2005 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 2 October 2005 · Telstra Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales
2005 NRL Grand Final result: Wests Tigers def. North Queensland, 30-16, at Telstra Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales on Sunday, 2 October 2005.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Wests Tigers | 30 |
| Runner-up | North Queensland | 16 |
Attendance: 82,453
NRL 2005 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 704 | 456 | +248 | 36 |
| 2 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 655 | 510 | +145 | 36 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 597 | 484 | +113 | 34 |
| 4 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 676 | 575 | +101 | 32 |
| 5 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 639 | 563 | +76 | 32 |
| 6 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 640 | 462 | +178 | 30 |
| 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 550 | 564 | -14 | 28 |
| 8 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 554 | 632 | -78 | 28 |
| 9 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 488 | 487 | +1 | 26 |
| 10 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 554 | 554 | 0 | 26 |
| 11 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 515 | 528 | -13 | 24 |
| 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 472 | 670 | -198 | 23 |
| 13 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 482 | 700 | -218 | 23 |
| 14 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 465 | 606 | -141 | 22 |
| 15 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 467 | 667 | -200 | 20 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 8 (McIntyre final eight system) that season.
Finals series
Qualifying Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep 2005 | Wests Tigers 50–6 North Queensland Cowboys | Telstra Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW | 26,463 |
| 10 Sep 2005 | Brisbane Broncos 18–24 Melbourne Storm | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD | 25,193 |
| 10 Sep 2005 | St George Illawarra 28–22 Cronulla-Sutherland | WIN Stadium, Wollongong, NSW | 19,608 |
| 11 Sep 2005 | Parramatta Eels 46–22 Manly-Warringah | Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta, NSW | 19,710 |
Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Sep 2005 | Melbourne Storm 16–24 North Queensland Cowboys | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW | 16,810 |
| 18 Sep 2005 | Wests Tigers 34–6 Brisbane Broncos | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW | 36,563 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 2005 | St George Illawarra 12–20 Wests Tigers | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW | 41,260 |
| 25 Sep 2005 | Parramatta Eels 0–29 North Queensland Cowboys | Telstra Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW | 44,327 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Oct 2005 | Wests Tigers 30–16 North Queensland Cowboys | Telstra Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW | 82,453 |
Match officials
| Referee | Tim Mander |
Scorers
| Wests Tigers | Tries: Bryce Gibbs 18'; Pat Richards 35'; Anthony Laffranchi 45'; Daniel Fitzhenry 63'; Todd Payten 80' Goals: Brett Hodgson (5/6) |
| North Queensland | Tries: Matt Bowen 8'; Travis Norton 55'; Matt Sing 76' Goals: Josh Hannay (2/3) |
Teams
| Wests Tigers | North Queensland | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brett Hodgson | Fullback | Matt Bowen | 1 |
| 2 | Daniel Fitzhenry | Wing | Ty Williams | 2 |
| 3 | Shane Elford | Centre | Josh Hannay | 3 |
| 4 | Paul Whatuira | Centre | Paul Bowman | 4 |
| 5 | Pat Richards | Wing | Matt Sing | 5 |
| 6 | Benji Marshall | Five-Eighth | Justin Smith | 6 |
| 7 | Scott Prince (c) | Halfback | Johnathan Thurston | 7 |
| 8 | Anthony Laffranchi | Prop | Paul Rauhihi | 8 |
| 9 | Robbie Farah | Hooker | Aaron Payne | 9 |
| 10 | John Skandalis | Prop | Shane Tronc | 10 |
| 11 | Ben Galea | Second Row | Steve Southern | 11 |
| 12 | Mark O'Neill | Second Row | Luke O'Donnell | 12 |
| 13 | Dene Halatau | Lock | Travis Norton (c) | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Liam Fulton | Brett Firman | 14 | |
| 15 | Chris Heighington | Rod Jensen | 15 | |
| 16 | Bryce Gibbs | David Faiumu | 16 | |
| 17 | Todd Payten | Mitchell Sargent | 17 | |
| Tim Sheens | Coach | Graham Murray | ||
Clive Churchill Medal
Scott Prince (Wests Tigers).
Match context
The 2005 grand final was a landmark occasion, contested by two clubs appearing in their first-ever decider. Wests Tigers, the 1999 merger of Balmain and Western Suburbs, and North Queensland, an expansion club formed in 1995, had never previously reached rugby league's biggest game. North Queensland struck first through fullback Matt Bowen, but the Tigers responded with tries to Bryce Gibbs and an injury-defying Pat Richards, who played the entire match on a fractured ankle after several pain-killing injections, to lead 12-6 at half-time. Richards produced the moment of the match, finishing off a length-of-field movement capped by an audacious behind-the-back flick pass from a teenage Benji Marshall, a play still replayed as one of the great grand final tries. The Tigers pulled away after the break with tries to Anthony Laffranchi and Daniel Fitzhenry either side of a Cowboys reply through Travis Norton, before Todd Payten's try sealed the 30-16 win despite a late Matt Sing try for North Queensland. Halfback Scott Prince, the Tigers' captain and creative hub, controlled the match superbly and was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal. The victory carried enormous historical weight: it delivered the first premiership for the joint-venture Wests Tigers and finally ended long droughts for their foundation clubs, with Balmain having last won in 1969 and Western Suburbs not since 1952. It also proved that a merged, financially rescued club could triumph against the odds, and remains fondly remembered as one of the code's great underdog stories, with a young and largely home-grown Tigers roster, featuring Marshall, Robbie Farah and Prince, announcing itself as a force. The match drew a huge, near-capacity crowd of 82,453 and set strong Australian television ratings for a rugby league telecast, while the Tigers went on to face Bradford Bulls in the World Club Challenge the following February as premiers.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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