Sourcing caveat: This match was played under the pre-1983 scoring system, where a try was worth 3 points — 2 tries × 3 + 6 goals × 2 = 18 for Canterbury, and 0 tries + 2 goals × 2 = 4 for Eastern Suburbs, both reconciling exactly under try=3. Neither team's full bench/interchange could be confirmed from sources found for this match; one commemorative-merchandise source's claimed Canterbury reserves (Lee Pomfret, David Moffett) was independently contradicted by Pomfret's own biography, which states he was not selected for this Grand Final, so it was not used.
The Clive Churchill Medal was first awarded in 1986; no official best-on-ground medal existed for this Grand Final.
Match context
The 1980 decider was the coming-of-age of Ted Glossop's Canterbury-Bankstown side, a team so attack-minded, built around the Mortimer and Hughes brothers, that they were dubbed 'the Entertainers'. Their charge to the premiership was improbable: languishing in eighth place at mid-season, Canterbury won 13 of their final 15 games to reach the Grand Final against an Eastern Suburbs outfit that started the match as favourites, particularly after Canterbury lost fullback Stan Cutler to injury in the semi-finals. Played on a Saturday afternoon, the last NSWRL Grand Final ever staged on a Saturday, before 52,881 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the game turned into a personal showcase for winger Steve Gearin. Canterbury led just 7-4 at half-time, Easts kept in touch by two Ken Wright goals, but the Berries' defence never allowed the Roosters a try all afternoon. Chris Anderson crossed for Canterbury, and Gearin kicked goals to stretch the margin to 13-4 before providing the match's immortal moment in the 70th minute. Steve Mortimer swept the ball left through Garry and Graeme Hughes, Graeme sent fullback Greg Brentnall through a gap, and Brentnall hoisted a huge kick downfield; Gearin, sprinting in pursuit, out-leapt the Easts cover, caught the ball on the full and slid over. Commentator Rex Mossop declared it 'as good a try as you'll ever see', and it is still routinely ranked among the greatest Grand Final tries. Gearin converted his own try to finish with 15 of Canterbury's 18 points (a try and six goals), and retrospective match reports rate him the game's best player. Captained by George Peponis, Canterbury ran out 18-4 winners to claim the club's third premiership and its first since 1942, ending a 38-year drought and launching the club into its most successful decade, with further Grand Final appearances to follow in 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1988. For Eastern Suburbs, the loss extended a premiership drought stretching back to 1975 that would ultimately last until 2002.
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