NRL Grand Final 2026: Sydney Roosters vs Newcastle Knights full preview and analysis, Sandon Smith, Kalyn Ponga, Daly Cherry-Evans

The Newcastle Knights may have had a fairytale run to the 2026 NRL Grand Final but can they learn off a former premiership powerhouse to stop one of the Roosters most damaging players?

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Elsewhere, the Roosters need to make sure they don’t make the same mistake as the Penrith Panthers and why Kalyn Ponga could be the X-factor that decides the contest.

Read on for all of the talking points ahead of the 2026 NRL Grand Final week!

CAN KNIGHTS LEARN OFF THE 2024 PANTHERS TO STOP MARKY MARK?

It’s not often that a winger is the man a team needs to do a lot of homework on and spend time coming up with game plans in order to win a grand final.

But few wingers are like Mark Nawaqanitawase.

The Roosters flyer has come up with a highlights reel in his two years in the game that some couldn’t conjure up over a 10-year career.

He proved how dangerous and what a game changer he was against the Dolphins in the preliminary final when taking an intercept against the run of play to give his side the lead.

Former Roosters premiership winner Cooper Cronk gave Nawaqanitawase a big rap, claiming he’s one of the few wingers that is as dangerous to an opposition team as a spine player.

“The rule of thumb was you never give great players, particularly halves, time and space because with that they’ll carve you up. I think Mark’s in the same bracket, you just can’t give him time and space,” Cronk said.

“Unless you see Mark week-to-week and see all these freaky things, everything he does is surprising because he just holds on to that football like it’s a magic wand and casts spells on the defenders.”

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"You will never get rid of hip drop!" | 01:24

So how do the Knights stop him?

The first thing they need to do is ensure their winger Greg Marzhew isn’t isolated with Nawaqanitawase too often, particularly in the air.

“The ball is kicked from Daly Cherry-Evans or Sam Walker on the try line or in the end goal and Marzhew, one-on-one, can’t stop Mark Nawaqanitawase,” Cronk said.

“If he has five attempts, he’s going to come down with it at least two or three times. Justin Holbrook’s aware of it. If it’s one-on-one Marzhew versus Mark, well good luck Marzhew.”

The Knights’ middles can help stop Nawaqanitawase if they can apply pressure on their opposites.

Slow down the Roosters forwards and it makes it harder for the halves to have time to feed the flashy winger.

“So I would suggest that if you have a look at what the Newcastle Knights did against Penrith in the first couple of kicks, it was some epic kick pressure,” Cronk said.

“So their middle forwards are going to have to bust their backsides to put pressure on Walker and Cherry-Evans and make sure that kick is not centimetre perfect.

“If it is then Bradman Best has got to get back and do a job that’s legal. They’ve just got to get a lot of Newcastle jerseys around the picture.”

The Knights might want to look at what the Panthers did in the 2024 grand final against the Storm.

Weeks earlier the Panthers hosted the Storm at home in a regular season game and got beaten.

On that night, the Storm tall men, including Will Warbrick, in the outside backs took a few high balls over Penrith’s smaller wingers.

The Panthers learned from that and went into the grand final a few weeks later with the plan to allow the Storm to field certain bombs before swarming them as they hit the ground.’

It worked and the Panthers won the title.

Cronk thinks Marzhew may need to apply similar tactics against Nawaqanitawase.

“Maybe you let him catch it, and maybe you’ll wait for that foot to touch the ground and then try and stop the ball from coming down,” Cronk said.

“That’s up to Justin Holbrook. That’s what coaching is all about.”

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WHO PONGA IS KEEPING AWAKE AT NIGHT

The Roosters have the better team on paper heading into the grand final, but arguably the finest player to run out onto Accor Stadium on Sunday will be wearing a Knights jersey.

Kalyn Ponga is Newcastle’s trump card and has probably kept Roosters coach Trent Robinson awake a little in the lead-up to the match.

But Fox League’s Cooper Cronk believes it’s the Roosters three-quarters who should be losing the most sleep.

Cronk broke down how the Roosters need to stop Ponga.

“He is the biggest threat from the Newcastle attack so I think it’s a bit of a game of chess between the Roosters’ defence and Kalyn,” Cronk said.

“Wherever Kalyn is the ball will be, so you almost have to set that defensive line on that side of the field where Kalyn is first and worry about the other side later.”

Crossland faces media after GF ban | 01:52

Cronk said defensive strategies and choices from the edge defenders would play a major role in stopping Ponga, particularly when he goes down the left side and looks to link up with powerhouse centre Bradman Best.

That is also the side of the field that Robert Toia will defend on and there’s no doubt Knights coach Justin Holbrook will be telling Ponga to target him.

Toia has missed 60 tackles in 23 games this season while on the other side of the field the other Roosters centre Billy Smith has missed just 25, albeit after playing six games less.

“Billy Smith and Rob Toia are going to have to have huge defensive games or at least have decisions to make,” Cronk said.

“If they slide, then they back off and allow Kalyn to take Sam Walker or Daly Cherry-Evans on, which is probably a mismatch.

“Or they come outside in, and we’ve seen if centres or anyone come outside in and misjudge the tackle, that could be sin bin territory. So I think if Kalyn is shut down or plays poorly or is nullified, it’s because the centres of the Roosters have defended extremely well.

“If he gets up and going, it means that the centres have probably given him too much time and space.”

Ponga’s been the best player during the finals series, but hasn’t done it through the razzle-dazzle play we’ve become so accustomed to over the years.

He’s simply been following the ball, taking some tough runs, and popping up when opportunities present themselves.

He’s using his presence to worry teams which has had an effect on whole defensive lines.

Ponga has played 18 games this season and has come up with 14 try assists which is pretty good, but not outstanding numbers for him.

It’s actually been a good statistic for the Knights because it means their attack doesn’t come down to one man, which has been the case for several seasons.

If it’s just one man the Roosters have to worry about, they will be comfortable and confident, but Ponga’s constant presence and effect on his teammates will have them concerned.

Knights hooker Harrison Graham told foxsports.com.au during the week that Ponga’s aura has been inspiring.

“He’s massive. I still remember back in the day in school with my mates, watching his highlights video from rugby union and to this day and it’s just crazy that I’m taking the field with Kalyn Ponga,” Graham said,

“He’s such a big influence on the team as a captain and you feel like you’re much better out there with him on the field.”

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KNIGHTS MUST GET DOWN AND DIRTY WITHOUT CROSSLAND

Who is going to pick up the pieces for the Knights on Sunday evening?

Someone’s going to have to, because Phoenix Crossland won’t be there to do the dirty work so vital, but often unseen, when it comes to winning footy games.

Crossland’s suspension following his disastrous hip drop tackle on Nathan Cleary in the preliminary final win will see him miss the grand final and it means other Knights players will have to clean up the scraps on Sunday.

Crossland is one of those players who not only gets through a mountain of work, but often takes pressure off his team by being the first one to snaffle up a loose ball.

Fox League’s Cooper Cronk pointed to the Warriors win in the second week of the finals where Crossland came up with 55 tackles in an epic performance.

“All you need to do is go back and have a look at the Warriors game. I think he had maybe three or four dive-on-the-ball moments, turning up when everyone else was tired,” Cronk said.

“He’s that type of guy that doesn’t get a lot of highlight-reel moments, but Justin Holbrook probably highlights him in the review each week because of the amount of work he gets through and the save-the-day type of stuff.

“If he’s making 50 tackles a game and saving one or two moments, that’s a little bit more load on a couple of others who are going to have to pick up the slack.

“It’s probably not that they’ll miss the big plays from Crossland, but the responsibility will have to fall on a couple of other people to fill his gap.”

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And one of those players will have to be Crossland’s replacement Harrison Graham.

The 25-year-old has played 19 games for the Knights this season but has only started two of them and the most minutes he’s spent on the field in a game is 65.

Can he go the whole 80 and turn himself into a similar version of Crossland?

He told foxsports.com.au that while he can’t wait to run out in the starting side, it will be bittersweet knowing it’s because good mate Crossland is out.

“I’m just trying to process it all,” he said.

“It’s definitely tough for him. He’s the type of person you want to play next to and everything he does epitomises a Knights player.”

Graham knows what he has to do to ensure the Knights don’t lose too much with Crossland missing.

“It will be pretty tough, but I’m the man to fill his shoes and I’ve got big shoes to fill so I’ll make sure I do him proud this week,” he said.

“I’ve just got to try and bring that effort like Phoenix does, including the line speed, working hard and defending. I just feel like if I can get those areas ticked off early, it will get me into the game and set myself up for the rest of it.”

“We’ve been faced with adversity all year and there’s been players coming in and out all throughout the season and that’s why we train so we’re all on the same page and we’ve been on the same page for a while now.

“Everyone’s been writing us off even since the start of the year and we kind of like it that way.”

Jermaine McEwen must be the other man to help fill the void left by Crossland.

The back rower has made more than 40 tackles in each of the past two finals wins so his work rate will be vital once again.

His second-row partner Francis Manuleleua will likely need to make at least five extra tackles than he has been during the finals to help cover for Crossland.

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ROOSTERS MUST NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AS PENRITH

Surely the Roosters aren’t going to let Sandon Smith get away with what he did against the Panthers last weekend.

Smith was the unlikely star in last week’s preliminary final, and some of that no doubt had to do with Penrith underestimating him.

There was a perfect illustration of this when they turned their backs on him before he took a tap and ran past a few unaware Penrith players to score.

Former Broncos captain and Clive Churchill Medallist in the 1998 grand final, Gorden Tallis, was stunned the machine that is Penrith didn’t pay Smith more attention, but the Roosters would’ve noted it.

“Of course (he’ll be targeted). There’s no doubt he’ll be under pressure like anybody else in the game. You would’ve thought Penrith would get to him but he handled it,” Tallis said.

“If there was a little monkey on his back, he sort of shrugged him off in this game”.

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Smith played at the Roosters for a few seasons as a back-up half to Sam Walker, but after Daly Cherry-Evans was signed for 2026, he was moved on at the end of last year.

Journalist Paul Crawley said it was admirable to see how Smith has defied the odds to lead the Knights to a grand final as a back-up halfback following Dylan Brown’s season-ending injury in Round 21.

But there will be an issue facing him on Sunday.

“The Roosters would know every strength and weakness of Sandon’s game,” Crawley said before praising the Smith’s attitude.

“He was shown the door so the Roosters can sign DCE. He goes up there and you think he’d might be in the halves, but no, they go with Dyl Brown and Fletcher Sharpe,” Crawley said.

“He has hung in and hung in and hung in and he waited for his moment and when it was there, he took it with both hands and those two plays last week summed up why he is also a danger man because they were flashes of brilliance and grabbing hold of the moment and taking it.”

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Fellow journalist Dave Riccio thinks there its no coincidence that Smith’s rise has coincided with the whole team gaining belief.

Has the 23-year-old been the key to the Knights and their confidence?

“Think about their finals series so far. They come to Sydney against a Bunnies side we all thought were going to be contenders but they put the cleaners through them. They have to go to New Zealand and beat the Warriors in front of the biggest rugby league crowd in New Zealand rugby league history,” Riccio said.

“It says that there’s a bit more maturity to this team than what we are giving them credit for despite their ages.”

There’s been teams this century that have defied the critics to win premierships in the same way the Knights are tracking.

The two most notable examples are the Panthers of 2003 and the Tigers of 2005.

They both rode waves of confidence throughout the season but weren’t taken too seriously as threats until late in the season.

In terms of being rated as a title threat, the Knights have left their run later than anyone.

The rugby league world only took the Knights seriously as Smith was running away with the preliminary final in the final seconds.

As that was happening the wider NRL public must have been thinking, ‘gee they might be a premiership contender now’.

“When we look at Sandon we go, ‘geez, this is a massive occasion and he could be overawed by it’, but he’s come up with two massive plays that show maturity, vision and instincts. If a half is going to go into his shell, they don’t come up with this stuff,” Riccio said.

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$40K PROOF OF BIGGEST KNIGHTS WEAPON IN GF

At 7am on Monday morning, the Newcastle Knights merchandise shop was already overwhelmed.

The club had sold $40,000 worth of merchandise and had to close up shop to restock before most people had already started their day

For a team that finished in last place just 12 months ago, the scenes were remarkable.

However, what is most remarkable is that the club’s fanbase never really went anywhere. Even through the losses, they kept showing up.

Now with the Knights preparing for their first grand final since 2001, that unwavering loyalty has erupted into something that Newcastle hasn’t seen in more than two decades.

“We talk about Papua New Guinea and how crazy they are up there for the game,” Braith Anasta said on Fox League’s NRL 360.

“Newcastle, and you even look back to last year when they won the wooden spoon, they were turning up every single week.

“Pissing down rain, it didn’t matter. Matty and Joey will tell you stories going way back when they just kept turning up, and that’s what the team is doing right now.”

For former premiership-winner Cooper Cronk, that emotion could become an important part of their grand final preparation.

“It’s purely a personal thing. If it’s a huge motivator, then absolutely. Believe it, take it in,” Cronk told foxsports.com.au.

“But you’ve just got to remember the game doesn’t change whether it’s good emotion or bad emotion.

“The game is pretty straight forward. You’ve got to compete for 80 minutes and do it faster, longer and stronger than the opposition’s willing to do it.

“Some of the scenes out of Newcastle in terms of the fans lining the street, the buses coming up the highway and players standing up and filming and waving to their fans, that gives you something.

“It’s going to be tenfold this week in Newcastle.

“It’s probably a balancing act to get that right emotional check and then go out and hopefully that can underpin a really good performance for them.”

Roosters embracing 'bad guys' tag | 03:09

Meanwhile, Gorden Tallis believes the club’s rise has given hope to clubs that have spent years feeling as though the competition was dominated by the same powerhouse clubs.

This includes the likes of the Parramatta Eels, St George Illawarra Dragons and Wests Tigers.

“It’s given all the clubs hope because when you’re down the bottom and I’ve been with a club down the bottom, you feel like you are a feeder club to the top eight,” Tallis added on NRL 360.

“It’s been Melbourne, Penrith and the Roosters. They’ve dominated the last 10 years. Brisbane have won one, but they’ve been the power clubs.

“But to have a side come from seventh and come from where they are, they probably don’t have the drawing power of some of the bigger clubs, but to do what they’re doing now it’s given clubs hope.”

WHY ROBINSON COULD BE CONSIDERED ‘LEGENDARY’ AFTER THIS WEEK

It hasn’t made many headlines, but Roosters coach Trent Robinson will be looking to join rare company on Sunday.

Robinson can become just the third coach to win their opening four grad finals and the first non-player with both Ken Kearney and Norm Provan acting as player/coach during St George’s 11-straight premierships.

Robinson had made the finals in 13 of his 14 seasons in charge at the Roosters, with that 93 per cent strike rate marking the best for any coach with a minimum of 10 seasons at the helm in the compulsory grand final era.

Now, after a seven-year wait, Robinson is on the verge of taking the Roosters to another title and while that may not seem like long when compared to most other clubs in a lot of ways it is an eternity because of the high expectations that is placed on the club every pre-season.

“When you walk into that joint, it’s not spoken about, but you know you’re there to win and if you don’t win, you come under the microscope as a player, as a coach, every person in that building,” former Roosters premiership winner Luke Keary said last week.

“When you can’t get the job done, they ask questions about why. And that’s why they’ve been successful. That’s why they kind of continue to get back there and strive for success and then try and get people in that building who are going to provide that.”

Robbo on the verge of historic feat | 01:56

It means that remarkable record of finals appearances is not so remarkable unless this one results in a premiership, and if Robinson does that on Sunday Brent Read said he will become “legendary”.

Broncos great Gorden Tallis, meanwhile, said Robinson deserves plenty of credit for the way he has “evolved” as a coach given those premierships have spanned such a long period of time.

“It’s four different-looking teams,” Tallis said on NRL 360.

“He’s won it along the way and every time it’s been a different style. He’s evolved.”

There are similarities between this side and the one that won the premiership in 2019, starting at the back with James Tedesco and Daniel Tupou.

You also have the experienced halfback in the back-end of their career in Daly Cherry-Evans, as was the case with Cooper Cronk.

Victor Radley, Angus Crichton and Nat Butcher were also part of that premiership-winning side but there is some new blood elsewhere in the pack, led by front rower Naufahu Whyte.