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Which players stood tallest in Sunday’s premiership decider? Here’s how we rated the performance of every player from both Penrith and Brisbane in the grand final.
Penrith Panthers grand final ratings
Dominic Brock
1. Dylan Edwards - 8
Last year’s Clive Churchill medallist was his typical hard-working self, racking up a massive 275 metres. Couldn’t stop Ezra Mam on the way to the tryline but wasn’t alone in that regard.
2. Sunia Turuva - 7
Caught out of position for a couple of Broncos kicks, including a Billy Walters 40/20, but otherwise rock solid on the left flank.
3. Izack Tago - 8
Made his mark with some aggressive defensive plays early on, showing no signs of his recent pectoral injury.
4. Stephen Crichton - 8.5
His final game in Penrith colours was a good one, with strong runs all night, a couple of vital defensive plays, two forced dropouts and a clutch try under plenty of pressure.
Stephen Crichton scores for Penrith.Credit: Getty Images
5. Brian To’o - 7.5
Produced close to 170 run metres and some some great hits in defence.
6. Jarome Luai - 6
Seemed to have shaken off his shoulder injury in last week’s early return but left the field injured early in the second half as his opposite number Ezra Mam tore the Penrith defence to shreds.
7. Nathan Cleary - 9
Stepped up when his team needed it most. With Penrith down 24-8, he busted the Brisbane line to set up a try, kicked a 40/20 in the next set, and scored the match-winner himself. Had a couple of defensive lapses for two Mam tries but more than made up for it in the end.
8. Moses Leota - 7.5
Sent Pat Carrigan sprawling with a big early charge as Penrith’s big men gained the ascendancy in the first few minutes, and grabbed a rare four-pointer midway through the second half.
9. Mitch Kenny - 7
He was nobody’s tip to be the game’s first tryscorer but Kenny was the man on the spot when Brisbane’s short dropout-gone-wrong result ended up with the ball in his hands with the tryline wide open.
Mitch Kenny celebrates after scoring the first points of the night.Credit: Getty
10. James Fisher-Harris - 8.5
Took the game’s first hit-up and was Penrith’s primary metre-eater in the early stages, popping a couple of offloads and busting some tackles in a terrific first stint.
11. Scott Sorensen - 6
Solid in defence but had a limited impact in attack on the left edge. Spent time on the sideline with an HIA in the second half.
12. Liam Martin - 7.5
Forced a Brisbane error with a big tackle early on and was Penrith’s busiest defender with 36 tackles.
13. Isaah Yeo - 8
Got through a ton of work in the middle on both sides of the ball, made a try-saving tackle on Jordan Riki and almost denied Tom Flegler his try under the posts. Penrith breathed a sigh of relief when he returned from an HIA.
14. Jack Cogger - 6
Replaced Luai in the second half as Brisbane started running away with the game but slotted in well, with a hand in Crichton’s try as Penrith narrowed the deficit.
15. Lindsay Smith - 6
Penrith’s first man off the bench made an impact in the first half but his missed tackle on Mam led to a runaway Broncos try early in the second.
16. Spencer Leniu - 6
Entered the field with eight minutes remaining in the half and did his job in a 20-minute stint.
17. Luke Garner - 6
Injected into the contest in the second half and made some dangerous charges out wide.
Brisbane Broncos first-half ratings
Dan Walsh
1. Reece Walsh - 6.5
Wasn’t at his best for much of the contest but fired as it wore on. Set up Ezra Mam’s third try and produced a brilliant bust in the last 10 minutes.
2. Jesse Arthars - 8
Held his nerve well under pressure in defence and broke into the backfield, twice, when Brisbane needed first-half relief. Finished with 171 running metres for the game.
3. Kotoni Staggs - 7
Threatened with the ball before switching sides to defend on Stephen Crichton - was beaten by the Samoan star as Penrith came storming home, but otherwise very strong.
4. Herbie Farnworth - 8.5
Started with a pair of brilliant try-saving tackles, and a couple of errors, but was still one of Brisbane’s best. Finished with 169 metres and eight tackle busts.
5. Selwyn Cobbo - 7
Made valuable metres coming out of trouble and strong under the high ball. Made up for an early error near his own tryline with a crucial take late in the game.
6. Ezra Mam - 9
Barely fired a shot until spotting Lindsay Smith out of position and streaking away to put Brisbane ahead. Repeated the dose twice in two minutes for his hat-trick.
7. Adam Reynolds - 6.5
Played through pain in the first half and defended strongly until Cleary stepped inside him. And the less said about his goal line drop-outs the better.
8. Tom Flegler - 7.5
Came back with a vengeance after a first-half HIA for Brisbane’s opening try and revelled in the extra space around the ruck after half-time.
9. Billy Walters - 7
Brilliant 40-20 when Brisbane were on the ropes and threatened to pull another out as well. One of the Broncos best in the first half but didn’t have the same impact after the break.
10. Payne Haas - 8
Muscled up after Penrith’s early assault with 70 metres in his first stint and powered through plenty of defence too. Brisbane’s best middle.
11. Kurt Capewell - 6
Little ball came his way but kept the left-edge defence together with Penrith throwing plenty at them. Cleary shrugged him off for a second-half try-assist.
12. Jordan Riki - 6.5
Got through plenty of work on the right-edge, particularly in defence. Went looking for the ball but was among the defenders left for dead by Cleary for the match-winner.
13. Pat Carrigan - 7.5
Gave as good as he got and held Brisbane’s middle together under serious assault. Played all but nine minutes and didn’t stop for a second.
14. Tyson Smoothy - 6.5
Thrown in late in the first half and didn’t die wondering at the ruck. His spark set up Flegler’s try. Great impact.
15. Brendan Piakura - 5
Got into his work after an hour on the bench but not much impact.
16. Kobe Hetherington - 6.5
Came on around the hour mark and made one of the great try-saving tackles on Moses Leota.
17. Keenan Palasia - 8
Massive contribution from the 20-minute mark - getting through 150 metres and 20 tackles in quick time.