Was the Grand Final a Robbery? Both Big Calls Went Newcastle’s Way

A grand final settled by one point always ends with somebody blaming the referee. This one handed them two decisions to work with, and both of them went against the Roosters.

Adam Gee had the whistle, having got the appointment ahead of Ashley Klein.

Ponga’s shoulder, and no sin bin

Midway through the first half, Kalyn Ponga’s shoulder caught Victor Radley in the head. The bunker had a look and left him on the field.

James Tedesco was still annoyed about it afterwards. “If we’re consistent with the rules, that’s a shoulder to the head. It’s been a sin bin all year.”

He has a case on precedent, and the timing is what gives it weight. Newcastle were 12-0 up when it happened. Ten minutes without their captain and fullback at that scoreline is a different match, possibly a different result.

The penalty that set up the opening try

Lindsay Collins was pinged for a high tackle on Mat Croker. The replays look like chest and shoulder contact rather than head. Gee gave the penalty, Newcastle took the field position it bought them, and Francis Manuleleua scored shortly after.

In a game that finished 19-18, a penalty that turns into four points is not a footnote.

The one nobody has mentioned

Early on, a Daly Cherry-Evans bomb clipped the cable holding the Spidercam. Ponga read the wobble and took it cleanly anyway. Had he dropped it, a premiership would have been partly decided by a television camera, and we would all still be hearing about it.

So, was it a robbery?

No. And the part Newcastle supporters will like least is that the two calls everyone is arguing about both helped Newcastle. One kept Ponga on the park. The other gave them the position for their first try.

What actually beat them was the twenty minutes after half-time. The Roosters scored three times, Newcastle hardly touched the ball, and by the time Greg Marzhew went over in the 76th there were four minutes left to find a try they had not looked like scoring since the break.

Losing a grand final by a point is miserable. It is not the same as being cheated.

More on the match: the full result and scoring sequence, and how a side that finished last in 2025 got this close.