The three-peat was achieved by the Penrith Panthers in 2023, in one of the most tightly-contested competitions of the modern era.
The opening third of the season saw some incredibly close margins, with the dominant teams starting to open the gaps on their opponents towards the back end of the year.
The Dolphins won plenty of fans in their inaugural NRL year in a season that many would not have predicted to be as successful.
The Warriors were adopted as many fans' 'second-favourite' team, with many riding the 'Wahs Wave', feeling affection for the Shaun Johnson-led side that arguably endured the hardest journey in and out of the COVID-affected period.
The NRL set new records for viewership and attendance in 2023, and it was a year where so many teams were still mathematically in finals contention until the final few rounds.
There was a plethora of encounters that we had to consider when finalising our top ten games of the year. Did we get them right? Were there any matches that you would have included?
13. Finals Week 1 - Raiders vs Knights: Controversy and an extra time party in the Hunter
This Week 1 elimination final was shaping as the best game of the finals until the grand final, but more on that shortly.
It was a game that had everything though as the Raiders, who had crawled into the finals, travelled to the other side of Sydney to play on the red-hot Knights. Ricky Stuart all but admitted his side were anything but favourites before the game in an attempt to gain some sort of mental edge.
It was a mental edge that seemed to work though. After Greg Marzhew scored the opener for Newcastle, the green machine ran on three unanswered tries - James Schiller, Trey Mooney and then Schiller again - to take a 16 points to 6 lead into the break.
But then came the controversy. Star five-eighth Jack Wighton, who will turn out for the Rabbitohs in 2024, was accused of biting Tyson Gamble. He stayed on the field, but it didn't matter. The crowd took over, and Newcastle promptly ran on four tries in just 15 minutes as Kalyn Ponga took over.
The Raiders found a way to hit back with two late tries though, forcing the game to extra time before Ponga slotted an 88th-minute penalty goal, with the Knights then hanging on for the win.
