Today Penrith and Parramatta meet in an intriguing NRL Grand Final in front of a sold out crowd.
Penrith are chasing a second consecutive title, an extremely rare feat in the NRL. This is their third consecutive Grand Final after losing the 2020 decider to Melbourne.
Meanwhile, Parramatta are striving to end a 36-year wait to lift the trophy again.
As the season’s showpiece event, it is the culmination of a year’s worth of rugby and ahead of the Grand Final the NRL aptly bid farewell to those retiring and departing players in the stadium before kick-off.
There were some notable names such as Featherstone Rovers’ Joseph Leilua – whose future is up in the air after Featherstone missed out on promotion.
Meanwhile, Warrington bound Josh McGuire and Paul Vaughn were given their send off by the NRL in front of a packed house greeted by plenty of applause
Former Catalans star David Mead was also amongst the names listed but could not attend. Ex-Warrington halfback Tyrone Roberts was in attendance after helping the Norths Devils to a Grand Final win last week in the Queensland Cup in what was his final game.
Former Super League target Ash Taylor was also thanked for his service of the game after calling time on his young career. Kevin Proctor was also subject to Super League interest from the likes of Wakefield Trinity after being sacked by Gold Coast however he too has chosen to retire and was given his send off today as was former Widnes man Corey Thompson.
The most interesting person included was former St George Illawarra Dragons halfback Corey Norman. Norman joined Toulouse mid-season and sparked their revival which nearly guided them away from Super League relegation.
However, his lengthy ban at the end of the season spelt the end for the French side and he still has four games to serve of his ban.
It’s unclear whether another Super League club will make a move for the halfback with Sky Sports’ Jon Wells previously suggesting Hull KR or Wakefield should make a move for the brilliant stand-off.
However, what has now been ruled out today is a return to the NRL by his inclusion in the farewell though he wasn’t in attendance.
So, he is seemingly left with two options: another Super League more or retirement at just 31 years of age.
