The 2014 NRL Grand Final was the concluding and premiership-deciding match of the
2014 NRL season
The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Lea ...
. Played on the evening of Sunday 5 October 2014 at
ANZ Stadium
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
* ...
, the match was contested by the
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are one of nine existing tea ...
and the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilit ...
. South Sydney won the match with a decisive 30 points to 6 victory, ending a 43-year premiership drought by claiming their 21st title. South Sydney forward
Sam Burgess, who suffered a broken cheekbone from the game's opening tackle, was awarded the
Clive Churchill Medal as the best player on ground.
The match was preceded by the
2014 National Youth Competition Grand Final and the
2014 NRL State Championship
The 2014 National Rugby League State Championship is a rugby league match contested by 2014 NSW Cup premiers Penrith Panthers and 2014 Queensland Cup premiers the Northern Pride. The match is the inaugural edition of the NRL State Championsh ...
. British-American musician and songwriter
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
and American alternative rock band
Train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
performed at the event as pre-match entertainment, and
Simon Gleeson performed the
Australian National anthem
"Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It first replaced "God Save the Queen" as the ...
. The match was broadcast live throughout in Australia by the
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
.
Background
History
Founded in 1908, Souths had won more premierships—20—than any other club. However, they had not appeared in a Grand Final since 1971. Over the subsequent decades, the club had battled financial problems before being excluded from the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
competition ahead of the 2000 season due to a failure to meet the league's criteria for inclusion. After litigation and high-profile public campaigns, the club was readmitted into the competition for the 2002 season.
For Canterbury, founded in 1934, the Grand Final was the club's 18th. Their most recent Grand Final appearance was a
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
defeat to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
, with their last premiership coming in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
against the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...
.
The clubs had met each other in just one previous
Grand Final in 1967, with South Sydney prevailing 12-10.
2014 season
South Sydney finished the regular season in third position, before defeating
Manly and the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...
in the finals series. Canterbury finished in seventh place, and made the grand final after successive sudden-death victories over
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
,
Manly and
Penrith.
Both sides had met each other twice during the course of the season, in rounds
7 and
25. The two teams were tied 1 apiece, with Canterbury winning the first encounter 15-14, and South Sydney winning the second encounter 21-14.
Teams
Both teams' first choice hookers were ruled out from playing in the week leading up to the Grand Final:
*For South Sydney,
Issac Luke
Issac Luke (born 29 May 1987) is a former New Zealand professional rugby league footballer
He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, New Zealand Warriors, St. George Illawarra Dragons, and the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugb ...
was suspended for a dangerous throw in the Preliminary Final against
Sonny Bill Williams
Sonny Bill Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player and as of recently is working for Stan Sports. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in ...
of the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...
and was replaced by
Apisai Koroisau
Apisai Koroisau (born 7 November 1992) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Wests Tigers in the NRL.
A triple NRL premiership winner with the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Penrith Panthers, he previously p ...
.
*For Canterbury, captain
Michael Ennis
Michael Ennis (born 16 March 1984) is an Australian sports commentator for Fox League and former professional rugby league footballer of Irish descent. A New South Wales State of Origin representative , he played for the Canterbury-Bankstown B ...
withdrew after suffering a fractured foot in the Preliminary Final against the
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrit ...
; he was replaced by
Moses Mbye
Moses Mbye (born 13 August 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.
Over the course of his career he has played as a and . He previously played for the Canterbury ...
as hooker, and the captaincy was shared between
James Graham and
Trent Hodkinson.
Match report
The first half of the match was a low-scoring affair. There was only one try—to South Sydney's
Alex Johnston—while
Adam Reynolds kicked a penalty goal to give Souths a 6–0 half-time lead. Canterbury equalised ten minutes into the second half through a converted try to
Tony Williams.
George Burgess restored Souths' lead shortly thereafter, before further tries to
Kirisome Auva'a
Kirisome Auva'a (born 23 February 1992), also known by the nickname of "Somi", is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and er for the Ipswich Jets in the Queensland Cup. A Samoa international representative, he won t ...
, Reynolds and
Greg Inglis
Gregory Paul Inglis (born 15 January 1987), also known by the nickname of "G.I.", is a retired Australian professional rugby league footballer. His regular playing positions were Centre, Fullback, Five-eighth and Wing.
From 2011 to 2019 he pl ...
in the final ten minutes of the match. The final score was Souths 30, Canterbury 6.
Souths'
Sam Burgess played the entire match, despite fracturing his cheekbone and eye socket in contact in the opening tackle with
James Graham. He was awarded the
Clive Churchill Medal, as the man of the match in the grand final.
Souths player
Dave Tyrrell was stretchered from the field after he was knocked out in the 68th minute following a head clash with Canterbury player
James Graham.
Fullback
Greg Inglis
Gregory Paul Inglis (born 15 January 1987), also known by the nickname of "G.I.", is a retired Australian professional rugby league footballer. His regular playing positions were Centre, Fullback, Five-eighth and Wing.
From 2011 to 2019 he pl ...
, who scored the final try of the game in the final minute of play, won his first valid
premiership ring
A championship ring or premiership ring is a ring presented to members of winning teams in North American professional sports leagues, and college tournaments.
Championship rings are mostly confined to North American sports. Since only one ...
after previously featuring in the
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...
's
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
and
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
sides which had their premierships stripped from them due to
salary cap breaches.
Opening Games
U20s Grand Final
NRL State Championship
Entertainment
Former
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
performed "Bent To Fly" from ''World on Fire'', with the accompanying vocal track by
Myles Kennedy
Myles Richard Bass (born November 27, 1969), known professionally as Myles Kennedy, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge and the lead vocalist in guitarist S ...
being played over loudspeaker. The performance of the song was accompanied by a
montage of the 2014 NRL season on ANZ Stadium's screens. Slash also performed the guitar riff from Guns N' Roses' "
Sweet Child o' Mine
"Sweet Child o' Mine" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses. It appears on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction''. In the United States, the song was released in June 1988 as the album's third single, topping the ''Billboard'' ...
", before closing the set with an improvised solo.
Train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
performed as the main act, playing "
Hey, Soul Sister
"Hey, Soul Sister" is a song by American rock band Train. It was written by lead singer Pat Monahan, Amund Bjørklund, and Espen Lind. It was released as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album, '' Save Me, San Francisco'' (2009).
...
", "Angel in Blue Jeans", and "
Drops of Jupiter".
Match Officials
Shayne Hayne and Gerard Sutton were the match referees. It was Hayne's fourth grand final as he has officiated in the
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
,
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
grand finals. It was Sutton's first grand final as referee.
Steve Carrol and Jason Walsh were the touch judges, and the video referees were Bernard Sutton and Luke Phillips. The standby referee was Ben Cummins and the standby touch judge was Brett Suttor.
Records
The 2014 NRL Grand Final was the most-watched club game in the history of rugby league, with a five-city average television audience of 2.597 million, with a peak of 3.098 million viewers. Combined with 1.354 million regional viewers tuning in, the game had an average audience of 3.951 million viewers, and a national peak audience of 4.650 million viewers.
[http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/rabbitohs-2014-nrl-grand-final-win-the-mostwatched-game-in-rugby-league-history/story-fni3fbgz-1227081472109?nk=ab7edc6e4e330a8ca6d1338dbdf76df3 ]
The crowd of 83,833 was the largest attendance at a sporting event at
Stadium Australia
Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...
since its 2001 reconfiguration.
Post-match
Souths' premiership victory qualified them for the 2015
World Club Challenge
The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australasian National Rugby League (NRL) and the European Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport. The first such match was pl ...
, their first ever appearance in the end of year event, in which they beat
St. Helens RFC 39-0 at
Langtree Park
Totally Wicked Stadium is a rugby league stadium in the Peasley Cross area of St. Helens. Known as Langtree Park until 2017, it has a capacity of over 18,000 and is the home ground of St Helens R.F.C. The stadium was granted full planning perm ...
.
See also
*
2014 NRL season
The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Lea ...
*
NRL Premiership winners
References
External links
2014 NRL Finals Series website2014 Holden Cup Grand Final
{{NRL grand finals
NRL Grand Finals
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs matches
South Sydney Rabbitohs matches
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...