Roosters 19–18 Knights: Cherry-Evans field goal wins the NRL grand final
Sydney recovered from 12–0 down, Mark Nawaqanitawase scored twice and Daly Cherry-Evans kicked the decisive point before a frantic Newcastle finish.
Verified brief
The story in 60 seconds
The Sydney Roosters beat the Newcastle Knights 19–18 in the 2026 NRL Grand Final at Accor Stadium. Newcastle led 12–0, but two Mark Nawaqanitawase tries and a Billy Smith score brought Sydney back before Daly Cherry-Evans kicked a 70th-minute field goal. Greg Marzhew’s late converted try cut the margin to one, but James Tedesco secured the finish and won the Clive Churchill Medal.
This brief and the full story below are based on the disclosed sources. SearchTrends Daily’s interpretation appears later under “Our take.”
Full reporting
The complete story
The direct answer is that the Sydney Roosters are the 2026 NRL premiers after beating the Newcastle Knights 19–18 at Accor Stadium on October 4. The decider turned on Sydney’s comeback from 12–0 down, Daly Cherry-Evans’ field goal with 10 minutes left and two late James Tedesco takes under pressure. An official attendance of 80,814 watched the one-point finish.
Newcastle made the sharper start. Francis Manuleleua crossed in the 16th minute, then Kalyn Ponga produced the match’s first extraordinary moment around the half-hour mark: he collected the ball deep in his own territory and ran roughly 95 metres to score. Sandon Smith converted both tries for a 12–0 lead.
The Roosters’ response began before half-time. Mark Nawaqanitawase, playing his final match for the club before returning to rugby union, finished in the right corner in the 36th minute. Sam Walker converted and Sydney went to the break only six points behind.
Billy Smith levelled the contest with a 48th-minute try, and Walker’s penalty goal six minutes later put the Roosters in front for the first time. Nawaqanitawase then completed his farewell double in the 60th minute, finishing another edge attack to push Sydney’s advantage to six.
Cherry-Evans supplied what became the winning point in the 70th minute. In his final NRL game, the veteran halfback stepped into position and struck a field goal for 19–12. The margin looked valuable rather than decisive, and Newcastle proved why. Greg Marzhew scored in the 77th minute and Sandon Smith converted, reducing the gap to 19–18 and leaving the Knights one final chance.
Newcastle sent two late kicks toward the Roosters’ line. Tedesco caught both, including the final high ball, to close the match. The Roosters captain was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal. The NRL’s match report credits him with 385 metres from 35 runs and 14 tackle breaks, numbers that explain why the award went beyond the drama of those final catches.
The result gave the Roosters their first premiership since 2019. It was Trent Robinson’s fourth title as coach after 2013, 2018 and 2019. Cherry-Evans finished his career with a second premiership, 15 years after his first. Newcastle’s remarkable rise from last place in 2025 to the 2026 decider ended one point short.
Source perspectives
What other reporting adds
These are the reports, official records, and trend observations used to build the story. The note under each link explains exactly what it contributes.
Primary league source for the Roosters-Knights date, kick-off, venue, named teams and the Crossland and Watson updates.
Read original source ↗National Rugby LeagueResilience and mateship driving Crichton as finish line loomsPrimary interview-based report confirming Nawaqanitawase’s final Roosters game, return to rugby, career totals and Roosters highlights.
Read original source ↗National Rugby LeagueGraham steps up as Watson battles to prove GF fitnessPrimary current report on Harrison Graham starting for Newcastle and Connor Watson’s pending clearance.
Read original source ↗League UnlimitedPREVIEW: Roosters v Knights - 2026 NRL Grand FinalIndependent preview used to cross-check each club’s finals route, team selections and grand-final context.
Read original source ↗National Rugby LeagueCaptain Fantastic: Teddy stands tall as Roosters win epic deciderPrimary league report for the 19–18 final score, scoring sequence, official attendance, Tedesco statistics and Clive Churchill Medal, and premiership context.
Read original source ↗ABC News AustraliaNRL grand final live: Daly Cherry-Evans field goal wins Roosters premiership over KnightsIndependent live and post-match report cross-checking the 19–18 result, Newcastle’s 12–0 lead, Ponga’s long try, Nawaqanitawase’s double, the Cherry-Evans field goal and Tedesco’s medal.
Read original source ↗SearchTrends Daily opinion
Our take
Analysis
What the evidence and search signal suggest
The scoreline invites a simple field-goal explanation, but the comeback was built earlier. Newcastle’s 12–0 lead came from speed and broken-field threat, especially Ponga’s long-range try. Sydney then shifted the match toward repeat pressure, edge finishes and a territorial contest the Roosters could control. Nawaqanitawase’s first try prevented the Knights from carrying a two-score cushion into half-time; his second converted Sydney’s recovery into a genuine lead.
The workload also mattered. The NRL reported that Newcastle made 126 more tackles while operating with 43 per cent of possession. That defensive burden helps explain why the Roosters could keep returning to attacking positions even after Newcastle had produced the most spectacular individual play of the first half.
Cherry-Evans’ field goal was valuable because it changed Newcastle’s late requirement. Marzhew’s try and conversion could only narrow the game to one rather than level it. Tedesco then turned that arithmetic into a result by safely taking the two late kicks. The decisive sequence was therefore collective: possession and pressure created the opening, the halfback took the point, and the fullback defended it.
Analysis and commentary are SearchTrends Daily’s interpretation. They are intentionally separated from the sourced account above.
Meaning
Why this matters
This was more than a close grand final. Sydney overturned a two-score deficit, absorbed Newcastle’s late surge and won with a 35-year-old halfback delivering the deciding point in his final match. Cherry-Evans’ field goal now sits beside his 2011 premiership as a bookend to a long career.
Nawaqanitawase’s two tries changed the meaning of his farewell. The search interest before kick-off centred on his departure; after the match, it centres on how directly he helped deliver a title. Tedesco’s medal matters for a different reason: his work rate and last-line security held together both the long middle of the contest and the final minute.
For Newcastle, the defeat does not erase the scale of the turnaround. A team that finished last in 2025 reached the grand final the following season and led it by 12 points. The harder question is whether that rise can become a durable premiership window rather than a single improbable run.
Background
How we got here
The Roosters had not won the competition since completing back-to-back premierships in 2018 and 2019. Their route to this decider included a qualifying-final loss to Penrith, followed by wins over Cronulla and the Dolphins.
Newcastle came from seventh and eliminated South Sydney, the Warriors and Penrith. That run followed a last-place finish in 2025, giving the Knights a chance to become the first team since Western Suburbs in 1934 to go from last to premiers in the next season. They came within one point of doing it.
The match also closed several Sydney chapters. Nawaqanitawase is returning to rugby union, while Cherry-Evans played his final NRL game. Robinson’s fourth premiership further separates his era from a normal title cycle: the victories now span 13 seasons and three different championship periods.
Outlook
What is likely to happen next
The immediate next step is celebration and review rather than prediction. Sydney must plan for life after Cherry-Evans and Nawaqanitawase, while Robinson’s staff decides how much of this premiership structure can carry into 2027. Newcastle has stronger evidence that its 2026 rise was real, but it still needs to show that the defensive resilience and Ponga-led strike power can survive another full season.
Our view would become more confident that Sydney can defend the title if its new combinations reproduce the same kicking control and late-game calm without Cherry-Evans. It would become more confident in Newcastle as a lasting premiership contender if the Knights sustain top-four form rather than relying on another elimination run. Injuries, roster departures and the clubs’ 2027 starts would change that assessment; one grand final, even one this close, cannot settle the next season.
A conditional editorial assessment based on the evidence available at the review date, not a guaranteed outcome.
Live record
Updates to this story
Final: Roosters win 19–18 after Newcastle’s late charge
The preview has been replaced with the completed grand-final account. Sydney recovered from 12–0 down, Mark Nawaqanitawase scored twice, Daly Cherry-Evans kicked the decisive 70th-minute field goal and James Tedesco secured two late kicks before receiving the Clive Churchill Medal. The original publication date and URL are preserved; current NRL and ABC result reports have been added as sources.
Commentary
What we think
SearchTrends Daily opinion: The Roosters’ win should be remembered as a comeback completed by experienced decision-making, not only as a one-kick finish. Nawaqanitawase supplied the points that restored Sydney, Cherry-Evans recognised when one point could alter the last 10 minutes, and Tedesco executed the final defensive jobs. Newcastle was good enough to expose Sydney early and brave enough to threaten at the end, but the Roosters controlled more of the match’s repeatable work between those bursts.