2021 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 3 October 2021 · Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland
2021 NRL Grand Final result: Penrith Panthers def. South Sydney, 14-12, at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland on Sunday, 3 October 2021.
Sourcing caveat: Attendance is reported as 39,322 by our two sources; an earlier pre-match capacity estimate of roughly 39,375 also circulated — we've published the reported actual figure, not the estimate.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Penrith Panthers | 14 |
| Runner-up | South Sydney | 12 |
Attendance: 39,322
NRL 2021 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 815 | 316 | +499 | 44 |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 676 | 286 | +390 | 44 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 775 | 453 | +322 | 42 |
| 4 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 744 | 492 | +252 | 34 |
| 5 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 630 | 489 | +141 | 34 |
| 6 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 566 | 457 | +109 | 32 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 428 | 571 | -143 | 26 |
| 8 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 580 | 583 | -3 | 22 |
| 9 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 520 | 556 | -36 | 22 |
| 10 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 481 | 578 | -97 | 22 |
| 11 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 474 | 616 | -142 | 18 |
| 12 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 453 | 624 | -171 | 18 |
| 13 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 500 | 714 | -214 | 18 |
| 14 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 446 | 695 | -249 | 16 |
| 15 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 460 | 748 | -288 | 16 |
| 16 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 340 | 710 | -370 | 8 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 8 (McIntyre final eight system) that season.
Finals series
Qualifying Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Sep 2021 | Melbourne Storm 40–12 Manly-Warringah | Sunshine Coast Stadium, Bokarina, QLD | 9,120 |
| 11 Sep 2021 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 16–10 Penrith Panthers | Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville, QLD | 18,244 |
Elimination Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep 2021 | Sydney Roosters 25–24 Gold Coast Titans | Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville, QLD | 15,237 |
| 12 Sep 2021 | Parramatta Eels 28–20 Newcastle Knights | Browne Park, Rockhampton, QLD | 5,087 |
Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Sep 2021 | Manly-Warringah 42–6 Sydney Roosters | BB Print Stadium, Mackay, QLD | 5,824 |
| 18 Sep 2021 | Penrith Panthers 8–6 Parramatta Eels | BB Print Stadium, Mackay, QLD | 6,011 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 2021 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 36–16 Manly-Warringah | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD | 26,249 |
| 25 Sep 2021 | Penrith Panthers 10–6 Melbourne Storm | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD | 29,011 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Oct 2021 | Penrith Panthers 14–12 South Sydney Rabbitohs | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD | 39,322 |
Match officials
| Referee | Gerard Sutton |
Scorers
| Penrith Panthers | Tries: Burton 16'; Crichton 67' Goals: Nathan Cleary (3/3) |
| South Sydney | Tries: Walker 20'; Johnston 74' Goals: Adam Reynolds (2/3) |
Teams
| Penrith Panthers | South Sydney | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Edwards | Fullback | Blake Taaffe | 1 |
| 2 | Stephen Crichton | Wing | Alex Johnston | 2 |
| 3 | Paul Momirovski | Centre | Dane Gagai | 3 |
| 4 | Matt Burton | Centre | Campbell Graham | 4 |
| 5 | Brian To'o | Wing | Jaxson Paulo | 5 |
| 6 | Jarome Luai | Five-eighth | Cody Walker | 6 |
| 7 | Nathan Cleary (c) | Halfback | Adam Reynolds (c) | 7 |
| 8 | Moses Leota | Prop | Mark Nicholls | 8 |
| 9 | Apisai Koroisau | Hooker | Damien Cook | 9 |
| 10 | James Fisher-Harris | Prop | Tevita Tatola | 10 |
| 11 | Viliame Kikau | Second row | Keaon Koloamatangi | 11 |
| 12 | Kurt Capewell | Second row | Jaydn Su'A | 12 |
| 13 | Isaah Yeo (c) | Lock | Cameron Murray | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Tyrone May | Benji Marshall | 14 | |
| 15 | Scott Sorensen | Jacob Host | 15 | |
| 16 | Spencer Leniu | Thomas Burgess | 16 | |
| 17 | Liam Martin | Jai Arrow | 17 | |
| Ivan Cleary | Coach | Wayne Bennett | ||
Clive Churchill Medal
Nathan Cleary (Penrith Panthers).
Match context
The Penrith Panthers began their era of dominance with a gritty 14-12 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane — the grand final's first venue outside Sydney since 1999 — after Greater Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown forced the NRL to relocate finals football to Queensland. Played in front of a capacity-restricted crowd of 39,322, the match was locked at 6-6 at the break after tries to Penrith's Matt Burton and Souths' Cody Walker, with Adam Reynolds and Nathan Cleary trading accurate goalkicking. The contest tightened into an arm-wrestle in the second half until Stephen Crichton produced the decisive moment, picking off an intercept and racing away to score in the corner to put Penrith in front. South Sydney hit back through Alex Johnston, but Reynolds, usually reliable off the tee, missed the sideline conversion that would have levelled the scores, then narrowly missed a match-tying field goal attempt in the dying seconds, leaving the Panthers to hang on for a one-point triumph. Nathan Cleary, playing through a rib injury sustained earlier in the finals series, controlled the game with his kicking and composure under pressure and was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal. It was Penrith's third premiership and first since 2003, ending an 18-year wait for the club, and proved to be the launching point for an unprecedented run of consecutive NRL premierships under the Cleary-Panthers combination.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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