1999 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 26 September 1999 · Stadium Australia, Sydney, New South Wales
1999 NRL Grand Final result: Melbourne Storm def. St. George Illawarra, 20-18, at Stadium Australia, Sydney, New South Wales on Sunday, 26 September 1999.
Sourcing caveat: This Grand Final comeback is widely described as the largest deficit overturned in a decider up to that point; later, larger comebacks (e.g. Penrith in 2023) have since been recorded, so this note avoids an absolute superlative claim that would no longer be accurate.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Melbourne Storm | 20 |
| Runner-up | St. George Illawarra | 18 |
Attendance: 107,999
NRL 1999 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 586 | 332 | +254 | 40 |
| 2 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 500 | 294 | +206 | 38 |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 639 | 392 | +247 | 36 |
| 4 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 592 | 377 | +215 | 36 |
| 5 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 520 | 462 | +58 | 35 |
| 6 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 588 | 416 | +172 | 34 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 575 | 484 | +91 | 33 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 510 | 368 | +142 | 32 |
| 9 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 618 | 439 | +179 | 31 |
| 10 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 492 | 428 | +64 | 27 |
| 11 | Auckland Warriors | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 538 | 498 | +40 | 24 |
| 12 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 349 | 556 | -207 | 24 |
| 13 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 454 | 623 | -169 | 23 |
| 14 | North Sydney Bears | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 490 | 642 | -152 | 20 |
| 15 | Balmain Tigers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 345 | 636 | -291 | 20 |
| 16 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 398 | 588 | -190 | 13 |
| 17 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 24 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 285 | 944 | -659 | 10 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 8 (McIntyre final eight system) that season.
Finals series
Qualifying Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Sep 1999 | Sydney Roosters 8–12 Canterbury-Bankstown | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW | 23,478 |
| 4 Sep 1999 | Melbourne Storm 10–34 St George Illawarra | AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC | 15,653 |
| 4 Sep 1999 | Parramatta Eels 30–16 Newcastle Knights | Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta, NSW | 22,053 |
| 5 Sep 1999 | Cronulla-Sutherland 42–20 Brisbane Broncos | Toyota Park, Sydney, NSW | 13,713 |
Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep 1999 | Sydney Roosters 18–28 St George Illawarra | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW | 31,506 |
| 12 Sep 1999 | Melbourne Storm 24–22 Canterbury-Bankstown | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW | 20,075 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Sep 1999 | Melbourne Storm 18–16 Parramatta Eels | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW | 27,555 |
| 19 Sep 1999 | St George Illawarra 24–8 Cronulla-Sutherland | Stadium Australia, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW | 51,827 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Sep 1999 | Melbourne Storm 20–18 St George Illawarra | Stadium Australia, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW | 107,999 |
Match officials
| Referee | Bill Harrigan |
Scorers
| Melbourne Storm | Tries: Tony Martin — minute unconfirmed; Ben Roarty — minute unconfirmed; Craig Smith (penalty try) 77' Goals: Craig Smith (3/4); Matt Geyer (1/1) |
| St. George Illawarra | Tries: Nathan Blacklock — minute unconfirmed; Craig Fitzgibbon — minute unconfirmed; Paul McGregor — minute unconfirmed Goals: Wayne Bartrim (2/3); Craig Fitzgibbon (1/1) |
Teams
| Melbourne Storm | St. George Illawarra | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robbie Ross | Fullback | Luke Patten | 1 |
| 2 | Craig Smith | Wing | Nathan Blacklock | 2 |
| 3 | Aaron Moule | Centre | Paul McGregor (c) | 3 |
| 4 | Tony Martin | Centre | Shaun Timmins | 4 |
| 5 | Marcus Bai | Wing | Jamie Ainscough | 5 |
| 6 | Matt Geyer | Five-eighth | Anthony Mundine | 6 |
| 7 | Brett Kimmorley | Halfback | Trent Barrett | 7 |
| 8 | Glenn Lazarus (c) | Front Row | Chris Leikvoll | 8 |
| 9 | Richard Swain | Hooker | Nathan Brown | 9 |
| 10 | Rodney Howe | Front Row | Craig Smith | 10 |
| 11 | Paul Marquet | Second Row | Darren Treacy | 11 |
| 12 | Stephen Kearney | Second Row | Lance Thompson | 12 |
| 13 | Tawera Nikau | Lock | Wayne Bartrim | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Matt Rua | Craig Fitzgibbon | 14 | |
| 15 | Danny Williams | Colin Ward | 15 | |
| 16 | Russell Bawden | Brad Mackay | 16 | |
| 17 | Ben Roarty | Rod Wishart | 17 | |
| Chris Anderson | Coach | David Waite | ||
Clive Churchill Medal
Brett Kimmorley (Melbourne Storm).
Match context
The 1999 Grand Final was the first held at the newly built Stadium Australia at Homebush, and a then rugby league world-record crowd of 107,999 packed the Olympic venue to watch an extraordinary contest. St. George Illawarra, the joint venture formed that season from the historic St. George and Illawarra clubs, raced to a commanding 14-0 lead through a converted try and penalty goal to Craig Fitzgibbon and a converted try to Nathan Blacklock, and led 14-4 at halftime after Melbourne, only in its second season as an expansion club, could manage just a Craig Smith penalty goal in reply. The turning point arrived early in the second half when Dragons star Anthony Mundine knocked the ball on over his own try-line under pressure, handing Melbourne a platform to claw back into the contest. The Storm, under coach Chris Anderson and led by halfback Brett Kimmorley, scored tries to Tony Martin and Ben Roarty, with Smith's boot narrowing the margin further, to set up a grandstand finish. With time running out and the Dragons still ahead, video referee scrutiny in the 77th minute proved decisive: Dragons centre Jamie Ainscough was penalised for a high tackle on Smith near the try-line, and the video referee awarded Melbourne a penalty try, levelling the scores before Matt Geyer's conversion edged the Storm in front. Melbourne held on to win 20-18, completing one of the great Grand Final comebacks, a deficit that stood as one of the largest ever overturned in a decider. The victory made Melbourne the fastest expansion club in the sport's history to claim a premiership. Kimmorley's composed generalship at halfback earned him the Clive Churchill Medal. For St. George Illawarra, playing in only their first season as a merged entity, the loss was a bitter blow after dominating for large stretches, while for Melbourne it was a stunning coming-of-age moment, announcing the Victorian club as a genuine premiership force barely two years after entering the competition and cementing Stadium Australia as rugby league's new spiritual home for the code's biggest occasion.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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