Twelve-man Newcastle through to grand final after Cleary’s horrific leg break
The Newcastle Knights are through to their first NRL grand final since 2001, defeating the Penrith Panthers 22-14 after Nathan Cleary suffered a catastrophic broken leg at Stadium Australia.
Cleary was taken to hospital in an ambulance, in agony after going down in the tackle of Phoenix Crossland and Francis Manuleleua late in the first half.
Crossland was sent off for his hip drop tackle on the star halfback, forcing the unfancied Knights to play the entirety of the second half a man down.
Newcastle scored three tries after the break to produce the shock, with Sandon Smith catching the Panthers unaware and racing through to score in a bizarre passage of play before settling the game with a late breakaway try.
The stunning victory booked the Knights’ ticket to the grand final next Sunday, when they will face the Sydney Roosters.
The Knights will be chasing their first men’s premiership since 2001, while the women’s team won back-to-back crowns in 2022 and 2023.
This year’s NRLW grand final will be a rematch of the 2025 decider after the Broncos beat the Titans 20-8 to set up another showdown with the Roosters.
Look back at all the action in our live blog below, and check out all the stats in the full NRL and NRLW ScoreCentres.
NRL live: Panthers vs Knights at Stadium Australia
Down to 12, Newcastle fans make it feel like 14
Coach Justin Holbrook starts the press conference laughing in disbelief.
“For the players to win a game like that, I couldn’t be happier.”
Once again, the committed Newcastle faithful receive a shout-out from Holbrook, who did a lap of honour to thank as many of them as possible for making this feel like a home game.
“We want to make our community proud, our Hunter region, and for the boys to deliver that performance, it was so good to see them all hang around.
“We went down to 12 and then 30,000 make you feel like you’ve got 14 out there.”
Kalyn Ponga agrees the supporters helped the team over the line.
“They’re a big reason why we won today. They’re loud, they’re passionate, they’re vocal and we’re gonna need them next week.”
Holbrook is asked about Phoenix Crossland and it’s clear the tough-as-boots hooker was struggling in the sheds.
“He was disappointed, so we’ll try to get him upbeat. Obviously it helps that we won. Helps a lot.
“He’s an emotional guy. He’s awesome, he’s been so great for us every week this year. Hopefully he’s OK and Nathan’s OK.”
Ivan Cleary emotional seeing his son loaded into ambulance
Ivan Cleary, Panthers coach and Nathan’s dad, says his son is in hospital and awaiting surgery on his left leg due to a compound fracture, and will also need surgery on his right foot, which is also broken.
The coach says seeing Nathan go down with a completely fresh and even worse injury while playing through an already broken foot made it even harder to take.
“I knew how hard he’d worked and what he put himself through to play today.”
Ivan says he went down to the sheds and saw Nathan before he went into the ambulance to hospital, saying it was a very emotional time seeing his son in so much pain.
“I know he watched the game in the ambulance. Only made him feel worse I think.”
Ivan says he was also emotional in the box when he saw his team get around Nathan.
“I got a bit emotional because I thought that was pretty cool. I don’t know.
“I can’t really explain what happened in the second half. I’d rather congratulation the Knights and Justin [Holbrook]. They thoroughly deserve to be in the grand final.”
Ivan points to Isaah Yeo playing through a torn pectoral, reveals Dylan Edwards tore his PCL in the opening half, and confirms a torn Achilles tendon for Blaize Talagi.
“We were probably falling apart a little bit.”
Matty Johns in tears as Knights return to grand final
The Newcastle Knights haven’t played in a men’s grand final since the 2001 premiership and have had wooden spoons and a lot of heartbreak mixed in the intervening quarter century.
So it’s hardly surprising that Hunter native and former Knights star Matthew Johns was incredibly emotional straight after full-time on Fox Sports.
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“To be honest I don’t know what to say,” he said, his voice shaking and tears starting to flow.
“It was unbelievable. Incredible effort in that second half.
“I just feel so happy for all the fans.”
And that’s when the emotions really came out and it became increasingly hard to find the words.
“They’ve had to put up with a lot of shit for a lot of years to get back to where they are now,” Johns said.
Even getting to the game today was tough as the Central Coast and Newcastle train line endured cancellations and delays, forcing fans to find alternate routes and replacement services to get down to Sydney, leading to traffic jams on the M1 motorway.
“But it just didn’t stop them in the wet,” Johns said.
“When you run onto a field like that and you look up and you see all those Newcastle fans, you don’t leave the field defeated.
“If not for the fans they don’t win today.”
Elation, disbelief … the pictures say it all
Sandon Smith living ‘the ultimate fairytale’
Sandon Smith was seen as surplus to requirements at the Roosters last year and was allowed to leave to come to Newcastle.
When it happened, he was a zippy utility arriving at a wooden spoon team that just apparently overpaid for five-eighth Dylan Brown to play halfback. Where would he fit in?
When Brown went down, Smith slotted in to halfback, and now he’s played the game of his life to lead the Knights back to the grand final to face those Roosters that let him go.
“It’s the ultimate fairytale,” he tells ABC Sport.
“I can’t wait to go up against them on the biggest stage.”
As for his team’s effort, he says it was pure Newcastle through and through.
“We just stuck together and it just shows what we’ve been about all year,” he says.
“It just typifies this club and this town, it’s unbelievable.”
‘I’ve waited 16 years’: One of the NRL’s best finally gets his shot
Newcastle prop Tyson Frizell took the first hit-up of the game and made the first big error of the game a few tackles later.
One of the best, most consistent forwards in the competition for over a decade, he finally gets a chance to play in a grand final next week.
“Lost for words, what a game.
“Couldn’t have wrote it any better. We’ve still got one game to go but we’ve got momentum and we’ve got to stay on it.
“To go down to 12 men, I don’t think anyone believed other than us.”
Despite being without Phoenix Crossland after that send-off, they kept throwing the ball around when they got the chance but that was won without the ball.
“For the guys to defend like that, I’m so happy.
“I can’t wait to get back to Newcastle and enjoy it. I’ve waited 16 years to be part of this and I’m not gonna let it slip away.”
The Knights are through to the NRL grand final!!
You will never see a more dramatic preliminary final than that. And the Newcastle Knights have won it 22-14, beating the titans of Penrith.
We know the Panthers lost Nathan Cleary to that horrible broken leg and Blaize Talagi to the torn Achilles, but the Knights managed to pull this off while down to 12 men after Phoenix Crossland’s first-half send-off.
It’s been 25 years since the Knights were in a men’s NRL grand final, and no fanbase deserves it more than the Newcastle faithful.
SANDON SMITH STEALS IT! THE KNIGHTS WILL WIN!!!!
The Panthers were throwing the ball all over the park and halfback Sandon Smith saw the ball flying and pounced. He steals it and goes 80 metres to score the game-sealer!!!!!!
He will go and face his former team in the grand final.
78′ The Knights kick high, but not long
Another set ends with the Knights kicking from inside their 40m zone, and the Panthers get over halfway on the third.
They try to put together a frantic attack … and Francis Manululeleua knocks on as he goes for the ill-advised intercept!
Another chance for Penrith. Maybe the last, but remember it’s against 12 men.
76′ Dylan Lucas with the fumble but he makes up for it
The Knights back rower drops it cold coming off his line, but makes up for it with a shot to force the error from Lindsay Smith.
And, mixed in their Kalyn Ponga of all people drives his shoulder through a flying Moses Leota to send him sprawling. What a moment.
75′ Greg Marzhew jams in
The Panthers still have the extra man and find it on the right as Luke Garner tries to find an unmarked Brian To’o, but the pass is forward as Greg Marzhew flies in to apply the pressure.
74′ Knights still playing footy
Newcastle can’t bend the line back in the middle, so they spin it left and Bradman Best manages to make three-quarters of a line break to get them up to halfway, where Fletcher Sharpe launches a midfield bomb.
Time keeps ticking.
73′ Jack Cogger knocks on!
The Panthers miss another chance as Jack Cogger drops it cold at second receiver.
72′ Casey McLean is over, but held up by millimetres
The Panthers spin it left to their X-factor and tell him to beat a few blokes.
He does exactly that and comes within millimetres of getting the ball to the tryline, but Gerard Sutton and the bunker say Kalyn Ponga and Francis Manuleleua managed to hold him up.
72′ LIAM. MARTIN.
The Knights hold off another set and need to truck it out of their territory, but Liam Martin has pulled off a spectacular hit to force the knock-on by Dane Gagai!
69′ Knights counting down the sets
The cross-field kick is reeled in by Tom Jenkins. He’s wrapped up by Dom Young but manages to pop a pass to Casey McLean, who knocks on.
The Knights are fired up and surely looking at the clock. How many more sets do they need to repel with 11 minutes left? Can they find a counterpunch?
68′ Do NOT count the Panthers out
Isaah Yeo and Liam Martin have come back onto the field.
They are the Panthers’ beating heart.
They’re only down by two with class and finals experience across the park.
They’ve pulled off miracles before. Don’t rule them out yet.
67′ Oh no. Blaize Talagi goes down untouched.
It’s a non-contact injury for Penrith centre Blaize Talagi and it looks like a textbook ruptured Achilles mechanism.
My word, this is horrifying for Penrith.
64′ The Knights regather the short dropout
Kalyn Ponga is caught in the in-goal, but the Knights finally get their radar right with the short dropout and Dane Gagai flies upfield.