2024 NRL Grand Final

{{Infobox rugby league football match

| year = 2024

| title = NRL Grand Final

| image = 2024 NRL GF.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Accor Stadium during the match

| alt =

| home = {{leagueicon|Melbourne|50}}
Melbourne
Storm

| home_coach = Craig Bellamy

| away = {{leagueicon|Penrith|50}}
Penrith
Panthers

| away_coach = Ivan Cleary

| home_abbr = {{leagueicon|Melbourne|16}} MEL

| away_abbr = {{leagueicon|Penrith|16}} PEN

| home_half1 = 6

| home_half2 = 0

| home_total =6

| away_half1 = 10

| away_half2 = 4

| away_total =14

| date = 6 October 2024

| stadium = Accor Stadium

| location = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

| MoM_title = Clive Churchill Medal

| MoM = Liam Martin

| welcome to country =

| anthem_title = National Anthem

| anthem = Dami Im

| anthem2_title = Pre-Match Entertainment

| anthem2 = The Kid Laroi

| referee = Ashley Klein

| attendance = 80,156

| network = Nine Network

| network2 =

| commentators = Mathew Thompson

| commentators2 = Billy Slater

| commentators3 = Andrew Johns

| commentators4 = Brad Fittler

| commentators5 = Danika Mason

| tournaments = NRL Grand Final

| last = 2023

| next = 2025

}}

The 2024 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2024 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Melbourne Storm and the Penrith Panthers on Sunday 6 October at Accor Stadium in Sydney.{{Cite web|url= https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-grand-final-2024-schedule-fixtures-melbourne-storm-vs-winner-of-penrith-panthers-vs-cronulla-sharks-times-date-venue-what-time-does-it-start/news-story/35c4b74d3ff76e3c0d883d802dff0848 |title= Panthers seal fifth straight GF to book date with Storm in decider: NRL Grand Final fixture |publisher=www.foxsports.com.au|date=28 September 2024|access-date=29 September 2024}} In front of 80,156 spectators, defending premiers Penrith defeated the minor premiers Melbourne 14–6 to extend their premiership streak to four titles in a row, and their sixth overall. The Clive Churchill Medal was awarded to second-row forward Liam Martin for being judged as man of the match.

The match was preceded by the 2024 NRL State Championship and the NRL Women's Premiership Grand Final. The match was broadcast live throughout Australia by the Nine Network. Pre-match entertainment was performed by Australian rapper The Kid Laroi.{{Cite web|url= https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/09/04/the-kid-laroi-to-headline-2024-grand-final-entertainment/ |title= The Kid LAROI to headline 2024 Telstra Premiership Grand Final entertainment |publisher=www.nrl.com|date=4 September 2024|access-date=29 September 2024}}

Background

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;margin:0" \|+Melbourne Storm's route to the final ! scope="col" style="width:25px" \|Round ! scope="col" style="width:200px" \|Opposition ! scope="col" style="width:70px" \|Score
scope="row" style="text-align:center" \|{{Tooltip\|QF\|Qualifying final}} \|Cronulla Sharks (H) \|37–10
scope="row" style="text-align:center" \|{{Tooltip\|PF\|Preliminary final}} \|Sydney Roosters (H) \|48–18
colspan="3" \|Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;margin:0"

|+Melbourne Storm's route to the final

! scope="col" style="width:25px" |Round

! scope="col" style="width:200px" |Opposition

! scope="col" style="width:70px" |Score

scope="row" style="text-align:center" |{{Tooltip|QF|Qualifying final}}

|Cronulla Sharks (H)

|37–10

scope="row" style="text-align:center" |{{Tooltip|PF|Preliminary final}}

|Sydney Roosters (H)

|48–18

colspan="3" |Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;margin:0" \|+Penrith Panthers' route to the final ! scope="col" style="width:25px" \|Round ! scope="col" style="width:200px" \|Opposition ! scope="col" style="width:70px" \|Score
scope="row" style="text-align:center" \|{{Tooltip\|QF\|Qualifying final}} \|Sydney Roosters (H) \|30–10
scope="row" style="text-align:center" \|{{Tooltip\|PF\|Preliminary final}} \|Cronulla Sharks (N) \|26–6
colspan="3" \|Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;margin:0"

|+Penrith Panthers' route to the final

! scope="col" style="width:25px" |Round

! scope="col" style="width:200px" |Opposition

! scope="col" style="width:70px" |Score

scope="row" style="text-align:center" |{{Tooltip|QF|Qualifying final}}

|Sydney Roosters (H)

|30–10

scope="row" style="text-align:center" |{{Tooltip|PF|Preliminary final}}

|Cronulla Sharks (N)

|26–6

colspan="3" |Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue

The 2024 NRL season is the 117th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 27th season run by the National Rugby League. The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, followed by a finals series contested by the top eight teams on the competition ladder.

The 2024 Melbourne Storm season was the 27th season in the club's history. Coached by Craig Bellamy and captained by Harry Grant, the club played their home games at AAMI Park in Melbourne. The Storm finished in first place on the ladder with 44 points and a 19–5 win-loss record, taking out the J. J. Giltinan Shield for winning the competition's minor premiership, while setting a new club record for crowds with an average attendance of 21,067 at each home game.{{Cite web |title=2024 NRL Telstra Premiership - RLP |url=https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrl-2024/summary.html |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=www.rugbyleagueproject.org}}

The 2024 Penrith Panthers season was the 58th season in the club's history. Coached by Ivan Cleary and co-captained by Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo, the club played their home games at BlueBet Stadium in Penrith. The Panthers finished the regular season in second place on the ladder with 40 points and a 17–7 win–loss record.

It would be the second time the Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers had faced each other in a grand final match, after featuring in the 2020 premiership decider, and the first time since 2014 in which the grand finalists had previously played each other in a decider. The 2020 grand final was the Storm's last grand final appearance as well as their most recent premiership victory. The 2020 match would also be the Penrith Panthers' first of now five-straight grand final appearances, which accomplishes a new record in the NRL competition era, and was last achieved by the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 1971.

The two clubs played each other twice in the 2024 season; in round 1 with the Storm beating the Panthers 8–0 at AAMI Park, and round 24 where the Storm won again 24–22 at BlueBet Stadium. Their last finals meeting was a 38–4 win for Penrith at the 2023 preliminary finals.

Pre-match

=Team selection=

Dylan Edwards, Brian To'o, Jarome Luai, Nathan Cleary, James Fisher-Harris, Liam Martin, Moses Leota and Isaah Yeo all made their fifth-straight grand final appearance for Penrith.

Penrith {{rlp|sr}} forward Scott Sorensen was a late addition into the side, having missed both previous finals games with a hamstring injury. His inclusion resulted in Luke Garner moving to the interchange bench and Matt Eisenhuth being dropped to reserve.

Melbourne Storm forward Nelson Asofa-Solomona was handed a five-match suspension by the NRL Judiciary following the preliminary final,{{cite web |title=Storm’s Nelson Asofa-Solomona to miss NRL grand final after losing ban appeal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/sep/30/storms-nelson-asofa-solomona-to-miss-nrl-grand-final-after-losing-ban-appeal |website=The Guardian |access-date=2 October 2024 |date=30 September 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Nicolussi |first1=Christian |title=Nelson Asofa-Solomona to miss NRL grand final after judiciary fail |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/nelson-asofa-solomona-to-miss-nrl-grand-final-after-judiciary-fail-20240930-p5keq1.html |website=smh.com.au |publisher=Nine Media |access-date=2 October 2024 |date=30 September 2024}} meaning the Storm brought in Lazarus Vaalepu for just his seventh NRL appearance. Vaalepu was the least experienced player to play in a grand final since 1994.{{cite web |last1=Lenehan |first1=Martin |title=Awesome Foursome: Panthers down Storm to claim place in history |url=https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/10/06/four-of-the-best-panthers-down-storm-to-claim-special-place-in-history/ |website=NRL.com |access-date=11 October 2024 |date=6 October 2024}}

Melbourne made no changes from their team as first named. Four Storm players had previous grand final experience, with Cameron Munster appearing in his fifth decider.

=Broadcasting=

The match was broadcast live on the Nine Network in Australia and on Sky Sport in New Zealand. Radio broadcasters included ABC, Triple M, 2GB and SEN.

=Entertainment=

Game-day entertainment was headlined by Australian rapper The Kid Laroi.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-04 |title=The Kid LAROI to headline 2024 Telstra Premiership Grand Final entertainment |url=https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/09/04/the-kid-laroi-to-headline-2024-grand-final-entertainment/ |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=National Rugby League |language=en}}

=Officiating=

Ashley Klein was appointed to his third NRL grand final, with touch judges Chris Sutton and David Munro. Grant Atkins was appointed as the bunker official.{{Cite web |date=2024-10-01 |title=Grand Final Match Officials |url=https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/10/01/grand-final-match-officials/ |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=National Rugby League |language=en}}

=Attendance=

The game was attended by 80,156 people.{{Cite web |date=6 October 2024|first=Martin|last=Lenehan|title= Four of the best: Panthers down Storm to claim place in history |url= https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/10/06/four-of-the-best-panthers-down-storm-to-claim-special-place-in-history/ |access-date=6 October 2024|website=nrl.com|language=en}}

Match summary

{{Rugbyleaguebox

| event = 2024 NRL Grand Final

| bg = #F1F5FC

| date = 6 October 2024

| time = 19:30 AEDT

| team1 = Melbourne Storm {{leagueicon|Melbourne|16}}

| score = 6–14

| 1sthalf = 6–10

| 2ndhalf = 0–4

| report = [https://www.nrl.com/draw/nrl-premiership/2024/grand-final/game-1 Report]

| team2 = {{leagueicon|Penrith|16}} Penrith Panthers

| try1 = 1
Grant {{try|22}}

| goal1 = 1
Meaney 1/1 {{kick|23}}

| try2 = 3
Turuva {{try|26}}
Martin {{try|38}}
Alamoti {{try|60}}

| goal2 = 1
Cleary 1/3 {{kick|39}}

| stadium = Accor Stadium, Sydney

| referee = Ashley Klein

| touch = David Munro, Chris Sutton
Bunker: Grant Atkins

| attendance = 80,156

| potmaward = Clive Churchill Medal

| potmwinner = {{leagueicon|Penrith|12}} Liam Martin

}}

width="100%" \| width="50%" valign="top" \| {\| cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%" ! colspan="3" align="centre" style="border:3px solid purple; background: #001641; color: white" \|Melbourne Storm
width="25" \| ! width="25" \|
FB \|1 \|Ryan Papenhuyzen
WG \|2 \|William Warbrick
CE \|3 \|Jack Howarth
CE \|4 \|Nick Meaney
WG \|5 \|Xavier Coates
FE \|6 \|Cameron Munster
HB \|7 \|Jahrome Hughes
PR \|8 \|Tui Kamikamica
HK \|9 \|Harry Grant
PR \|10 \|Josh King
SR \|11 \|Shawn Blore
SR \|12 \|Eliesa Katoa
LF \|13 \|Trent Loiero
colspan="3" \|Interchange:
IN \|14 \|Tyran Wishart
IN \|15 \|Christian Welch
IN \|16 \|Lazarus Vaalepu
IN \|17 \|Alec MacDonald
{{tooltip\|CS\|Concussion substitute / Reserve}} \|18 \|Grant Anderson
colspan="3" \|Coach:
colspan="3" \|Craig Bellamy

width="100%"

| width="50%" valign="top" |

{| cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%"

! colspan="3" align="centre" style="border:3px solid purple; background: #001641; color: white" |Melbourne Storm

width="25" |

! width="25" |

|10

|11

|12

|13

colspan="3" |Interchange:

|14

|15

|16

|17

|18

colspan="3" |Coach:

colspan="3" |Craig Bellamy

| width="50%" valign="top" |

align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%" ! colspan="3" align="centre" style="border: 3px solid black; background: pink; color: black" \|Penrith Panthers
width="25" \| ! width="25" \|
FB \|1 \|Dylan Edwards
WG \|2 \|Sunia Turuva
CE \|3 \|Izack Tago
CE \|4 \|Paul Alamoti
WG \|5 \|Brian To'o
FE \|6 \|Jarome Luai
HB \|7 \|Nathan Cleary
PR \|8 \|Moses Leota
HK \|9 \|Mitch Kenny
PR \|10 \|James Fisher-Harris
SR \|12 \|Liam Martin
SR \|19 \|Scott Sorensen
LF \|13 \|Isaah Yeo
colspan="3" \|Interchange:
IN \|11 \|Luke Garner
IN \|14 \|Brad Schneider
IN \|15 \|Lindsay Smith
IN \|16 \|Liam Henry
{{tooltip\|CS\|Concussion substitute / Reserve}} \|17 \|Matt Eisenhuth
colspan="3" \|Coach:
colspan="3" \|Ivan Cleary

align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%"

! colspan="3" align="centre" style="border: 3px solid black; background: pink; color: black" |Penrith Panthers

width="25" |

! width="25" |

|10

|12

|19

|13

colspan="3" |Interchange:

|11

|14

|15

|16

|17

colspan="3" |Coach:

colspan="3" |Ivan Cleary

File: Liam Martin Kangaroos.jpg (pictured representing Australia) setting up a try, making 46 tackles, ran for 92 meters and scored a try in the 39th minute of the match. He was ultimately awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for his performance.|200px]]

Post-match

By extending their premiership-streak to four consecutive titles, the Panthers became the first club since the St. George Dragons of 1959 to accomplish this record. Their sixth premiership win lifts Penrith to equal-seventh on the all-time Premiership tally, alongside the Brisbane Broncos. The Panthers' fifth title in the NRL era moves them ahead of both the Sydney Roosters and Melbourne Storm to become the most successful club of the NRL competition era which began in 1998.

Opening matches

Two opening matches were played on the ground prior to the grand final: the NRL State Championship and NRL Women's Grand Final. Both matches were broadcast live throughout Australia by the Nine Network.

= NRL State Championship =

{{Rugbyleaguebox

|event= 2024 NRL State Championship

|time=13:20 AEDT

|date=6 October 2024

|bg=#eeeeee

|team1=Newtown Jets {{leagueicon|Newtown|16}}

|team2={{leagueicon|Norths Devils|16}} Norths Devils

|score=18–20

|report=[https://www.nrl.com/draw/nrl-state-championship/2024/nrl-state-championship/jets-v-devils Report]

|1sthalf=14–10

|2ndhalf=4–10

|try1=4
Stonestreet {{try|16|31|45}}
Puru {{try|23}}

|goal1=1
Puru 1/4 {{kick|17}}

|try2=4
Simbiken {{try|4}}
Lipp {{try|39}}
Keeley {{try|55|74}}

|goal2=2
Lipp 2/4 {{kick|6|56}}

|stadium=Accor Stadium, Sydney

|attendance=

|referee= Liam Kennedy

|touch= Jarrod Cole, Kieren Irons
Bunker: Peter Gough

|manofmatch=

}}

= NRL Women's Premiership Grand Final =

{{Rugbyleaguebox

|event=2024 NRL Women's Grand Final

|time=15:55 AEDT

|date=6 October 2024

|bg=#eeeeee

|team1=Sydney Roosters {{leagueicon|Sydney|16}}

|team2= {{leagueicon|Cronulla|16}} Cronulla Sharks

|score=32–28

|report=[https://www.nrl.com/draw/womens-premiership/2024/grand-final/game-11 Report]

|1sthalf=24–0

|2ndhalf=8–28

|try1=6
Kernick {{try|15|66}}
Fressard {{try|18}}
Parker {{try|21|26}}
Sergis {{try|34}}

|goal1=4
Kelleher 4/7 {{kick|16|35|52 pen|67}}

|try2=5
Penitani {{try|38|68}}
Dodd {{try|43}}
Hannaway {{try|48}}
Johnston {{try|61}}

|goal2=4
Preston 4/5 {{kick|39|44|50|62}}

|stadium=Accor Stadium, Sydney

|attendance=40,623

|referee= Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski

|touch= Karra-Lee Nolan, Rochelle Tamarua
Bunker: Kasey Badger

|manofmatch=

}}

References

Grand Final

2024

Category:October 2024 sports events in Australia

Category:Penrith Panthers matches

Category:Melbourne Storm matches