![\"Mal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/65b42609f32a4dba0ad6f3e981561a5d9b4b4ed1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nLanglands had a shocker in the 38-0 hammering, before he was eventually replaced in the second half.<\/p>\n
Adding to the embarrassment, Langlands famously wore a pair of eye-catching white boots, which have since gone down in history as rugby league\u2019s most maligned fashion statement.<\/p>\n
Mal Meninga, 1987<\/p>\n
Mal Meninga made a surprise comeback in the 1987 finals series wearing a massive forearm guard.Credit: Fairfax Images<\/p>\n
Canberra\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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\u2019s wrapped around the bottom of the goalposts,\u201d Meninga recalled in his autobiography.<\/p>\n
Big Mal proceeded to score a bulldozing try to inspire a 32-24 triumph over the Roosters, but Manly ended Canberra\u2019s fairytale run in the grand final.<\/p>\n
Chris Mortimer, 1989![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/7755ceced4b3ad90f9309ddd5feadfe163570853.jpeg\")
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Chris Mortimer was one of the toughest players of the 1980s.Credit: Paul Matthews<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t come much tougher than former Canterbury and Penrith centre Chris Mortimer.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a steel pin in there … so Chris got a pair of pliers from the ground keeper\u2019s office, pulled it out, bandaged his arm and played,\u201d his brother Steve recalled.<\/p>\n
Andrew Johns, 1997![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/f4d9b996b124f93756f048dd5501bd26e792ae93.jpeg\")
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Andrew Johns overcame a punctured lung to help Newcastle win the 1997 grand final.Credit: Fairfax Images<\/p>\n
After breaking three ribs in the finals, the world\u2019s best player found himself in hospital in grand final week with a punctured lung, after a painkilling injection went wrong.<\/p>\n
A headline screaming \u201cHe could die\u201d warned of potentially dire consequences, but Johns ignored that to inspire a stunning boilover against hot favourites Manly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved the drama, actually,\u201d Johns wrote in his autobiography.<\/p>\n
Shane Webcke, 2000, 2004![\"Shane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/25bd35f231958617ddf5e8b95532c154ce008a28.jpeg\")
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Shane Webcke helped the Broncos win a grand final in 2000 after returning from a broken arm.Credit: Angela Wylie<\/p>\n
Few rugby league players in history have been more willing than Shane Webcke to whatever is necessary to get the job done.<\/p>\n
In 2000, he helped the Broncos win a grand final after breaking his arm only six weeks earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I couldn\u2019t use it \u2026 it was a very uncomfortable way to play football,\u201d Webcke wrote in his autobiography.<\/p>\n
Four years later, Webcke lined up in a semi-final against North Queensland just days after having a \u201ccashew-sized fragment of floating bone\u201d removed from his knee.<\/p>\n
Cooper Cronk, 2018![\"Cooper](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/d73480cabda5bf2639f275ca97afa2e5a477b29b.jpeg\")
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Cooper Cronk carried a fractured shoulder blade into the 2018 grand final.Credit: James Brickwood<\/p>\n
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.<\/a><\/p>\n Cronk had fractured his shoulder blade a week earlier, but he took his place to help defeat his former Melbourne teammates in the decider.<\/p>\n Nathan Cleary, 2021, 2024 Two of Nathan Cleary\u2019s grand final wins have come when he needed shoulder surgery.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n The Penrith maestro has won two grand finals, in 2021 and 2024, while nursing shoulder injuries that required post-season surgery.<\/p>\n \u201cOne arm is just hanging off his body,\u201d Panthers legend Greg Alexander said of Cleary\u2019s 2021 heroics.<\/p>\n Dylan Edwards, 2021 Dylan Edwards played the 2021 grand final with a stress fracture in his foot.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n The Penrith fullback carried a fractured foot through the 2021 finals series and emerged with a premiership ring.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would play and he would have the foot up for the rest of the week on crutches in a boot,\u201d Panthers high-performance manager Hayden Knowles revealed.<\/p>\n Jarome Luai, 2023 Jarome Luai dislocated his shoulder just before the finals kicked off in 2023.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n The NSW Origin playmaker returned ahead of schedule from a dislocated shoulder to help Penrith win their third straight premiership in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cTell the doctors I\u2019m built different, brother … I\u2019m pretty good with pain and playing with it,\u201d he said. \u201cPain is only temporary in my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n Win one of 10 double passes to the 2025 NRL grand final. Click here for details<\/a> and to enter the competition, exclusive to Sydney Morning Herald subscribers.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/f04817c2948a7a289af06c74a04b82d6013df36e.jpeg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"Jarome](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/f0b81bd02eb86dbc275fc16249eadd2dd012ef96.jpeg\")
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