Overview
- The Sydney Roosters beat the Newcastle Knights 19-18 on Sunday, October 4, 2026, with Daly Cherry-Evans kicking the decisive late drop goal to complete a second-half comeback.
- Mark Nawaqanitawase scored two tries and was a driving force in the Roosters’ revival, and multiple outlets report he will depart the NRL to join Japan’s Saitama Wild Knights.
- Newcastle led 12-0 early, highlighted by Kalyn Ponga’s length-of-the-field try, capping a season that saw the club rise from last place the previous year to a Grand Final berth.
- A vehicle struck a group of Knights supporters in Wallsend the day before the final, injuring ten people; an 18-year-old has been charged and was refused bail while hospitals report most patients have since been discharged.
- The match night brought immediate roster and medical fallout: Daly Cherry-Evans is set to move to Hull, and Dylan Edwards will have knee and shoulder surgery that rules him out of immediate World Cup selection.