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GREATEST GRAND FINAL EVER: Last Second Try, Extra Time Kick Earns Cowboys NRL Premiership Title

Cowboys vs. Broncos. Not to be confused with the match-up from Super Bowl XII in 1978, this was the game that produced arguably the greatest NRL Grand Final ever Sunday night.

North Queensland captured the 2015 NRL Premiership title in thrilling fashion at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, overcoming a four-point deficit with a last second, siren-beating try by Kyle Feldt followed by the championship-winning kick in extra time by Johnathan Thurston, sealing the 17-16 win.NRL Grand Final 1

Feldt’s miraculous try capped a furious 20 second drive by the Cowboys. Thurston avoided a throng of tackles before swinging the ball right to Michael Morgan, who managed to find Feldt as time expired. Thurston had an opportunity to seal the win with a kick, but his attempt was short and bounced off the iron, sending the contest to a golden-point extra time decider.

The Cowboys earned a big break in the extra session when Broncos’ Ben Hunt bobbled the kick-off catch (or as they say, “knocked-on the kick-off”), giving North Queensland the opportunity to score the golden point. Thurston redeemed himself for the earlier miss by slotting a 20 meter field goal through the uprights to seal the victory.

The dramatic ending earned the Cowboys their first ever championship while also handing Brisbane its first-ever loss in a Grand Final. The Broncos were seeking their seventh Premiership title and first since 2006. Brisbane had beaten their state rivals twice earlier in the season, including a 16-12 decision in the qualifying final three weeks ago.

Sunday’s final marked the first ever all-Queensland meeting for the NRL Premiership title and was only the second in Premiership history to be decided after 80 minutes.

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