2015 NRL Grand Final

Championship game of the National Rugby League season June 2020 May 2026 2015 NRL Grand Final 2015_NRL_Grand_Final_logo.jpg 200px 50pxBrisbaneBroncos 50pxNorth QueenslandCowboys BRI Brisbane 16 NQL North Queensland 16 14 2 0 16 12 4 1 17 4 October 2015 ANZ Stadium Sydney, NSW, Australia Clive Churchill Medal North Queensland 16 Johnathan Thurston Australian National anthem Jessica Mauboy Gerard SuttonBen CumminsBrett Suttor (Touch Judge)Steve Carrall (Touch Judge) 82,758 Nine Network Ray WarrenPhil GouldPeter SterlingWally Lewis NRL Grand Final 2014 2016 The 2015 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2015 NRL season and was played on Sunday 4 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium between the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-04/nrl-grand-final-north-queensland-cowboys-beat-brisbane-broncos/6826658 NRL Grand Final: North Queensland Cowboys beat Brisbane Broncos in golden-point thriller Newman Paul 4 October 2015 ABC News (Australia) Australian Broadcasting Corporation 5 October 2015 4 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151004224403/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-04/nrl-grand-final-north-queensland-cowboys-beat-brisbane-broncos/6826658 live North Queensland won the match 17–16 in golden point extra time, claiming their first premiership title in their twentieth year of competition. Due to its dramatic ending, the match has been regarded as one of the greatest grand finals in rugby league history, drawing comparisons with the 1989 NSWRL Grand Final and the 1997 ARL Grand Final.The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, NSW http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/nrl-grand-final-2015-north-queensland-cowboys-triumph-in-top-three-grand-final-wins-of-all-time-20151004-gk1750.html NRL Grand Final 2015: North Queensland Cowboys triumph in top three grand final wins of all time Brad Walter 5 October 2015 7 October 2015 6 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151006190207/http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/nrl-grand-final-2015-north-queensland-cowboys-triumph-in-top-three-grand-final-wins-of-all-time-20151004-gk1750.html live Cowboys co-captain Johnathan Thurston, who kicked the winning field goal for his team, was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as the best player on the ground. Pre-match entertainment was headlined by Australian rock band Cold Chisel.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/oct/05/cowboys-thurston-inspired-victory-ranks-up-there-with-the-best-of-all-time Cowboys' Thurston-inspired victory ranks up there with the best of all time | Matt Cleary The Guardian 4 October 2015 Cleary Matt Background The Brisbane Broncos qualified for their first grand final appearance since 2006, and had never previously been defeated in a grand final, winning all six they had featured in – 1992, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2006, and 1997 for Super League. It was Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett's ninth involvement in a grand final after coaching the club in all of their previous grand final appearances, as well as co-coaching the Canberra Raiders to their maiden grand final in 1987 and winning a premiership with the St George Illawarra Dragons in 2010. The North Queensland Cowboys reached the premiership deciding game for the second time since their inception into the competition in 1995, having lost to the Wests Tigers in their first appearance in 2005. It was the second time in history that no New South Wales team featured in the grand final, and the first time that both clubs were Queensland-based. It was the first time that two clubs were captained by Indigenous Australians played in an NRL grand final.https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/nrl/indigenous-captains-johnathan-thurston-and-justin-hodges-create-grand-final-history-20150930-gjy4pi.html Indigenous captains Johnathan Thurston and Justin Hodges create grand final history Walter Brad 30 September 2015 Brisbane Times 13 October 2017 13 October 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171013173219/https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/nrl/indigenous-captains-johnathan-thurston-and-justin-hodges-create-grand-final-history-20150930-gjy4pi.html livehttp://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/cody-walker-proud-to-be-among-highest-indigenous-representation-in-an-nrl-game-20160609-gpfcop.html Cody Walker proud to be among highest Indigenous representation in an NRL game Walter Brad 10 June 2016 The Sydney Morning Herald Fairfax Media 13 October 2017 15 August 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160815050537/http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/cody-walker-proud-to-be-among-highest-indigenous-representation-in-an-nrl-game-20160609-gpfcop.html live thumb|ANZ Stadium, where the match was played 2015 season Brisbane, who finished second in the regular season ladder, and North Queensland, who finished third, faced each other during the first week of the finals series in a qualification game, with the Brisbane side prevailing 16-12 in a tight contest at Suncorp Stadium to earn a week off and the right to host a grand final qualifier. Brisbane defeated minor premiers the Sydney Roosters 31-12 in the preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium to claim the first spot in the grand final. In losing to the Brisbane side, North Queensland were forced to play an extra week in the finals and faced the sixth-placed Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at their home venue of 1300SMILES Stadium, beating them convincingly 39-0. They then qualified for the grand final after defeating the Melbourne Storm 32-12 in their preliminary final at AAMI Park. Teams BrisbaneBroncosPositionNorth QueenslandCowboysDarius Boyd FullbackLachlan CooteCorey Oates WingKyle FeldtJack Reed CentreJustin O'NeillJustin Hodges (c) CentreKane LinnettJordan Kahu WingAntonio WintersteinAnthony Milford Five-eighthMichael MorganBen Hunt HalfbackJohnathan Thurston (c)Sam Thaiday PropMatt Scott (c)Andrew McCullough HookerJake Granville Adam Blair PropJames Tamou Alex Glenn 2nd RowGavin CooperMatt Gillett 2nd RowEthan LoweCorey Parker LockJason TaumaloloJarrod Wallace InterchangeRory KostjasynMitchell Dodds InterchangeJohn AsiataJoe Ofahengaue InterchangeScott BoltonKodi Nikorima InterchangeBen HannantWayne BennettCoachPaul Green Officials PositionStand-ByReferees:Gerard SuttonBen CumminsMatt CecchinTouch Judges:Steve CarrallBrett SuttorNick BeashelVideo Referee:Bernard Sutton Opening Games U20s Grand Final 2015 NRL Under-20s season Penrith Panthers U20s Penrith 16 Manly 16 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles U20s 34 – 18 ANZ Stadium, Sydney Jack Gibson Medal: Penrith 16 Soni Luke Sunday, 4 October 1:35pm (AEDT) #eeeeee NRL State Championship 2015 NRL State Championship 2015 New South Wales Cup 2015 Queensland Cup Newcastle Knights Newcastle 16 Ipswich 16 Ipswich Jets 12 – 26 3:45pm (AEDT) Sunday, 4 October ANZ Stadium, Sydney #eeeeee Ipswich 16 Matt Parcell Match summary #f1f5fc 2015 NRL Grand Final Sunday, 4 October 2015 19:30 AEDT (UTC+11) Brisbane Broncos Brisbane 16 1617 14–12 2–4 0–1 Report North Queensland 16 North Queensland Cowboys 2Oates 7Reed 34 4Parker pen 6 9 (2/2)Kahu 35 pen 43 (2/2) 3O'Neill 10Tamou 25Feldt 80 2Thurston 12 26 (2/3) 1Thurston 83 ANZ Stadium, Sydney 82,758 Ben Cummins Gerard Sutton Steve Carrall, Brent Suttor Clive Churchill Medal Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland) 1st half After an even opening five minutes, the first points of the game were scored by the Brisbane side in the sixth minute, when a North Queensland handling error in midfield followed shortly by a penalty allowed Corey Parker to kick a 40-metre penalty goal.https://matchcentre.nrl.com/match/2015/111/20151113010/#match-report Thurston kicks Cowboys to premiership 7 October 2015 National Rugby League 4 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151004093329/https://matchcentre.nrl.com/match/2015/111/20151113010#match-report live The Brisbane side then returned the first tackle after the restart for the opening try of the game, after a late offload on his own ten-metre line from Adam Blair to Anthony Milford allowed Milford to set up a line-break down the left wing, culminating in a try to Corey Oates; Parker converted the try and Brisbane led 8–0. The Broncos then knocked on shortly after the restart, and North Queensland scored its opening try from the ensuing scrum set piece, with Jake Granville breaking the line to set up Justin O'Neill for the try; Johnathan Thurston converted and Brisbane led 8–6. North Queensland nearly scored again three minutes later, with Oates making a try-saving tackle on Kyle Feldt after a pass from Lachlan Coote.http://www.triplem.com.au/sydney/sport/nrl/news/2015/10/brisbane-broncos-north-queensland-match-report-nrl-grand-final/ Cowboys win classic NRL Grand Final 4 October 2015 7 October 2015 Triple M 4 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304195643/http://www.triplem.com.au/sydney/sport/nrl/news/2015/10/brisbane-broncos-north-queensland-match-report-nrl-grand-final/ live Over the ensuing fifteen minutes, North Queensland had the better of possession and field position. In the 24th minute, attacking from a repeat set which had followed a grubber kick, James Tamou took the first pass out of dummy half and scored under the posts; Thurston converted the try to give North Queensland a 12–8 lead. Brisbane scored an opportunistic try in the 34th minute, when Thurston lost the ball in a tackle in North Queensland territory, and Matt Gillett recovered for Brisbane and broke the line to put Jack Reed over for a try; Jordan Kahu converted and Brisbane regained a 14–12 lead which it took to half time. 2nd half Jordan Kahu kicked a penalty goal in the 43rd minute to extend Brisbane's lead to 16–12. From that point, the game played out as a defensive battle in Brisbane territory. North Queensland had the better of possession and field position, and generated several repeat sets in attack, but were unable to score due to a combination of poor execution and Brisbane's stout goal line defence. Brisbane actively sought to defend its lead, kicking for touch on the sixth tackle throughout most of the second half to wind down the clock and to slow the game down to manage fatigue. North Queensland's two closest opportunities came in the 61st minute, when Kane Linnett dropped a cut-out pass from Thurston which would have seen him score out wide;https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/cowboys/kane-linnett-the-most-relieved-man-in-australia/news-story/0749eaf60c20584af93aed09238c90e8 Kane Linnett the most relieved man in Australia 5 October 2015 7 October 2015 news.com.au and in the 64th minute, when fullback Coote was tackled around the legs by Gillett just short of the try line – Coote reached out to put the ball over the line and was penalised for a double movement. With four minutes remaining, and the ball deep in North Queensland's territory, Ben Hunt conceded a penalty for a dangerous lifting tackle on Linnett, giving North Queensland field position. North Queensland failed to score on the ensuing set; but on Brisbane's following set, Brisbane failed to get to a sixth tackle kick away, after Feldt stripped the ball one-on-one from Hunt at midfield on fourth tackle with one minute remaining.Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, NSW 2015 NRL grand final: Ben Hunt's three minutes of horror http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/2015-nrl-grand-final-ben-hunts-three-minutes-of-horror-20151004-gk14p2.html#ixzz3nsML3jer Tom Decent 5 October 2015 7 October 2015 7 November 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151107094824/http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/2015-nrl-grand-final-ben-hunts-three-minutes-of-horror-20151004-gk14p2.html#ixzz3nsML3jer live North Queensland attacked, and on the sixth tackle, after a couple of powerful runs from forwards Taumalolo, Tamou and Scott, Thurston received the ball on the left edge, beat a couple of tackles, looked left before floating a pass right to link up with his five-eighth Michael Morgan who ran diagonally right, cut in to draw three Brisbane defenders then as the full time siren sounded, 5 metres out flicked a short outside pass to winger Feldt whom Oates left unmarked providing him the opportunity to score just inside the right corner post to level the match up at 16-16. Jonathon Thurston had a conversion attempt from the right touchline after full time to win the match. He took a long time to compose himself for the kick, however the ball failed to break enough to the left, hitting the right upright half way up and bouncing out, leaving the game tied up at 16–16 and heading into golden point extra time to break the deadlock. Extra time North Queensland kicked off first in extra time, and the opening kick-off was knocked on by Ben Hunt, immediately giving North Queensland an attacking scrum on Brisbane's ten-metre line. North Queensland set up for the game-winning field goal, and after aborting attempts on the first and third tackles due to strong defensive pressure from the Broncos, Johnathan Thurston was able to make up for his missed conversion by slotting the field goal on the fourth tackle from 20 metres out to win the game 17–16. It was the first time an NRL Grand Final had been decided in Golden Point. Post-match At the post-match ceremony, Johnathan Thurston received the Clive Churchill medal as best on ground. This was then followed by the championship ring ceremony and the co-captains holding the Provan-Summons trophy. Thurston drew praise for his post-match conduct, notably consoling Ben Hunt.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/live/2015/oct/04/nrl-grand-final-brisbane-broncos-v-north-queensland-cowboys#block-561100a2e4b06bd936f9cb34 NRL grand final 2015: North Queensland Cowboys beat Brisbane Broncos – as it happened The Guardian 4 October 2015 Connolly Paul Many consider the image of Thurston hugging his daughter to be the 'best image' of the grand final.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/oct/08/its-the-connollys-the-guardians-end-of-season-nrl-awards It's the Connollys! The Guardian's end-of-season NRL awards | Paul Connolly The Guardian 7 October 2015 Connolly Paul Aftermath 2016 World Club Series Most commentators, analysts and fans rate the 2015 Grand Final as one of, if not the greatest ever played, ranking it alongside the 1989 decider. Despite this, the golden point conclusion after Hunt's opening error was considered dissatisfying, and it was a key reason for a change of rules made the following year. Since 2016, tied finals have instead been decided by 10 minutes of extra time (five minutes each way) played in full, with golden point used only if still level after 90 minutes.http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/extra-time-to-replace-golden-point-in-nrl-grand-final-and-playoff-matches-20160530-gp7j6n.html The Sydney Morning Herald Extra time to replace golden point in NRL grand final and play-off matches Walter, Brad 2016-05-30 2016-09-17 11 February 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170211103836/http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/extra-time-to-replace-golden-point-in-nrl-grand-final-and-playoff-matches-20160530-gp7j6n.html live Both grand finalists, North Queensland and Brisbane, as well as minor premiers the Sydney Roosters, qualified for the second World Club Series, played in the 2016 pre-season against clubs from the Super League.The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, NSW Cowboys, Broncos and Roosters to represent NRL in World Club Series http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/north-queensland-cowboys/cowboys-broncos-and-roosters-to-represent-nrl-in-world-club-series-20151007-gk3i2b.html#ixzz3nsQb7YMz 7 October 2015 7 October 2015 Adrian Proszenko 8 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151008152329/http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/north-queensland-cowboys/cowboys-broncos-and-roosters-to-represent-nrl-in-world-club-series-20151007-gk3i2b.html#ixzz3nsQb7YMz live See also Queensland derby References 2015 Category:Brisbane Broncos matches Category:North Queensland Cowboys matches Grand Final