Over the 20 years we have seen rugby league become the modern game it is today.
In these past 20 years we have also been treated to some amazing grand finals and today we take the top 10 and rank them.
Don’t forget to leave your opinions in the comments section below.
This one definitely will not go down as one of the "greatest of all time”, but the 2003 NRL grand final is still an enjoyable watch. We would see the favourites and defending premiers the Sydney Roosters be toppled by a resilient and deserving Penrith Panthers side which included the likes of Craig Gower, Preston Campbell and Luke Priddis.
The grand final itself may not have been memorable however, it created a memorable moment when Scott Sattler made a near impossible tackle on Todd Byrne to dash the Roosters momentum in a moment many believe won Penrith the grand final.
Priddis was the Clive Churchill medalist and rightfully so, as he was involved in all three Penrith tries, scoring one and setting up two.
Overall, the 2003 grand final was very much a defensive game and a low scoring final compared to many others. It contained big hits, a class Panthers side overcoming the odds to beat the Roosters and a shocker from Anthony Minechello.
2013 would see the culmination of a rebuild that had been going on for multiple years at the Roosters. The Roosters had not won a grand final for 11 years which was a disappointment for the Roosters as a club that many had perceived to be one of the giants in rugby league for many a year.
For Manly it was business as usual, a team that over the past decade had proven to be possibly the most dominant team in the league, so the showdown was set the team looking to resurrect former glory against the side looking to continue rugby league domination.
The game itself was exciting with both teams holding the lead throughout. Manly would lead the game 18-8 in the second half and it began to look like they would run away with the game when a Roosters resurgence began with Aiden Guerra and Shaun Kenny-Dowell scoring in the space of five minutes then to top it all off with a freakish Michael Jennings try to put the grand final in the bag for the Roosters.
This grand final will not be remembered for moments and stories like most others, but due to the game itself. The 2013 grand final proved to be one of if not the most entertaining final of all-time, with the leading changing hands on multiple occasions and the gap between tries being minimal.
SHOCKING is the term best used to describe the 1998 NRL grand final. It was the first under the NRL label and was indeed a shocker.
We would see the Bulldogs be the first and most-likely last team to make the grand final from the 9th position on the ladder go up against a dominant Brisbane Broncos side who were firm favourites.
Our next shocking moment comes at half-time with the Bulldogs actually leading 12-8 and looking as if they could actually win the inaugural Telstra Premiership. The final shock comes with the Broncos scoring 30 unanswered points in the second half to destroy the Bulldogs and take the title. Obviously, many people still believed the Broncos were going to win at half-time but not the way they did.
The Broncos came out in the second-half and basically killed the Bulldogs in the most one-sided half in a grand final we’ve ever seen.
The 2001 grand final was another interesting one. It was a game that incorporated a dominant display at times, yet a very exciting and close game in the end. We would see the Knights lead 24-0 at half-time with the game looking as if it was in the bag.
In the second-half the Eels would score 24 points themselves, however, Tahu’s try, although not the game's last would prove to be the crucial four-pointer that won the game for the Knights.
This grand final may not be as memorable as the Knights' first in 1997 however, it was a unique grand final that we have not seen the likes of since where the team that makes a big comeback still comes up short with the Eels taking the hard loss on the night after an amazing season.
The 2014 grand final was the first in many years where it is remembered for the story surrounding.
The Rabbitohs, the most successful team in rugby league history broke their 43-year premiership drought after two years of being eliminated in the preliminary final, the Rabbitohs finally did what many thought they wouldn’t for an even longer time, they won the NRL grand final.
It was a close game for the most part with the Bunnies coming up against a game bulldogs side which included an impressive forward pack that included James Graham, David Klemmer and Josh Jackson and a halves combination of Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson, yet were able to overcome the great side in what was really a close game for the most part.
The game would see the stars of both sides show off their amazing ability however, near the end it would seem that the Bulldogs had given up in a disgusting display (you don’t just give up in a grand final no matter the score) with the Rabbitohs running away with the game to break their 43-year drought.
This was a grand final that saw a great story and a decent game come together to create a great grand final.
Let’s add to this great grand final with the players that partook in this game, Darren Lockyer, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Petro Civenaceva. The game would be close throughout with the Broncos taking it in the end.
Now for the story, club legend Shane Webcke played his final game and went out a champion, with Darren Lockyer inviting him on stage to help him lift the Telstra Premiership in a moment that has gone down in NRL history.
It had taken 50 seasons but the Sharks finally won their first grand final.
In a season where the Sharks won 17 games straight it was now or possibly never. The game itself was a nail bitter, the Sharks had a tight 8-0 lead at half-time then in the second half the Storm took a 12-8 lead and it looked like business as usual until Andrew Fifita crashed over under the post, gifting the Sharks a 14-12 lead.
I know personally after this moment I had no more fingernails to chew with the Sharks leading by two the Storm had the ball 10 metres out and the siren sounds in everyone’s head the Storm score and ruin the fairy-tale, but in our hearts the Sharks hold on to win their first title. Our hearts would prevail in a grand final that will go down as one of the best in history.
Who would have thought another close grand final, and another with a great story at that. The 2004 grand final would see minor premiers, back-to-back grand final makers and favourites the Sydney Roosters losing to a young and hungry Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
Adding to that departing captain Steve Price would miss the game through to injury, making a victory all that more sweeter for the Bulldogs.
In a less mentioned but equally as big point, Brad Fittler would retire after this game. Pretty much this was the 2004 grand final; The Dogs win their first grand final in nine years, the Bulldogs just overcome the favoured Roosters, Price leaves a champion and Fittler retires, wow!
So you’re telling me the Storm have won a grand final where they were the underdogs and came up against a squad that many believed would beat them easily?
You betcha, in 1999 the Storm came in as the underdogs and made an amazing come back to win the grand final. We would see the craziest finish to a grand final in NRL history (until a certain year that we’ll get to next), with Ainscoe’s high tackle on Smith resulting in the Storm taking the game at the end after trailing throughout.
Not only that, it was also Storm captain and NRL legend Glen Lazarus’ final game which was topped off with that shocking backflip (not the Cherry-Evans kind) and Brett Kimmorley emerging as a top player in the NRL and would go on to be a great leader at the Sharks and Bulldogs.
I mean come on, what did you expect to be first? This grand final was AMAZING with the Broncos favourites heading in, they took a 16-12 lead into half-time and sustained it until the 80th minute where Kyle Feldt crossed over in the corner.
We then got the Jonathan Thurston missed conversion which was the biggest moment in his career (for about five minutes), and sent the game to golden point, a first in grand final history. A shocking moment would follow with Ben Hunt dropping the kick-off, putting the Cowboys in great field position.
After a couple of tackles where the Cowboys teased their opponents, Thurston kicked the match-winning field goal to win the Cowboys their first ever premiership!