Newcastle Knights vs Sydney Roosters: The 2026 NRL Grand Final and the Players With Legacies on the Line
The 2026 NRL Grand Final is locked in. Newcastle will face the Sydney Roosters at Accor Stadium on Sunday night, with one of the more unlikely premiership stories in recent memory guaranteed either way.
Newcastle finished dead last in 2025. Twelve months later, they're playing in their first Grand Final since Andrew Johns led them to a premiership in 2001.
The Roosters have taken a slightly different route. They’re back in the Grand Final for the first time since 2019, chasing the club's 16th premiership and another title under Trent Robinson.
And then there’s the players. A former Dally M winner trying to bring a premiership back to Newcastle. One of the most decorated fullbacks of his generation chasing a third title. And a 37-year-old halfback playing his final NRL game with the chance to finish exactly where he started.
Here's who's got the most riding on Sunday night.
Newcastle: From Wooden Spoon to Grand Final
Going from last place to premiers in 12 months might just be the greatest turnaround in NRL history.
But defying the odds is kind of the Knights’ style at this point. In their previous Grand Final victories, they were written off as underdogs and emerged with unlikely victories.
And so far in 2026, the Knights have already had to do it the hard way. They finished seventh, won their way through September and then knocked off minor premiers Penrith with 12 men for the entire second half of Sunday's preliminary final. And now they're one win away from a third premiership.
Kalyn Ponga: He's already got the 2023 Dally M Medal, he’s won Origin series and has one of the biggest profiles in rugby league. The obvious thing missing is a premiership. Newcastle hasn't won one since the days of Andrew Johns and Danny Buderus. If Ponga is the man who brings the trophy back to the Hunter after 25 years, his name is etched in Newcastle folklore forever.
Dane Gagai: This one has been a long time coming. Gagai joined Newcastle in 2012, played in their 2013 preliminary final and stuck around through some genuinely grim years, including three straight wooden spoons. He left, came back, passed 300 NRL games and will leave the Knights again at the end of this season. A Newcastle premiership would be quite the way to finish this chapter.
Bradman Best: Bradman Best has already earned a reputation as a big-game specialist. He’s scored in two Origin deciders in the hostile territory of Suncorp Stadium, and his performance in the preliminary final was massive. A Grand Final gives him the biggest stage yet.
Sydney Roosters: One Last Ride for DCE
The Roosters haven't played in a Grand Final since their back-to-back premierships in 2018 and 2019. Seven years later, they're back. And there's one player in particular who couldn't have scripted this much better.
Daly Cherry-Evans: DCE won a premiership in his first NRL season with Manly in 2011. But even after a 15-year career, it remains his only ring. Poetically, his final game in the NRL will be a Grand Final, giving him an opportunity to bookend his career with premierships.
He's packed plenty into the years between: 26 Origins, 21 Tests and more than 370 NRL games. But another premiership, with a different club, in his final game in Australia would be some way to hang up the boots.
James Tedesco: Two premierships. Two Dally M Medals. Origin series wins, a World Cup and just about everything else available to an NRL fullback. Tedesco won his two premierships in his first two seasons at the Roosters. A third, seven years later and this time as captain, would add another pretty significant achievement to the list.
Sam Walker: Walker is 24 and already playing in his fifth finals series, but this will be his first Grand Final. He proved he can handle the bright lights in Origin 2. Now, with DCE playing his final game, he gets a chance to put a foundation club on his shoulders and make the team his own.
So, What Does It Mean for Their Cards?
Same answer as always: nobody knows what happens to card values on Monday morning.
But a Newcastle premiership would create some pretty obvious collecting stories. Ponga would finally have a premiership next to the Dally M. Gagai would finish his second Newcastle stint with the trophy the club has spent 25 years chasing. Francis Manuleleua would end his rookie year with a ring.
On the other side, DCE has the chance to cement his NRL legacy, while his halves partner Sam Walker gets to step up to the next level as a premiership-winning halfback.
And then there are the moments we don't know about yet.
A Clive Churchill Medal. A match-winning try. A field goal with two minutes left. Grand Finals have a habit of producing the moments that come to define a player. Like, say, Darren Albert.
We'll know a lot more on Sunday night.
