Follow Daily Mail Australia’s live blog for all the updates and scores from the NRL grand final.
What’s kicking off when at Accor Stadium
Here’s a handy guide so you can time your bathroom breaks/barbecuing duties/bottle shop runs and make sure you don’t miss one of the day’s big events…
1pm: Gates open to the public at Accor Stadium.
1:20pm: The NRL State Championship Grand Final begins: Newtown Jets vs Norths Devils.
3:55pm: The NRLW Telstra Women’s Premiership Grand Final: Sydney Roosters vs Cronulla Sharks.
6:30pm: The pre-game entertainment show, headlined by international star The Kid LAROI.
7:30pm: The main event commences: Melbourne Storm vs Penrith Panthers
9:30pm: Post-match celebrations, including trophy presentations and individual awards.
Has a doof-doof barrage put a dent in the Storm’s grand final preparations?
Penrith faced the same problem when they chose to stay in a hotel just metres from Accor Stadium in 2021. Some of their stars told team staff and as a result, they stayed in Parramatta to avoid a repeat – but the Storm might not have been aware of what they were going to encounter on Saturday night.
Aussie footy tragic worth $800million bets a staggering amount on Penrith to win
OK, advertising guru John Singleton won’t be on struggle street if Melbourne get the chocolates tonight – but even he is nervous about how much he’s punted on the outcome.
Brad Fittler solves a years-old grand final mystery
Channel Nine’s coverage of the decider kicked off today with league legend Brad Fittler revealing he has found the missing ball Johnathan Thurston (pictured below) used to kick the winning field goal in the 2015 decider.
The Steeden disappeared soon after JT slotted it through the post to give fans one of the most dramatic finishes to a grand final ever.
‘There was a bloke from the NRL, Nathan McGuirk, who thought, “You know what, I’d better find that ball because that’s going to be important in the future”,’ Fittler said.
‘So he went over behind the goalpost and the stage was still there from the entertainment that year.
‘He went ferretting underneath it and there’s the ball just sitting there.’
G’day and welcome
Thanks for joining us for Daily Mail Australia’s coverage of the 2024 NRL grand final as Penrith try to become the first team since the legendary St George side of the ’50s and ’60s to win four premierships in a row.
With two high-quality curtain-raisers and top-notch pre-game entertainment, it promises to be a massive day of footy highlighted by the two best teams in the world facing off in a clash that’s so close on paper, even
the bookies are having difficulty predicting a winner.
