Memorable Grand Finals Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

The 2001 grand final didn't break any records: the highest scoring grand final was still the 56 points scored when South Sydney beat Manly-Warringah 42-14 in the 1951 grand final (when tries were 3 points, they've been 4 points since 1983). Souths completed their 18 regular season games with a 16-1-1 record. The 1951 grand final was Manly's first - it was their 5th year in the NSWRL competiton, having joined in 1947.

Those 42 points scored by Souths in 1951 set a record which was still unbroken when Newcastle won the 2001 grand Final - the greatest number of points scored by a club in a grand final. The previous record for a premiership-decider was set in 1922, when North Sydney beat Glebe 35-3.

Answer: 1

The minor premiers were behind 2-4 at half time in 1964 v Balmain. The Dragons went on to record their 9th out of 11 consecutive titles, with an 11-6 scoreline at full time.

Answer: False

South Sydney were minor premiers in 1989 when they finished the season with an 18-1-3 win-draw-loss record. They lost 10-20 in the semi-finals to 3rd placed Balmain, then lost 16-32 to 4th placed Canberra Raiders in the preliminary final, and were eliminated from the title race.

Balmain progressed to the grand final to lose 14-19 in extra time to Canberra. In this memorable grand final Balmain were leading 14-8 with 7 minutes to go when a field goal attempt by Benny Elias hit the cross bar and bounced back. Canberra scored in the last 90 seconds to force the game into extra time, and the rest is history.

Answer: 1972

Souths won in 1954 and 1955 (Newtown were minor premiers in both of those years, and lost both grand finals; 23-15 in 1954 and 12-11 in 1955). St George won the next 11 from 1956 to 1966. Souths won from 1967 to 1971, except for 1969 when they lost 2-11 to Balmain in a huge boilover, ranked by many historians as the greatest grand final upset (Balmain were leading 6-0 at half time and scored the only try of the match 15 minutes into the 2nd half).

In 1972 neither Souths nor St George were on the field: minor premiers Manly-Warringah defeated Eastern Suburbs 19-14. This was Manly's first premiership.

Answer: No

A penalty try was awarded in the 1977 replay, to John Bailey of St George. The grand final ended 9-9 after 20 minutes of extra time and, in the first ever replay of a grand final, St George went on to whitewash Parramatta 22-0. The only other drawn grand final was 11-11 in 1978 between Manly-Warringah and Cronulla-Sutherland (the replay was won 16-0 by Manly in another whitewash). These are and will be the only replays of grand finals - the rules now provide for sudden death if the scores are still locked at the end of extra time.

In the 1999 grand final the penalty try was converted (from in front of the goal posts), and the match ended in a 20-18 victory to Melbourne at the Olympic stadium in Sydney, before a world record crowd of 107,558 (sometimes given as 107,999). Melbourne, who were admitted to the NRL in 1998, won the title in their 2nd year of existence and Glenn Lazarus become the first player to win a Grand Final with 3 different clubs (Canberra 1989 & 90, Brisbane 1992 & 93, and Melbourne 1999).

St George-Illawarra blew a 14-0 half time lead, setting a record for the biggest lead at half time by a side which lost the grand final. The previous record for the biggest half-time lead by the losing finalist was 12-2 by Balmain in the memorable 1989 grand final (they lost 14-19 after extra time to Canberra).