MANDATORY
GRAND FINALS
(commenced 1954)
The present mandatory Grand Final scheme has been
in use every season since 1954. From 1908 (the
first premiership season) to 1953 various other
methods were used including a "first past
the post" winner (similar to English Premier
League soccer) or a "right of challenge"
system (which only called for a Grand Final if
the Minor Premiers had lost a Semi-Final or Final).
The uncertain and sometimes disappointing nature
of these schemes led to the introduction in 1954
of today's "all or nothing" season-ending
decider for premiership glory.
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"MAN-OF-THE-MATCH"
AWARD
Though
mandatory Grand Finals had begun in 1954, there
was no official "Man of the Match" award
until the "Clive Churchill Medal" was
inaugurated in 1986. As part of the code's Centenary
celebrations in 2008, a specially convened panel
of historians was brought together to retrospectively
judge the "Man of the Match" in the
1954-85 Grand Finals. The panel members poured
over old film and video footage, newspaper reports,
revisited their own recollections, and conducted
interviews with players and coaches of the time.
Each chosen player as the best player is now recognised
as the official "Man of the Match".
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GROUNDS
For most of the code's history, "HQ"
was always the Sydney Cricket Ground for big club
games and rep matches. The SCG hosted every Grand
Final from 1954 until 1987, when it was moved
to the adjacent newly completed Sydney Football
Stadium (a rectangular ground built specifically
for football contests). The SFS was the premiership's
Grand Final venue from 1988-98. The 1997 Super
League decider (the first to be held at night)
was played at QEII Stadium in Brisbane. The much
greater capacity provided by the opening of the
Olympic Stadium at Homebush led to the Grand Final
being moved to its present home in 1999. The NRL
Grand Final was held at night from 2001-07, and
played at twilight 2008-09.
____________________________________________
Sean
Fagan of RL1908.com
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