The Herald’s experts on who will win the NRL grand final

The much-anticipated day of NRL and NRLW grand finals has finally arrived, with the showdowns set to take place today, October 4th. The grand finals will feature the Sydney Roosters and Brisbane Broncos in the women's match, while the men's grand final pits the Sydney Roosters against the Newcastle Knights.

The matches will be held at Stadium Australia in Sydney, a venue that has hosted every NRL grand final since 1999, with the sole exception of the 2021 decider, which took place at Brisbane's Lang Park due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, all NRLW grand finals have been held at Stadium Australia since the league's inception in 2018, except for 2021 when it was played at Dolphin Stadium in Redcliffe.

The Sydney Roosters, who finished fourth on the ladder, will face the Newcastle Knights, who secured seventh place. The Roosters have been undefeated throughout the 2026 season, winning all 11 matches, and defeated the Canberra Raiders in the preliminary final. Meanwhile, the Newcastle Knights' season has been marked by a series of victories and a remarkable run to the grand final.

On the women's side, the Sydney Roosters and Brisbane Broncos will face off in a rematch of last year's grand final. The Broncos concluded the season as third on the table, with an impressive record of 8-3, while overcoming a three-game losing streak earlier in the season. They have since won their past five matches, including last weekend's preliminary final against the Gold Coast Titans.

In a heartening pre-match development, the grand final has set to feature an all-star lineup of Australian musicians, led by Amy Shark, in a tribute to recently retired player Jai Arrow. Shark, who previously performed at the 2020 NRL grand final, will be joined by The Screaming Jets, Peking Duk, Grinspoon, and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers. Each musician's appearance fee will be donated to motor neurone disease causes.