Langlands had a shocker in the 38-0 hammering, before he was eventually replaced in the second half.
Adding to the embarrassment, Langlands famously wore a pair of eye-catching white boots, which have since gone down in history as rugby league’s most maligned fashion statement.
Mal Meninga, 1987
Mal Meninga made a surprise comeback in the 1987 finals series wearing a massive forearm guard.Credit: Fairfax Images
Canberra’s marquee man assumed his 1987 season was over when he broke his arm twice in 10 weeks. But when the Raiders qualified for the preliminary final against the Roosters, coach Wayne Bennett surprised even Meninga by rushing his Test centre back.
“I wore jumper No.21 and a massive guard on my arm, which looked like a cross between a rubber beer can holder and the padding that’s wrapped around the bottom of the goalposts,” Meninga recalled in his autobiography.
Big Mal proceeded to score a bulldozing try to inspire a 32-24 triumph over the Roosters, but Manly ended Canberra’s fairytale run in the grand final.
Chris Mortimer, 1989
Chris Mortimer was one of the toughest players of the 1980s.Credit: Paul Matthews
They didn’t come much tougher than former Canterbury and Penrith centre Chris Mortimer.
When doctors ruled Mortimer was not fit to return from thumb surgery to play in the 1989 finals, he took matters into his own hands.
“He had a steel pin in there … so Chris got a pair of pliers from the ground keeper’s office, pulled it out, bandaged his arm and played,” his brother Steve recalled.
Andrew Johns, 1997
Andrew Johns overcame a punctured lung to help Newcastle win the 1997 grand final.Credit: Fairfax Images
After breaking three ribs in the finals, the world’s best player found himself in hospital in grand final week with a punctured lung, after a painkilling injection went wrong.
A headline screaming “He could die” warned of potentially dire consequences, but Johns ignored that to inspire a stunning boilover against hot favourites Manly.
“I loved the drama, actually,” Johns wrote in his autobiography.
Shane Webcke, 2000, 2004
Shane Webcke helped the Broncos win a grand final in 2000 after returning from a broken arm.Credit: Angela Wylie
Few rugby league players in history have been more willing than Shane Webcke to whatever is necessary to get the job done.
In 2000, he helped the Broncos win a grand final after breaking his arm only six weeks earlier.
“To be honest, I couldn’t use it … it was a very uncomfortable way to play football,” Webcke wrote in his autobiography.
Four years later, Webcke lined up in a semi-final against North Queensland just days after having a “cashew-sized fragment of floating bone” removed from his knee.
Cooper Cronk, 2018
Cooper Cronk carried a fractured shoulder blade into the 2018 grand final.Credit: James Brickwood
Everyone knew Cooper Cronk had a shoulder injury leading into the 2018 grand final, but only those inside the Sydney Roosters camp knew how bad it was.
Cronk had fractured his shoulder blade a week earlier, but he took his place to help defeat his former Melbourne teammates in the decider.
Nathan Cleary, 2021, 2024
Two of Nathan Cleary’s grand final wins have come when he needed shoulder surgery.Credit: Getty Images
The Penrith maestro has won two grand finals, in 2021 and 2024, while nursing shoulder injuries that required post-season surgery.
“One arm is just hanging off his body,” Panthers legend Greg Alexander said of Cleary’s 2021 heroics.
Dylan Edwards, 2021
Dylan Edwards played the 2021 grand final with a stress fracture in his foot.Credit: Getty Images
The Penrith fullback carried a fractured foot through the 2021 finals series and emerged with a premiership ring.
“We would play and he would have the foot up for the rest of the week on crutches in a boot,” Panthers high-performance manager Hayden Knowles revealed.
Jarome Luai, 2023
Jarome Luai dislocated his shoulder just before the finals kicked off in 2023.Credit: Getty Images
The NSW Origin playmaker returned ahead of schedule from a dislocated shoulder to help Penrith win their third straight premiership in 2023.
“Tell the doctors I’m built different, brother … I’m pretty good with pain and playing with it,” he said. “Pain is only temporary in my mind.”
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