2022 NRL Grand Final

The 2022 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2022 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the Parramatta Eels on Sunday the 2nd of October at Accor Stadium in Sydney.^[2] Penrith, who were both the defending premiers and minor premiers, won the match 28–12 to claim their fourth premiership title, and their first back-to-back premierships in the club's 56-year history. Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for being judged as the man of the match.

2022 (2022) NRL Grand Final  ()
Official logo for the match.
Penrith Panthers Parramatta Eels 28 12
1 2 Total PEN 18 10 28 PAR 0 12 12
Date	2 October 2022
Stadium	Accor Stadium
Location	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Clive Churchill Medal	Dylan Edwards
Advance Australia Fair	Alinta Chidzey
Pre Match Entertainment	Jimmy Barnes, Mahalia Barnes, Johnny Diesel, Midlife Crisis Josh Teskey, Emma Donovan, Bliss n Eso, Sheldon Riley[1]
Referees	Ashley Klein, Phil Henderson (Touch Judge) Drew Oultram (Touch Judge)
Attendance	82,415
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters	Nine Network
Commentators	Mathew Thompson Cameron Smith Andrew Johns Brad Fittler Danika Mason
NRL Grand Final ← 2021 2023 →

The match was preceded by the 2022 NRL State Championship and the 2022 NRL Women's Grand Final. The grand final was attended by 82,415 spectators, and was broadcast live throughout Australia by the Nine Network.

Background

See also: 2022 NRL season and 2022 NRL finals series

Accor Stadium, where the match was played

This was the first NRL grand final between the Penrith Panthers and the Parramatta Eels, and the second consecutive year that the grand final featured two Sydney-based clubs. The match-up between both clubs has long been regarded as the Western Sydney Derby, due to the long standing rivalry between the two clubs being closely located among Western Sydney. The Panthers, who became the first side since the Melbourne Storm in 2018 to reach three consecutive grand finals, were aiming for a fourth premiership, after defeating Canberra Raiders in 1991, Sydney Roosters in 2003 and South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2021. It was Ivan Cleary's fourth grand final appearance as a coach, after previously losing with the New Zealand Warriors against Manly Sea Eagles in 2011, and losing with Penrith against Melbourne Storm in 2020.^[3]

Meanwhile, the Eels were aiming for their fifth premiership victory; their most recent being against Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 1986. Their last grand final appearance was a defeat to the Melbourne Storm in 2009. It was Brad Arthur's first grand final appearance as a coach.^[4]

The Panthers finished the 2022 regular season in first place after twenty wins and four losses, of which two were against the Eels. Parramatta finished fourth after sixteen wins and eight losses.^[5]

Route to the final

Penrith Panthers

See also: 2022 Penrith Panthers season

The 2022 Penrith Panthers season was the 56th season in the club's history. Coached by Ivan Cleary and co-captained by Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo, the Panthers are competing in the National Rugby League's 2022 Telstra Premiership.

Penrith Panthers' route to the final

Round	Opposition	Score
QF	Parramatta Eels (H)	27–8
SF	Bye
PF	South Sydney Rabbitohs (H)	32–12
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue

Parramatta Eels

See also: 2022 Parramatta Eels season

The 2022 Parramatta Eels season was the 76th in the club's history. Coached by Brad Arthur and co-captained by Clinton Gutherson and Junior Paulo, they will compete in the NRL's 2022 Telstra Premiership.^[6] The season saw a club record membership tally of 34,264.^[7]

Parramatta Eels' route to the final

Round	Opposition	Score
QF	Penrith Panthers (A)	8–27
SF	Canberra Raiders (H)	40–4
PF	North Queensland Cowboys (A)	24–20
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) = Neutral venue

Pre-match

Team selection

Dylan Edwards, Stephen Crichton, Brian To'o, Jarome Luai, Nathan Cleary, Apisai Koroisau, James Fisher-Harris, Viliame Kikau, Liam Martin, Moses Leota and Isaah Yeo made their third-straight grand final appearance for Penrith, whilst Koroisau also played in the 2014 premiership decider for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Ryan Matterson and Bailey Simonsson were the only players for Parramatta to have played in prior grand finals; Matterson won for the Sydney Roosters in 2018, while Simonsson played for the Canberra Raiders in 2019.^[8]

Broadcasting

The match was broadcast live on the Nine Network and delayed on Fox League in Australia as well as on Sky Sport in New Zealand. Radio broadcasters included ABC, Triple M, 2GB, SEN and Koori Radio.^[9]

Entertainment

On 23 September 2022, the pre-match entertainment acts for the grand final were announced. This included Jimmy Barnes, Mahalia Barnes, A.Girl, Diesel, Josh Teskey, Emma Donovan, Sheldon Riley and Bliss n Eso. The Australian national anthem was performed by Alinta Chidzey.^[10]

Officiating

Ashley Klein refereed the match, his second NRL grand final. Grant Atkins was the senior review official, and Phil Henderson and Drew Oultram were the touch judges. Gerard Sutton was the standby referee and David Munro the standby touch judge.^[11]

Attendance

The 2022 Grand Final was the first since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to have no crowd restrictions. On 27 September 2022, the match was sold out.^[12]

Curtain-raiser matches

Curtain-raiser matches on the day were the NRL State Championship between the Norths Devils and the Penrith Panthers, and NRLW Grand Final between the Newcastle Knights and the Parramatta Eels. Both were shown live on the Nine Network in Australia.

Match

Penrith Panthers	28–12	Parramatta Eels
Tries: 5 To'o  18', 46' Crichton  11' Sorensen  28' Staines  59' Goals: 4 Cleary 4/6  13', 22 pen', 29', 61'	1st: 18–0 2nd: 10–12 Report	Tries: 2 Gutherson  77' Arthur  78' Goals: 2 Moses 2/2  77', 79'

2022 NRL Grand Final

2 October 2022 19:35 AEDT

Accor Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 82,415 Referee: Ashley Klein Bunker: Grant Atkins Touch judges: Phil Henderson, Drew Oultram Clive Churchill Medal: Dylan Edwards

Penrith Panthers FB 1 Dylan Edwards WG 2 Charlie Staines CE 3 Izack Tago CE 4 Stephen Crichton WG 5 Brian To'o FE 6 Jarome Luai HB 7 Nathan Cleary PR 8 Moses Leota HK 14 Mitch Kenny PR 10 James Fisher-Harris SR 11 Viliame Kikau SR 12 Liam Martin LF 13 Isaah Yeo Interchange: IN 9 Apisai Koroisau IN 15 Scott Sorensen IN 16 Spencer Leniu IN 17 Jaeman Salmon CS 18 Sean O'Sullivan Coach: Ivan Cleary

Parramatta Eels FB 1 Clinton Gutherson WG 2 Maika Sivo CE 3 Will Penisini CE 4 Bailey Simonsson WG 5 Waqa Blake FE 6 Dylan Brown HB 7 Mitchell Moses PR 8 Reagan Campbell-Gillard HK 9 Reed Mahoney PR 10 Junior Paulo SR 11 Shaun Lane SR 12 Isaiah Papali'i LF 17 Marata Niukore Interchange: IN 13 Ryan Matterson IN 14 Nathan Brown IN 15 Jake Arthur IN 16 Oregon Kaufusi CS 18 Bryce Cartwright Coach: Brad Arthur

Statistics

Statistic Penrith Panthers Parramatta Eels Tries 5 2 Conversions 3 2 Penalty goals (attempts) 1 (1) 0 (0) Field goals (attempts) 0 (0) 0 (0) Possession Possession 55% 45% Total sets 44 36 Completed sets 38 25 Completion rate 86% 69% Attacking All runs 212 200 All run metres 2109 1581 Line breaks 7 3 Offloads 6 19 Defending Kick metres 674 736 40/20 0 0 Tackles 154 227 Missed tackles 6 26 Goal line dropouts 0 3 Try saves 0 0 Discipline Penalties conceded 5 5 Errors 7 12 Send offs 0 0 Sin bins 0 0 Reference: NRL Match Centre

Penrith Panthers: Most runs: 28 – Dylan Edwards Most running metres: 299 – Brian To'o Most line breaks: 3 – Brian To'o Most tackles: 45 – Liam Martin Most missed tackles: 5 – Liam Martin Most errors: 3 – Stephen Crichton Parramatta Eels: Most runs: 20 – Clinton Gutherson Dylan Brown Ryan Matterson Most running metres: 167 – Clinton Gutherson Most line breaks: 1 – Clinton Gutherson Maika Sivo Dylan Brown Most tackles: 56 – Reed Mahoney Most missed tackles: 11 – Isaiah Papali'i Most errors: 3 – Clinton Gutherson Waqa Blake

Post-match

See also: 2023 World Club Challenge

Parramatta forward Ryan Matterson was charged by the match review with a grade one crusher tackle against Dylan Edwards.^[13] Matterson was criticised^[14] after taking an early guilty plea and electing to be suspended for three matches instead of taking a $4,000 fine.^[15] Matterson defended his decision telling reporters "I just feel that $4000 is pretty hefty considering I have already paid close to $4000 in fines this year for things that are absurd", with the forward also suggesting that the charge was not warranted.^[16]

Penrith players were criticised for their celebrations after their victory, with Sydney media identities outspoken against the way they celebrated.^[17] Jarome Luai came under scrutiny for a social media post that some found offensive. Former Penrith captain Greg Alexander and coach Ivan Cleary defended the players against the criticism.^[18]

Both grand final teams' players featured in squads selected for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup to be played in October–November 2022. Ten Panthers players were selected with the greatest representation (5) to play for Samoa. Parramatta had also had ten players selected, with the greatest representation (3) to play for New Zealand.

As premiership winners, Penrith earned the right to play in the World Club Challenge against 2022 Super League Grand Final winners St Helens. The match was played on 18 February 2023 at BlueBet Stadium.^[19]

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

See also: 2022 NRL State Championship, 2022 New South Wales Cup, and 2022 Queensland Cup

Penrith Panthers	44 – 10	Norths Devils
Tries: J'maine Hopgood  7', 71' Soni Luke  28' Eddie Blacker  32' John Faiumu  45' Robert Jennings  47' Luke Sommerton  62' Sunia Turuva  79' Goals: Kurt Falls  9', 29', 34', 63', 72' (5/7) John Faiumu  80' (1/1)	1st: 18 – 0 2nd: 26 – 10 scorecard	Tries: Tony Tumusa  64' Rashaun Denny  73' Goals: Connor Broadhurst  75' (1/2)

Sunday, 2 October 1:35pm (AEDT)

Accor Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 11,115

NRL Women's Premiership Grand Final

Main article: 2022 NRL Women's Premiership Grand Final

Newcastle Knights Women's	32 – 12	Parramatta Eels Women's
Tries: Kiana Takairangi  17', 63' Emmanita Paki  20' Romy Teitzel  27' Tamika Upton  38' Kiana Takairangi  63' Jesse Southwell  67' Yasmin Clydsdale  69' Goals: Kirra Dibb  28' Jesse Southwell  68'	1st: 14 – 6 2nd: 18 – 6 scorecard	Tries: Brooke Anderson  12' Simaima Taufa  50' Goals: 1/1 Tayla Preston  13', 51'

Sunday, 2 October 4:05pm (AEDT)

Accor Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 42,921 Referee: Kasey Badger

References

1. "Aussie rock legend set to explode at NRL GF".
2. "NRL Grand Final - Accor Stadium". 23 May 2024.
3. "Ivan Cleary - Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
4. "Brad Arthur - Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
5. "Ladder". National Rugby League. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
6. "Junior Paulo & Clint Gutherson Co-Captains". ParraEels.com.au. 4 February 2022.
7. "Parramatta Eels | Become an official member of the Parramatta Eels". Parramatta Eels.
8. "Panthers wing ruled out; Eels forward returns, Simonsson retains centre spot". 27 September 2022.
9. "NRL 2022: When, where to watch Grand Final Day". 26 September 2022.
10. "All Australian music lineup announced for 2022 NRL Grand Final". 22 September 2022.
11. "Klein, Badger ready to play their part in Grand Final showpiece". 27 September 2022.
12. "2022 NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final sold out". 27 September 2022.
13. "NRL Judiciary Report - Grand Final" (PDF). NRL.com. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
14. "'Wouldn't be allowed in our change room': NRL veteran slams 'tightest human' Matterson". foxsports.com.au. News Corporation Australia. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
15. "Judiciary Report: Matterson banned for three games". 4 October 2022. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
16. Bailey, Scott (5 October 2022). "NRL's $4000 was fine too big: Matterson". perthnow.com.au. Australian Associated Press. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
17. Kent, Paul (5 October 2022). "Penrith Panthers' antics are damaging the NRL". Code Sports. News Corporation Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
18. "'PC gone mad': Panthers legend takes aim at critics as Cleary breaks silence on GF firestorm". foxsports.com.au. News Corporation Australia. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
19. "World Club Challenge returns with 2023 pre-season locked in". 14 December 2022.