2003 NRL Grand Final

Sunday, 5 October 2003 · Telstra Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales

2003 Grand Final ▾

2003 NRL Grand Final result: Penrith def. Sydney Roosters, 18-6, at Telstra Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales on Sunday, 5 October 2003.

Result

	Team	Score
Winner	Penrith	18
Runner-up	Sydney Roosters	6

Attendance: 81,166

NRL 2003 — full season ladder & finals series

Pos	Club	P	W	L	PF	PA	Diff	Pts
1	Penrith Panthers	24	18	6	659	527	+132	40
2	Sydney Roosters	24	17	7	680	445	+235	38
3	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	16	8	702	419	+283	36
4	Canberra Raiders	24	16	8	620	463	+157	36
5	Melbourne Storm	24	15	9	564	486	+78	34
6	New Zealand Warriors	24	15	9	545	510	+35	34
7	Newcastle Knights	24	14	10	632	635	-3	32
8	Brisbane Broncos	24	12	12	497	464	+33	28
9	Parramatta Eels	24	11	13	570	582	-12	26
10	St George Illawarra Dragons	24	11	13	548	593	-45	26
11	North Queensland Cowboys	24	10	14	606	629	-23	24
12	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	8	16	497	704	-207	20
13	Wests Tigers	24	7	17	470	598	-128	18
14	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	24	7	17	557	791	-234	18
15	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	3	21	457	758	-301	10

Qualified for the finals series — top 8 (McIntyre final eight system) that season.

Finals series

Qualifying Final

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
12 Sep 2003	Canberra Raiders 18–30 Melbourne Storm	Canberra Stadium, Bruce, ACT	14,094
13 Sep 2003	Canterbury-Bankstown 22–48 New Zealand Warriors	Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW	18,312
13 Sep 2003	Sydney Roosters 36–8 Newcastle Knights	Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW	23,853
14 Sep 2003	Penrith Panthers 28–18 Brisbane Broncos	Penrith Park, Penrith, NSW	18,534

Semi-Final

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
20 Sep 2003	Canberra Raiders 16–17 New Zealand Warriors	Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW	31,616
21 Sep 2003	Canterbury-Bankstown 30–0 Melbourne Storm	Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW	19,367

Preliminary Final

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
27 Sep 2003	Sydney Roosters 28–18 Canterbury-Bankstown	Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW	41,123
28 Sep 2003	Penrith Panthers 28–20 New Zealand Warriors	Telstra Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW	43,174

Grand Final

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
5 Oct 2003	Penrith Panthers 18–6 Sydney Roosters	Telstra Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW	81,166

Permalink to this season's ladder page →

Match officials

Referee	Bill Harrigan

Scorers

Penrith	Tries: Luke Rooney 30'; Luke Priddis 66'; Luke Rooney 73' Goals: Ryan Girdler (1/1); Preston Campbell (2/2)
Sydney Roosters	Tries: Shannon Hegarty — minute unconfirmed Goals: Craig Fitzgibbon (1/1)

Teams

Penrith			Sydney Roosters
1	Rhys Wesser	Fullback	Anthony Minichiello	1
2	Luke Lewis	Wing	Todd Byrne	2
3	Ryan Girdler	Centre	Ryan Cross	3
4	Paul Whatuira	Centre	Shannon Hegarty	4
5	Luke Rooney	Wing	Chris Walker	5
6	Preston Campbell	Five-Eighth	Brad Fittler (c)	6
7	Craig Gower (c)	Halfback	Craig Wing	9
8	Joel Clinton	Prop	Jason Cayless	8
9	Luke Priddis	Hooker	Michael Crocker	14
10	Martin Lang	Prop	Ned Catic	10
11	Joe Galuvao	Second Row	Adrian Morley	11
12	Tony Puletua	Second Row	Craig Fitzgibbon	12
13	Scott Sattler	Lock	Luke Ricketson	13
Substitutes
14	Ben Ross		Brett Finch	7
15	Trent Waterhouse		Andrew Lomu	15
16	Shane Rodney		Chad Robinson	16
17	Luke Swain		Chris Flannery	17

John Lang		Coach	Ricky Stuart

Clive Churchill Medal

Luke Priddis (Penrith Panthers).

Match context

The 2003 Grand Final was notable for being the first all-Sydney decider in several years, pitting minor premiership contenders the Sydney Roosters, going for back-to-back titles and heavily favoured despite finishing second on the ladder, against a Penrith Panthers side coached by John Lang and captained by Craig Gower, chasing the club's first premiership since 1991. Rain began falling only minutes into the contest at Telstra Stadium, setting up a tense, attritional arm-wrestle. Penrith struck first when livewire hooker Luke Priddis darted from dummy-half into open space around the 30-minute mark and found winger Luke Rooney, who crossed for an unconverted try to give the Panthers a 6-0 half-time lead. The Roosters hit back after the break through a Shannon Hegarty try, converted by Craig Fitzgibbon, to level the scores at 6-6 and swing momentum firmly in their favour. It was at this point that the match turned on one of the most celebrated individual plays in Grand Final history: Penrith centre Scott Sattler produced a try-saving cover tackle on Roosters winger Todd Byrne, hauling him into touch metres from the line as he appeared certain to score, a moment still regarded as among the finest defensive plays the code has produced. Buoyed by Sattler's heroics, Penrith regained control, and Priddis crossed for his own try in the 66th minute before combining again with Rooney, who scored his second of the match in the 73rd minute off a Priddis cut-out pass, sealing an 18-6 victory. Priddis, whose energetic running and razor-sharp support play from dummy-half were instrumental throughout, was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for one of the great breakout Grand Final performances by a hooker. Prime Minister John Howard presented the premiership trophy to Gower and his teammates, capping a famous underdog triumph for the western Sydney club and denying the star-studded Roosters what would have been consecutive titles. For Penrith, the win delivered just the club's second premiership in its history and remains fondly remembered both for Sattler's tackle and for Priddis's medal-winning display, an unlikely pairing of heroes that defined the club's most celebrated modern-era triumph before the Panthers' later 2020s dynasty.

Sources

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

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