Keeping within the theme of grand final week, today we look at the more crucial NRL grand final statistics from the past 99 years.
Most first grade premierships:
1. South Sydney – 20
2. St George – 15
3. Eastern Suburbs (Sydney Roosters) – 12
4. Balmain – 11
5. Canterbury – 8
Most Premierships as Captain:
1. Ken Kearney, Jack Rayner – 5
2. Arthur Halloway, Alf Blair, Norm Provan, John Sattler, Steve Edge, Allan Langer – 4
3. Dally Messenger, Mal Meninga – 3
Most Premierships as Coach:
1. Arthur ‘Pony’ Halloway – 8
2. Jack Rayner – 5
3. Ken Kearney – 5
4. Jack Gibson – 5
5. Wayne Bennett – 5
Most Consecutive Premierships (compulsory grand finals since 1954):
1. St George – 11 (1956-66)
2. South Sydney – 3 (1953-55)
3. Parramatta – 3 (1981-83)
Most Grand Final Losses (compulsory grand finals since 1954):
1. Manly – 8
2. St George, Canterbury and Eastern Suburbs – 6
3. Balmain – 5
4. Western Suburbs and Parramatta – 4
5. Newtown and Cronulla – 3
Most Reserve Grade Premierships:
1. South Sydney – 20
2. Balmain – 16
3. Eastern Suburbs (Sydney Roosters) – 9
4. Manly and Canterbury – 8
5. Newtown, St George and Parramatta – 6
Most Grand Final – Referees:
1. Bill Harrigan – 10
2. Darcey Lawler – 7
3. Col Pearce – 6
4. Greg Hartley – 5
5. Gary Cook, Keith Page, Kevin Roberts, Michael Stone, Greg McCallum – 3
Biggest Crowds (per Stadium):
1. Telstra Stadium – 107,999 (1999)
2. Sydney Cricket Ground – 78,056 (1965)
3. Sydney Football Stadium – 42, 482 (1987)
Grand Finals for three different clubs:
1. Phil Sigsworth – Newtown (1981), Manly (1983), Canterbury (1986)
2. Glenn Lazarus – Canberra (1989-91), Brisbane (1992-93), Melbourne (1999)
3. Anthony Mundine – St George (1996), Brisbane (1997), St George-Illawarra (1999)
4. Kevin Campion – St George (1996), Brisbane (1997-98), NZ Warriors (2002)
Most Senior Premierships (All Grades – firsts, reserves and Jersey Flegg / Presidents Cup):
1. South Sydney – 50
2. Balmain – 41
3. St George and Eastern Suburbs – 35
*All statistics courtesy of Big league magazine
