock Cowie scored four tries for the Rabbitohs, which equalled the finals record at the time and remains an equal record for most tries in a match by a player in a losing side.
Kevin Stevens (1975)
Ruled out of the 1974 grand final as a rookie, Easts lock Kevin Stevens outshone his high-profile forward pack comrades – Arthur Beetson, Ron Coote et al – with a three-try performance in a 28-13 preliminary final defeat of Manly.
‘Stumpy’ received his belated premiership medal as Easts thrashed St George in the decider and collected another in his last first-grade match, Parramatta’s 1981 grand final win over Newtown.
Ellery Hanley (1988)
British superstar Ellery Hanley made the 1988 finals his own personal playground after arrived at Balmain three weeks before the finals.
‘The Black Pearl’ starred as the Tigers stormed from a fifth-place playoff into the grand final and was at his influential best in the 9-2 defeat of minor premiers Cronulla in the prelim.
Playing in the centres, Hanley scored the only try of the match – his fifth in four sudden-death finals games – but was bashed out of the grand final during the first half as the Tigers went down to the Bulldogs.
Mal Meninga (1990)
A highly-touted blockbuster between Canberra and Brisbane in 1990 resulted in one of the biggest preliminary final blowouts of all time.
Raiders skipper Mal Meninga was at the forefront of a 32-4 rout, scoring two tries and kicking five goals on the way to leading his club to a second straight premiership.
Darren Lockyer (1998)
The Broncos tore the Roosters apart 46-18 in the first preliminary final of the inaugural NRL finals series – and fullback Darren Lockyer stood head-and-shoulders above an all-star cast.
The 21-year-old Test custodian scored three tries, had a hand in several others and added four goals for a 20-point haul on another big step on his ascent to greatness.
Craig Polla-Mounter (1998)
A day after the Broncos’ Lockyer-inspired romp, Bulldogs five-eighth Craig Polla-Mounter helped spearhead arguably the greatest finals comeback of all time.
Canterbury trailed Parramatta 18-2 when Polla-Mounter’s 70th-minute try kick-started the revival. His 50-metre field goal strike on the fulltime hooter agonisingly fell just under the crossbar, but he kicked two field goals and scored another try in extra-time as the Bulldogs carved out a famous 32-20 win.
The Broncos cruised to a 38-12 grand final win over the Bulldogs a week later.
Anthony Mundine (1999)
Anthony Mundine lived up to his self-appointed status as ‘The Man’ to singlehandedly carry St George Illawarra to a preliminary final triumph over minor premier Cronulla in 1999.
The Dragons trailed 8-0 at halftime, but Mundine scored a mesmerising hat-trick and had two slick touches in another try to Luke Patten to inspire a 24-8 victory.
The brilliant five-eighth had a day to forget in the Saints’ heartbreaking grand final loss to the Storm.
Hazem El Masri (2004)
On his way to a premiership record tally of 342 points in 2004, Bulldogs winger Hazem El Masri had a field day in a 30-14 preliminary final victory over the Panthers.
El Masri scored a hat-trick of tries and landed five goals for a 22-point haul – the equal-third most points in a final match at the time.
The underrated flankman scored another try and kicked two goals in the Bulldogs’ nail-biting 16-13 grand final win over the Roosters.
Darren Lockyer (2006)
Brisbane, Queensland and Australian skipper Darren Lockyer’s charmed 2006 campaign featured a virtuoso display in a sensational preliminary final comeback.
The Broncos trailed the Bulldogs 20-6 at halftime, before an iconic Shaun Berrigan try and a four-pointer to Dane Carlaw trimmed the deficit – and Lockyer went into overdrive.
The five-eighth laid on tries for Darius Boyd and Brent Tate either side of starting and finishing a brilliant 60-metre try, then slotted a field goal to give the Broncos an unassailable 13-point lead. The Broncos eventually won 37-20 and went on to beat the Storm in the grand final, with Lockyer equally influential.
Shaun Johnson (2011)
Playing just his 15th NRL game, Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson showed maturity beyond his years in a mountainous 2011 preliminary final assignment against the Storm.
A magnificent kicking display in general play helped hem the Storm in all night at AAMI Park, before embarking on a dazzling, iconic cross-field run to set up a match-sealing try for Lewis Brown in the dying minutes.
Johnson put his stamp on the Warriors’ second-half comeback in the grand final, which ultimately fell short in a 24-10 loss to Manly.
Sam Burgess (2014)
A week before his courageous Clive Churchill Medal-winning performance, Souths enforcer Sam Burgess was a goliath in a 32-22 preliminary final triumph over archrivals Sydney Roosters.
As well as laying on a try for Ben Te’o that put the Rabbitohs in front 18-12 – setting the tone for a second-half onslaught – the Englishman racked a game-high 194 metres from 25 carries and led Souths’ tackle count with 36.
Ben Hunt (2015)
In would all unravel in the grand final, but Broncos halfback Ben Hunt was the star of a 31-12 preliminary final beatdown of minor premiers Sydney Roosters.
Hunt scored a try from his own grubber, brilliantly set up an Andrew McCullough try with two touches and floated a pass for Corey Oates to score in a spectacular first-half display, while his kicking game throughout thwarted the Roosters’ comeback bid.
James Maloney (2016)
In his first season at Cronulla, James Maloney won his duel with Johnathan Thurston to end North Queensland’s title defence in the 2016 prelim.
The five-eighth made a break to set up Chad Townsend’s first-half try, then bagged a second-half double – including a stunning 65-metre intercept effort to go with six goals in a 20-point performance.
Following the 32-20 defeat of the Cowboys, the Sharks won their first premiership with a 14-12 grand final eclipse of the Storm.
Michael Morgan (2017)
With Johnathan Thurston sidelined, Michael Morgan dominated the 2017 finals to lift the Cowboys from an eighth-place finish to a grand final.
Morgan was magnificent in a 29-16 prelim upset of the Roosters, kicking a 40/20, laying on a crucial Kane Linnett try and slotting a match-sealing field goal.
Josh Papalii (2019)
Champion front-rower Josh Papalii propelled Canberra into its first grand final in 25 years, via a gripping 16-10 prelim victory over South Sydney.
On top of a team-high 179 metres from 18 runs with seven tackle-breaks and 35 tackles, Papalii powered through for a sensational match-winning try in the 73rd minute.
Nathan Cleary (2022)
The Panthers’ title defence was on tenterhooks at halftime of the 2022 preliminary final, locked 12-all with the in-form Rabbitohs.
Penrith talisman Nathan Cleary put the team on his back in the second half, grubbering for a Spencer Leniu try and produced a solo kick-and-chase try to seal the deal amid a mastermind all-round halfback display in a 32-12 win.
Reece Walsh (2023)
Game-breaking Brisbane fullback Reece Walsh tormented the Warriors side he left at the end of the previous season in a 42-12 drubbing in the 2023 preliminary final.
Walsh produced an incredible six line-break assists (albeit a crucial one via a blatant forward pass) and three try assists, along with a line-break to send the Broncos into the grand final.