Newcastle duo Jacob Saifiti and Phoenix Crossland will join the long, tortured list of players to miss a grand final through suspension.
But spare a thought also for those who have missed their chance in the grand final spotlight through an untimely injury, or after being squeezed out of the line-up after occupying a place for most of the season.
Knights prop Trey Mooney was rubbed out with injury prior to the finals after playing 22 games, while versatile teammate Fletcher Hunt’s only chance on grand final day will come through as in-game injury despite scoring 13 tries in 18 games this season.
On Sydney Roosters’ side of the fence, it’s likely at least one of Spencer Leniu (22 games), Hugo Savala (22 games) and Egan Butcher (17 games) won’t get to take the field on Sunday night, while Connor Watson (26 games) could miss the decider with a head knock.
We take a look at some of the hard-luck stories of grand finals gone by.
Chris Anderson and Ross Conlon (1984)
Incoming coach Warren Ryan got immediate results at Canterbury – taking the club to back-to-back premierships in 1984-85 – but he made some brutal selection calls along the way.
A 14-season veteran with a record tally of tries for the club, favourite son and former Test star Anderson was axed after Round 19. Fellow winger Ross Conlon was benched on the eve of the finals and left out of the Bulldogs’ run to the title – despite making his Origin and Test debuts that season.
Six-game rookie Steve O’Brien and former centre stalwart Peter Mortimer lined up on the wings in the grand final win over Parramatta, while Anderson and Conlon both departed Belmore at the end of the year. Conlon’s last first-grade match was in Balmain’s 1988 grand final loss to Canterbury.
Terry Lamb (1985)
Canterbury icon Lamb featured in the club’s 1984, 1988 and 1995 grand final wins – the latter as captain – but he was nevertheless a shattered absentee from the 1985 decider.
The champion five-eighth played 22 games in 1985 but an injury suffered in the major semi sidelined him for the big one. Michael Hagan stepped into the No.6 breach as the Bulldogs chalked up a second straight title with a 7-6 eclipse of St George.
Brian Jackson (1986)
Exciting three-quarter Jackson was one of the best discoveries of 1986, scoring eight tries in 22 games for Parramatta. But with legendary trio Mick Cronin, Steve Ella and Eric Grothe all on deck after largely injury-interrupted campaigns, Jackson was squeezed out of the Eels’ line-up during the finals.
Another rookie, Mick Delroy, was preferred on a wing for the try-less grand final victory over the Bulldogs. Jackson finished with 90 appearances for Parramatta before an unsuccessful move to Souths in 1992.
Bradley Clyde (1990)
The 19-year-old Clive Churchill Medal winner in Canberra’s 1989 grand final triumph, brilliant Test lock Clyde was cut down by a knee injury midway through 1990 – costing him a second premiership medal and a Kangaroo Tour berth.
His misfortune allowed tyro Nigel Gaffey to make just his fifth back-row start in the grand final win over Penrith, while all-time great Clyde recovered to win another Churchill Medal in a losing team in 1991 and featured in the Raiders’ 1994 grand final victory.
Ben Alexander (1991)
A plucky and versatile hooker/half, Ben Alexander – the younger brother of Penrith captain and linchpin Greg – played 18 games during the Panthers’ 1991 campaign, coming off the bench in the minor premiers’ major semi win over Norths.
But with Phil Gould using only two replacement players in the historic grand final victory over Canterbury, Alexander didn’t take the field in the match – which was played nine days after his 20th birthday.
Tragically, Alexander died in a car accident in June the following year.
Darren Smith (1994)
A valuable performer for Canterbury and an Origin regular for Queensland, centre/back-rower Smith’s refusal to re-sign with the Bulldogs cost him a place in the Bulldogs’ 1994 grand final line-up.
Smith played all but two of the team’s games that season but was snubbed by coach Chris Anderson for the decider, which saw the Bulldogs capitulate 36-12 to Canberra. Rookie Steve Price, making just his sixth first-grade appearance, was one of the bench players used by Anderson.
Smith joined Brisbane and later won two premierships, but he rejoined the Bulldogs for another stint in 1999.
Albert Fulivai (1994)
Tongan flyer Albert Fulivai was an unsung hero in the star-studded Raiders’ 1994 campaign, playing 17 regular-season games and scoring eight tries as a host of big guns battled injury during the year.
Fulivai came off the bench in the opening week of the finals against Norths but was surplus to requirement thereafter, with the crack first-choice back-five of Brett Mullins, Ken Nagas, Noa Nadruku, Mal Meninga and Ruben Wiki all available.
It was arguably rough, however, that despite the Raiders running away with the grand final 36-12, coach Tim Sheens only used two replacement players. Interchange regulars Jason Death (16 games) and David Boyle (13 games) were also denied a run on the big stage.
Fulivai was only a intermittent fill-in for the Raiders in subsequent seasons, finishing with 44 appearances to the end of 1998.
Brett Dallas (1995)
Kept in reserve grade by Kiwi Test wingers Jason Williams and Daryl Halligan as the Bulldogs reached the 1994 grand final, Dallas usurped Williams the following season after starring in Queensland’s unlikely Origin cleansweep and earning an Australian Test debut amid the Super League upheaval.
The quicksilver redhead featured throughout the Bulldogs’ remarkable run from sixth to the grand final but was ruled out of the decider by injury. Captain Terry Lamb famously gave the 20-year-old his premiership medal.
ARL signing Dallas joined Norths – enduring a string of heartbreaking finals exits – and went on to lose three Super League grand finals with Wigan.
Leo Dynevor (1997)
Surprise packet half Dynevor was one of the stars of the 1997 ARL premiership, playing a vital role for Newcastle with superstar Andrew Johns out injured for much of the year.
Dynevor came off the bench in the preliminary final (his 19th game of the season, during which he tallied 104 points) with ‘Joey’ hampered and shone once again.
The ex-Broncos lower-grader looked set to enter the grand final fray as Johns came towards the sideline, but Johns was ordered to get back on the field and famously steered the Knights to a last-minute win over Manly.
Dynevor spent 1998-99 with struggling Western Suburbs but was unable to produce the same playmaking magic.
A knee injury suffered in the first week of the finals also prevented brilliant young centre Matt Gidley from playing the Knights’ grand final triumph.
Ben Anderson (1999)
Following a season-ending injury to gun five-eighth Scott Hill, Anderson – the son of coach Chris – took his chance in the No.6 jersey. He had just four interchange appearances to his name before 1999 but made 13 starts alongside Brett Kimmorley for the third-placed Storm.
After a heavy qualifying final loss to the Dragons, Anderson was axed by his dad with wing regular Matt Geyer the surprise choice to fill the five-eighth role. The Storm went on to turn the tables on the Saints in the grand final.
Shane Walker (2000)
An ultra-versatile competitor from a talented rugby league family, Walker became a regular for the Broncos in 1999 and played 19 regular-season games for the runaway minor premiers in 2000.
But after playing in the qualifying final win over Cronulla, there was no room for Walker on the bench for the preliminary final or grand final victories with Shaun Berrigan, Michael Hancock, Ashley Harrison and Harvey Howard preferred.
Walker featured in the Broncos 2001-02 preliminary final losses before linking with battling Souths.
Darren Albert (2001)
The last-minute tryscoring hero of Newcastle’s 1997 grand final triumph, Albert bounced back from a few injury-hampered campaigns to score 16 tries in 22 regular-season games for the Knights in 2001.
But after playing in the qualifying final win over the Roosters, the wing speedster had a niggling ankle problem investigated – and found that it was broken. Albert subsequently missed the grand final win over Parramatta before joining St Helens, where he won a Super League title in 2002.
Henry Faafili (2002)
Crowd favourite winger Henry Faafili played every match and top-scored with 14 tries as the Warriors reached the finals for the first time in 2001.
Famous for his cornrows and novel try celebrations, Faafili backed up with 17 appearances for the minor premiers in 2002 and scored a try in their historic qualifying final win over Canberra.
But he was subsequently the odd man out in a three-way battle for wing spots, with Francis Meli and Justin Murphy preferred for the prelim and grand final.
Faafili regained a permanent spot the following season but left the Warriors midway through 2004 after 94 appearances, enjoying a prolific three-season stay at Warrington.
Chad Robinson and David Kidwell (2002)
Quality forwards Robinson (20 games) and Kidwell (19 games) were regulars in Ricky Stuart’s Roosters side throughout 2002, while they both came off the bench in the first two weeks of the finals.
But with impact forward Michael Crocker and fullback Luke Phillips (who bumped utility Chris Flannery back to the interchange) returning, the pair were unlucky omissions from the Roosters’ winning preliminary final and grand final line-ups.
Robinson, who tragically died in 2016, played in the Roosters’ 2003-04 grand final losses before joining Parramatta, while Kiwi enforcer Kidwell moved to Melbourne and featured in the 2006 grand final defeat before linking with South Sydney.
Steve Price (2004)
A tryscorer in Canterbury’s shock 1995 grand final win over Manly and part of the club’s losses in the 1994 and 1998 deciders, Price was set to captain the Bulldogs to their premiership destiny in 2004 prior to his move to the Warriors.
But a knee injury ruled the Test prop – who had played 20-plus games in seven straight seasons – out of the grand final. His place in the Bulldogs’ 17 was taken by Johnathan Thurston, who gave his ring to Price following the 16-13 victory over the Roosters.
Tame Tupou (2006)
Giant Kiwi winger Tupou got a taste of NRL football with the Broncos in 2004 – playing in two finals matches after making just one regular-season appearance – and again in 2005, before essentially becoming a permanent fixture on the flank in 2006.
Tupou scored a team-high 13 tries in 17 regular-season games but was axed following Brisbane’s qualifying final loss to St George Illawarra. Test fullback Karmichael Hunt, who had battled injuries for the previous two months, returned to the side on the wing as the Broncos went on to win the title.
A four-Test rep for New Zealand, Tupou joined Bradford for a modest two-season stint.
Luke Priddis (2010)
Veteran hooker Priddis went agonisingly close to joining Glenn Lazarus as the only player to win grand finals with three different clubs.
Brisbane’s No.9 in its 2000 grand final success and the Clive Churchill Medal winner as Penrith carried off the 2003 title, the former Test rake reconnected with Wayne Bennett at St George Illawarra in 2009.
Priddis made 20 appearances – all but one of them as starting hooker – as the Dragons secured another minor premiership in 2010 but regular lock Dean Young was installed at dummy-half with Nathan Fien the bench option throughout the playoffs, which culminated in a grand final win over the Roosters.
The unfortunate demotion marked the end of Priddis’ 315-game career.
Jason King (2011, 2013)
No-frills prop King was part of Manly’s 2008 grand final triumph, before representing NSW and being installed as Sea Eagles co-captain.
But he lifted the NRL trophy alongside Jamie Lyon in 2011 without his playing kit, having been ruled out for the year with a torn pec 16 games into his campaign.
A shoulder injury restricted King to four games in 2013, denying him another grand final appearance.
Anthony Quinn, Matt Duffie and Jason Ryles (2012)
Melbourne Storm buried the pain of the club’s salary cap scandal by powering to premiership glory in 2012, but it was tempered by the absence of three first-choice stars.
A shoulder injury cut down Kiwi Matt Duffie (17 games) and a calf injury sidelined fellow winger Anthony Quinn (20 games) – who had played in the club’s 2007 win but was ruled out of the 2009 victory, with both premierships stripped by the NRL.
Veteran former Test prop Jason Ryles was arguably the most heartbreaking case, sidelined by a hamstring complaint on the eve of the finals. Ryles was a long-serving player for an underachieving St George Illawarra before joining the Roosters and featuring in their 2010 grand final loss to the Dragons.
Nathan Merritt (2014)
Merritt was an institution on the wing for Souths, riding out wooden spoon lows (yet still leading the NRL’s tryscoring charts) and breaking the club record with 146 tries in 218 appearances.
The popular flyer played in the Rabbitohs’ 2012-13 prelim losses – making his NSW Origin debut in the latter year – but the arrival of veteran Lote Tuqiri and the emergence of teenaged rookie Alex Johnston saw Merritt drop out of Souths’ line-up midway through 2014.
Souths went on to snap a 43-year premiership drought with a grand final win over Canterbury, while Merritt slipped into retirement at the relatively young age of 31.
Michael Ennis (2014)
After watching Brisbane’s 2006 victory from the sidelines with a knee injury and captaining Canterbury in its loss to Melbourne in the 2012 decider, Ennis was denied a grand final farewell with the Bulldogs after leading them there from seventh in 2014.
Cronulla-bound Ennis had played all 27 games but was ruled out of the grand final with a foot injury, replaced in the No.9 by rookie Moses Mbye, who was playing just his ninth NRL game.
Ennis made up for his checkered grand final history by retiring after the Sharks’ historic 2016 triumph over the Storm.
Joseph Paulo (2016)
A hardworking an skilful performer for Penrith and Parramatta across eight seasons, Paulo joined Cronulla in 2016 and made 20 appearances before an ill-timed injury in the last round of the regular season.
Paulo missed the Sharks’ first two finals matches but was available for the grand final. However, his interchange spot went to Sam Tagataese, who himself had been sidelined since Round 22 and featured in the nail-biting victory over the Storm.
Nicho Hynes (2020)
After making a solitary NRL appearance for the Storm in 2019, Hynes forged a regular spot in the squad during the second half of the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
The utility-back proved a handy back-up for fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen and his versatility was exercised off the bench in Melbourne’s qualifying and preliminary final wins.
Despite the Storm’s relatively convincing grand final victory over the Panthers, Craig Bellamy kept Hynes on the pine for the entire 80 minutes – thus denying him the status of premiership winner.
He played 24 games in a Melbourne campaign that finished with a prelim loss in 2021 before moving to Cronulla.
Matt Eisenhuth (2021-24)
Former Wests Tigers forward Eisenhuth became a valuable pick-up for Penrith, linking with the burgeoning outfit in 2021.
Eisenhuth made 64 NRL appearances as the Panthers powered for a historic premiership four-peat – but none of those were grand finals.
The closest he came was in 2024, when he came off the bench in their qualifying and preliminary final wins, before being bumped out of the 17 for the returning Scott Sorensen.
Billy Walters (2025)
A vital part of Brisbane’s drive to the 2023 grand final at hooker, the versatile Walters filled in at five-eighth during the latter part of their 2025 campaign.
But after missing just three games in four seasons since joining the Broncos in 2022, an ACL suffered in their epic golden point qualifying final eclipse of the Raiders heartbreakingly ruled him out of the run to a drought-breaking premiership.
Walters finally returned to the field in June this year.