Panthers and Magpies win grand final thrillers as the Wallabies hold on to World Cup dream

Football fever gripped Australia at the weekend with nailbiting* wins in both the AFL and NRL grand finals and Australia’s national rugby union side winning to hold on to its dream of making finals in the Rugby World Cup.

We take a look at the thrilling matches and the heroes that helped their teams to victory.

NRL GRAND FINAL
The Penrith Panthers have pulled off the biggest comeback in NRL grand final history to beat the Brisbane Broncos 26-24 and become the first team in 40 years to win three straight premierships.

The Panthers were down 24-8 with 24 minutes to go thanks to a Ezra Mam hat-trick* for Brisbane that had people thinking Penrith were doomed*, but Panthers’ superstar halfback Nathan Cleary orchestrated* a magical comeback at Accor stadium in Sydney.

Showing great courage, Cleary set up multiple scoring moments and then scored the winning try himself to get the Panthers home.

After claiming his second Clive Churchill Medal for best on ground, Cleary said the win still “didn’t feel real” but said he could imagine more success in the future.
“We are still getting started,” Cleary said.

AFL GRAND FINAL
In a heart-stopping match that saw the lead change 10 times, Collingwood has claimed a record-equalling 16th premiership with a thrilling four-point win over the Brisbane Lions in the AFL grand final.

Playing in 29-degree heat, the Magpies protected their slim lead in the dying minutes in

front of 100,024 people at the MCG on Saturday in what has been described as one of the greatest finals in AFL history.

Despite a wave of pressure from the Lions and the scores drawing level another four times, Collingwood managed to break a 13-year drought* to claim the premiership 12.18 (90) to 13.8 (86). The Magpies now join rivals Essendon and Carlton with a competition-leading 16 flags*.

Collingwood goal sneak Bobby Hill kicked four goals from 18 disposals in a career-best game to win the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground.

Premiership captain Darcy Moore, who was handed the Cup by his father Peter who also played for Collingwood in the past, was emotional after the win.

“So much work goes in for so long, so much has to go right to pull it off today, and we did it,” he said.

RUGBY WORLD CUP
The Wallabies’ chances of making the Rugby World Cup finals are not over after defeating Portugal 34-14 in France on Sunday.

Rebounding from their back-to-back losses against Fiji and Wales, the Wallabies did what they had to do against Portugal, winning easily and picking up a bonus point for scoring five tries.

The tries came from forwards Richie Arnold, David Porecki, Angus Bell and Fraser McReight, while winger Marika Koroibete secured Australia the bonus point.

The Wallabies have the bye for next weekend’s last round of group games, so they need Portugal to beat Fiji by at least eight points next weekend without giving up more than three tries.
“We’re still alive,” Australian coach Eddie Jones said. “That was the aim of the day.”

POLL

GLOSSARY

• nailbiting: causing great nervousness or tension
• hat-trick: achieving something three times in a row
• doomed: likely to have an unfortunate ending
• orchestrated: to put together
• drought: a long time without success
• flags: another name for premiership

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QUICK QUIZ

1. How many points did Penrith score in the final 24 minutes?
2. What is the Clive Churchill Medal awarded for?
3. How many times did the lead change in the AFL Grand Final?
4. Why was the Cup presentation extra special for Magpies skipper Darcy Moore?
5. Who is the coach of the Wallabies?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Congratulations!
You have been chosen as the Master of Ceremonies for the on-ground presentation of the premiership trophy. You can choose either the AFL or NRL. You need to write a short speech to congratulate the winning team on their performance based off the Kid News article you have just read. Make sure it is no more than 100 words long.

Time: allow 20 minutes for this activity
Curriculum links: English, Health and Physical Education, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Imagine you are a fan in the crowd at any of the matches mentioned in the Kids News article and that you were invited by the club president to attend. Write down 20 adjectives to describe how you would have been feeling during the game and as the final siren sounded.

Use your 20 words to create a letter to the president to thank him/her for the invitation and to explain how you enjoyed your day.

Time: allow 20 minutes for this activity
Curriculum links: English, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
1. Read with Kung Fu punctuation
Pair up with the article between you and stand up to make it easy to demonstrate your Kung Fu punctuation.

Practise reading one sentence at a time. Now read it again, while acting out the punctuation as you read.

Read and act three sentences before swapping with your partner. Take two turns each.

Now ask your partner to read a sentence out loud while you try and act out the punctuation. Can you keep up?

Try acting out two sentences – are you laughing yet?