2023 NRL finals series
| 2023 NRL finals series | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 8 September 2023 – 1 October 2023 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Minor premiers |  Penrith Panthers |
| Matches played | 9 |
| Highest attendance | 81,947, Penrith v Brisbane, Grand Final |
| Lowest attendance | 12,557, Cronulla-Sutherland v Sydney, Second Elimination Final |
| Average attendance | 36,582 |
| Attendance | 329,242 |
| Broadcast partners | Nine Network Fox League |
The 2023 National Rugby League finals series was a tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2023 Telstra Premiership season. The series was played over four weekends in September and October, culminating in the 2023 NRL Grand Final on 1 October 2023 won by the Penrith Panthers.[1]
The top eight teams from the 2023 NRL season qualified for the finals series. The NRL finals series have been continuously played under this format since 2012.
Qualification
[edit]Ladder
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penrith Panthers (P)
|
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 645 | 312 | +333 | 42 |
| 2 |  Brisbane Broncos
|
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 639 | 425 | +214 | 42 |
| 3 |  Melbourne Storm
|
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 627 | 459 | +168 | 38 |
| 4 |  New Zealand Warriors
|
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 572 | 448 | +124 | 38 |
| 5 |  Newcastle Knights
|
24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 626 | 451 | +175 | 35 |
| 6 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
|
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 619 | 497 | +122 | 34 |
| 7 |  Sydney Roosters
|
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 472 | 496 | −24 | 32 |
| 8 |  Canberra Raiders
|
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 486 | 623 | −137 | 32 |
| 9 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs
|
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 564 | 505 | +59 | 30 |
| 10 |  Parramatta Eels
|
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 587 | 574 | +13 | 30 |
| 11 |  North Queensland Cowboys
|
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 546 | 542 | +4 | 30 |
| 12 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
|
24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 545 | 539 | +6 | 29 |
| 13 |  Dolphins
|
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 520 | 631 | −111 | 24 |
| 14 |  Gold Coast Titans
|
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 527 | 653 | −126 | 24 |
| 15 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
|
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 438 | 769 | −331 | 20 |
| 16 |  St. George Illawarra Dragons
|
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 474 | 673 | −199 | 16 |
| 17 |  Wests Tigers
|
24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 385 | 675 | −290 | 14 |
Finals structure
[edit]The system used for the 2023 NRL finals series is a final eight system. The top four teams in the eight receive the "double chance" when they play in week-one qualifying finals, such that if a top-four team loses in the first week it still remains in the finals, playing a semi-final the next week against the winner of an elimination final. The bottom four of the eight play knock-out games – only the winners survive and move on to the next week. Home ground advantage goes to the team with the higher ladder position in the first two weeks and to the qualifying final winners in the third week.
In the second week, the winners of the qualifying finals receive a bye to the third week. The losers of the qualifying final plays the elimination finals winners in a semi-final. In the third week, the winners of the semi-finals from week two play the winners of the qualifying finals in the first week. The winners of those matches move on to the Grand Final.[2]
Venues
[edit]A total of seven different venues hosted matches throughout the finals series.[3]
| Venue | Capacity | Matches Hosted | Home Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAMI Park | 30,000 | 1 | Melbourne Storm
|
| Accor Stadium | 82,500 | 2 | Penrith Panthers; Grand Final
|
| BlueBet Stadium | 22,500 | 1 | Penrith Panthers
|
| Go Media Stadium | 30,000 | 1 | New Zealand Warriors
|
| McDonald Jones Stadium | 30,000 | 1 | Newcastle Knights
|
| PointsBet Stadium | 12,500 | 1 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
|
| Suncorp Stadium | 52,500 | 2 | Brisbane Broncos
|
Fixtures
[edit]Nine matches were played across four weeks of the finals series.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and time (Local) | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying and Elimination Finals | ||||||||
| Brisbane Broncos
|
26–0 | Melbourne Storm
|
8 September, 7:50 pm | Suncorp Stadium | Grant Atkins | 50,157 | ||
| Penrith Panthers
|
32–6 | New Zealand Warriors
|
9 September, 4:05 pm | BlueBet Stadium | Adam Gee | 21,525 | ||
| Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
|
12–13 | Sydney Roosters
|
9 September, 7:50 pm | PointsBet Stadium | Gerard Sutton | 12,557 | ||
| Newcastle Knights †
|
30–28 | Canberra Raiders
|
10 September, 4:05 pm | McDonald Jones Stadium | Ashley Klein | 29,548 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Melbourne Storm
|
18–13 | Sydney Roosters
|
15 September, 7:50 pm | AAMI Park | Ashley Klein | 19,534 | ||
| New Zealand Warriors
|
40–10 | Newcastle Knights
|
16 September, 6:05 pm | Go Media Stadium | Adam Gee | 26,083 | ||
| Preliminary Finals | ||||||||
| Penrith Panthers
|
38–4 | Melbourne Storm
|
22 September, 7:50 pm | Accor Stadium | Adam Gee | 35,578 | ||
| Brisbane Broncos
|
42–12 | New Zealand Warriors
|
23 September, 7:50 pm | Suncorp Stadium | Gerard Sutton | 52,273 | ||
† Match decided in extra time.
Chart
[edit]| Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 September – Sydney | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Penrith | 32 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | New Zealand | 6 | 16 September – Auckland | ||||||||||||||||
| New Zealand | 40 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 September – Newcastle | Newcastle | 10 | 22 September – Sydney | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Newcastle | 30 | Penrith | 38 | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | Canberra | 28 | Melbourne | 4 | 1 October – Sydney | ||||||||||||||
| Penrith | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 September – Sydney | 23 September – Brisbane | Brisbane | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 12 | Brisbane | 42 | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | Sydney | 13 | 15 September – Melbourne | New Zealand | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| Melbourne | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 September – Brisbane | Sydney | 13 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Brisbane | 26 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Melbourne | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Matches
[edit]First Week: Qualifying and Elimination Finals
[edit]Second Week: Semi Finals
[edit]Third Week: Preliminary Finals
[edit]Grand final
[edit]1 October 2023
19:30 AEDT |
| Penrith Panthers
|
26–24 | Brisbane Broncos
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: 4 Kenny  17' Leota 62' Crichton 67' Cleary 76'Goals: 5 Crichton 1/1  18' Cleary 4/4 pen 29', 63', 68', 78' |
1st: 8–6 2nd: 18–18 Report |
Tries: 4 Flegler 38' Mam 44', 52', 54'Goals: 4 Reynolds 4/4 39', 45', 53', 56' |
Accor Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 81,947 Referee: Adam Gee Bunker: Ashley Klein Touch judges: Chris Sutton, Dave Munro Clive Churchill Medal:  Nathan Cleary |
References
[edit]- ^ "2023 NRL Telstra Premiership - RLP". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ "NRL finals format explained: How do the NRL finals work?". The Roar. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ "When is the NRL Finals 2023? Dates, schedule, matches for post-season | Sporting News Australia". www.sportingnews.com. 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ "Broncos v Storm". National Rugby League.
- ^ "Panthers v Warriors". National Rugby League.
- ^ "Sharks v Roosters". National Rugby League.
- ^ "Knights v Raiders". National Rugby League.
- ^ "Storm v Roosters". National Rugby League.
- ^ "Warriors v Knights". National Rugby League.
- ^ "Panthers v Storm". National Rugby League.
- ^ "Broncos v Warriors". National Rugby League.