Roosters Beat Knights 19-18 in 2026 NRL Grand Final, Tedesco Wins Clive Churchill
The Sydney Roosters won the 2026 NRL premiership on Sunday 4 October, beating the Newcastle Knights 19-18 at Accor Stadium. The Roosters trailed 12-0 shortly before half-time and won through a Daly Cherry-Evans field goal with about 10 minutes left. Captain James Tedesco won the Clive Churchill Medal as player of the match. It is the club’s 16th premiership and its first since 2019.
How the Grand Final was won
Newcastle scored first through Francis Manuleleua, and Kalyn Ponga’s 95-metre try put the Knights 12-0 up. Mark Nawaqanitawase scored before half-time to get the Roosters on the board. Billy Smith’s try made it 12-12 in the second half before Nawaqanitawase’s second try gave the Roosters a six-point lead. With the score 18-12 and about 10 minutes left, Cherry-Evans kicked his 32nd career field goal. Greg Marzhew’s late try for Newcastle cut the margin to one, but the Roosters held on.
Tedesco ran 385 metres, the most by any player in an NRL finals match according to AAP, with 14 tackle breaks. It was his first Clive Churchill Medal and his first premiership as captain, after titles with the Roosters in 2018 and 2019. The medal was presented by Peter Sterling, the award’s first winner 40 years earlier.
Cherry-Evans, 37, became the oldest premiership winner in 104 years, and his 15-year gap between titles is the longest in the game’s history, according to AAP.
How the finalists got there
Neither side finished in the top two. The Roosters finished fourth on 38 points, lost their qualifying final 19-12 to minor premiers Penrith, then beat Cronulla 46-10 and the Dolphins 36-20. Newcastle finished seventh, a year after collecting the wooden spoon, and won three finals in a row, each against a higher-placed side: 20-10 over South Sydney, 12-10 over the Warriors at Eden Park and 22-14 over Penrith in the preliminary final.
Newcastle’s run is a useful reminder for anyone backing finals futures. Before the finals the Knights were seventh, and they came within a point of a first title since 2001. The Roosters lost in week one and still won the competition.
Dally M Medal: Cleary’s first
Four days earlier, on 30 September, Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary won his first Dally M Medal as the competition’s best player, finishing 14 points clear of Cronulla’s Braydon Trindall. Cleary, who was injured, accepted the award by video. AAP noted the win completed a set of major individual honours for Cleary, who had also won the Wally Lewis Medal as NSW won the State of Origin series 2-1.
Audience
Nine reported a national total TV audience of 4.286 million for the Grand Final, and the NRL confirmed before the match that all tickets had been sold.
What punters should take from it
A one-point Grand Final decided by a field goal shows how thin the margin is in line and margin markets. A Roosters “win by 1-12” margin bet landed by a single point, while a line bet on the Knights with a start of just 1.5 points would also have been paid. Results this close are decided by single plays that no form guide can predict, so treat any finals bet as entertainment with a fixed budget, not an investment. Our guide on sports betting versus casino games explains how margins work, and self-exclusion through BetStop is available if betting stops being fun.
The Sydney Roosters beat the Newcastle Knights 19-18 at Accor Stadium on 4 October 2026. It was the Roosters’ 16th premiership.
Roosters captain James Tedesco, who ran 385 metres with 14 tackle breaks. It was his first Clive Churchill Medal.
Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary won his first Dally M Medal on 30 September 2026, 14 points ahead of Cronulla’s Braydon Trindall.
Sources
- 1News (AAP): Roosters edge Knights to claim first NRL title in seven years (5 October 2026)
- Newcastle Herald (AAP): James Tedesco wins his first Clive Churchill Medal (4 October 2026)
- Canberra Times (AAP): Cleary completes golden set with Dally M triumph
- TV Blackbox: 2026 NRL Grand Final delivers 4.28 million viewers (6 October 2026)
- Wikipedia: 2026 NRL season (ladder and finals results)
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Header photo: 141100 – Stadium Australia Olympic Boulevard view – 3b – 2000 Sydney venue photo by Sport the library, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.