1997 Super League Grand Final

Saturday, 20 September 1997 · ANZ Stadium (Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre), Brisbane, Queensland

1997-sl Grand Final ▾

1997 Super League Grand Final result: Brisbane Broncos def. Cronulla-Sutherland, 26-8, at ANZ Stadium (Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre), Brisbane, Queensland on Saturday, 20 September 1997.

Sourcing caveat: A secondary source described the Super League Grand Final halftime score as 16-6 while another implied 10-2 at the break; this does not affect the confirmed final score of 26-8, so the halftime detail is omitted from the main narrative rather than asserted with confidence.

Result

TeamScore
WinnerBrisbane Broncos26
Runner-upCronulla-Sutherland8

Attendance: 58,912

NRL 1997-sl — full season ladder & finals series

PosClubPWDLPFPADiffPts
1Brisbane Broncos181413481283+19829
2Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks181206403230+17324
3Canberra Raiders181107436337+9922
4Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs181008453447+620
5Penrith Panthers18909431462-3118
6Hunter Mariners187011350363-1314
7Auckland Warriors187011332406-7414
8Perth Reds187011321456-13514
9Adelaide Rams186111303402-9913
10North Queensland Cowboys185211328452-12412

Qualified for the finals series — Super League top 5 (1997 split-season finals) that season.

Finals series

Major Preliminary Semi-Final

DateResultVenueAttendance
30 Aug 1997Cronulla-Sutherland 22–18 Canberra RaidersShark Park (Endeavour Field), Woolooware, Sydney, NSW17,137

Minor Preliminary Semi-Final

DateResultVenueAttendance
1 Sep 1997Penrith Panthers 15–14 Canterbury-BankstownBelmore Sports Ground, Belmore, Sydney, NSW10,492

Major Semi-Final

DateResultVenueAttendance
6 Sep 1997Brisbane Broncos 34–2 Cronulla-SutherlandStockland Stadium, Townsville, QLD26,256

Minor Semi-Final

DateResultVenueAttendance
8 Sep 1997Canberra Raiders 32–12 Penrith PanthersBruce Stadium, Canberra, ACT10,153

Preliminary Final

DateResultVenueAttendance
13 Sep 1997Cronulla-Sutherland 10–4 Canberra RaidersShark Park (Endeavour Field), Woolooware, Sydney, NSW17,638

Grand Final

DateResultVenueAttendance
20 Sep 1997Brisbane Broncos 26–8 Cronulla-SutherlandANZ Stadium (Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre), Brisbane, QLD

Permalink to this season's ladder page →

Match officials

RefereeBill Harrigan

Scorers

Brisbane BroncosTries: Steve Renouf — minute unconfirmed (1st try, late first half); Steve Renouf 55'; Steve Renouf 65' (hat-trick); Michael Hancock — minute unconfirmed (late in match)
Goals: Darren Lockyer (5/6)
Cronulla-SutherlandTries: Russell Richardson — minute unconfirmed (approx 44')
Goals: Mat Rogers (2/2)

Teams

Brisbane BroncosCronulla-Sutherland
1Darren LockyerFullbackDavid Peachey21
18Michael De VereWingMat Rogers45
3Steve RenoufCentreAndrew Ettingshausen (c)3
4Anthony MundineCentreRussell Richardson33
5Wendell SailorWingGeoff Bell17
6Kevin WaltersFive-eighthMitch Healey6
7Allan Langer (c)HalfbackPaul Green7
21Shane WebckeFront RowDanny Lee8
23Andrew GeeHookerDean Treister9
10Brad ThornFront RowJason Stevens40
11Gorden TallisSecond RowCraig Greenhill11
12Peter RyanSecond RowChris McKenna31
13Darren SmithLockTawera Nikau13
Substitutes
2Michael HancockLes Davidson38
9John PlathSean Ryan24
15Tonie CarrollAdam Dykes18
16Ben WalkerNathan Long12
Wayne BennettCoachJohn Lang

Clive Churchill Medal

Steve Renouf (Brisbane Broncos).

Match context

The 1997 Super League Grand Final was the decider of Australian rugby league's rebel, News Corporation-backed competition, staged in a season when the sport had split into two entirely independent, simultaneously running premierships, a situation unique in rugby league history. Ten clubs contested the Super League, including three brand-new franchises fielded specifically to compete with the ARL: the Perth Reds, Adelaide Rams and Hunter Mariners, while twelve ARL-loyal clubs played out a completely separate Optus Cup season and finals series. Minor premiers Brisbane Broncos, coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by the ageless Allan Langer, entered the Grand Final as raging favourites against a Cronulla-Sutherland side under John Lang appearing in its first Grand Final. Played under lights at Brisbane's ANZ Stadium, then also known as the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, before a record crowd of 58,912, it was the first night Grand Final and the first top-level Australian rugby league Grand Final ever staged outside Sydney, itself a symbol of Super League's ambition to reshape the game's geography and broadcast footprint. The Broncos were utterly dominant, with dashing centre Steve Renouf running riot to score a hat-trick of tries, one of only a handful of players in the code's history to achieve that feat in a Grand Final, while Michael Hancock added a further try and Darren Lockyer landed five goals as Brisbane ran out convincing 26-8 winners. Cronulla's only response came through a Russell Richardson try converted by Mat Rogers. Renouf's brilliant individual performance saw him widely acclaimed as the standout player of the match. Brisbane's triumph capped an outstanding debut Super League season and was celebrated as validation of the rebel competition by its backers, but the competition folded into peace talks within weeks: financial losses on both sides of the split proved unsustainable, and the ARL and Super League/News Corp agreed to reunify the game into the single National Rugby League from 1998. Consequently, while Brisbane's 1997 Super League premiership stands as a genuine, well-attended and hard-fought title, it is generally viewed by historians as existing somewhat outside the sport's official lineage of premierships, in contrast to the same year's ARL decider, which the reunified NRL formally continued to recognise.

Sources

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

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