Local residents got into the spirit of the National Rugby League Grand Final on Sunday, 3 October.

They donned their rugby league teams colours and were unashamedly biased towards the teams of their choice.

The Penrith Panthers have beat the South Sydney Rabbitohs 14-12 to win the 2021 NRL grand final at Brisbane’s Lang Park.

Community members took the opportunity to watch the match a local hotels or in their own homes.

Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary won the Clive Churchill Medal. The Clive Churchill Medal is the award given to the player judged to be man-of-the-match in the National Rugby League’s annual Grand Final. The award was created to honour Clive Churchill, one of the greatest rugby league players in Australian history, following his death in 1985. A prestigious honour in the NRL, the medal’s recipient is chosen by the selectors of the Australian national team and announced and awarded to the player judged best and fairest on the ground at every post-grand final ceremony. The Clive Churchill Medal has been awarded ever since the 1986 NSWRL season when its first recipient was Parramatta’s Peter Sterling.

Although the Rabbitohs fell agonisingly short of taking home the premiership, they have won 21 previously. While this is the third time the Panthers have held aloft the major trophy.

John Anderson, Crocket Hall, Matt Platt, Noo Tyack and Charmaine Kendall had a great time watching the NRL Grand Final at the Railway Hotel in Condobolin on Sunday, 3 October. Image Credit: Kathy Parnaby.

• Matt Platt and Sophie Platt. Image Credit: Kathy Parnaby.