{"id":916269,"date":"2026-10-04T22:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T22:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/916269\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T22:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T22:00:14","slug":"nrl-world-rallies-around-roosters-star-after-devastating-twist-in-grand-final-triumph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/916269\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL world rallies around Roosters star after ‘devastating’ twist in grand final triumph"},"content":{"rendered":"

NRL<\/a> fans are sparing a thought for one luckless Roosters star after their 19-18 triumph in the grand final<\/a> on Sunday night. Trent Robinson’s side overcame an incredibly gutsy effort from the Knights to prevail, with Daly Cherry-Evans kicking the game-winning field goal in his last ever NRL game<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Amidst the euphoria for the Roosters, there was a tinge of sadness for one of their best players. Connor Watson missed out on playing<\/a> in the decider due to the NRL’s strict rules<\/a> around concussion after copping a head knock in the prelim final.<\/p>\n

Because he was deemed to be a Category 1 he was stood down for 11 days and ruled out of the grand final. The Roosters consulted with independent doctors to try and get Watson cleared to play, but it ultimately failed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Speaking before the game, Watson said he’d “accepted” the decision and was doing his best to support his teammates. The 30-year-old has played his last game for the Roosters before he moves to the Dragons in 2027 and PNG in 2028.<\/p>\n

Watson was over the moon after the Roosters won on Saturday night, but there would have been some heartbreak that he didn’t get to play in the decider. Under NRL rules he didn’t even get a premiership ring despite playing 23 games for the Roosters this year.<\/p>\n

NRL world rallies around Connor Watson<\/p>\n

Only the coach and the 19 players named to play on Sunday night get a ring – even the three who didn’t get on the field in Cody Ramsey, Hugo Savala and Benaiah Ioelu. But in a brilliant gesture, coach Robinson gifted his ring to Watson.<\/p>\n

Veteran journalist Phil Rothfield said after the game: “Trent Robinson after the game\u2026walked straight across to Connor and gave it to him and said, ‘thanks for everything you’ve done for the club, sorry you couldn’t play but this is your reward for your contribution at the Roosters’. What a lovely, lovely gesture.”<\/p>\n

\"Connor<\/p>\n

Trent Robinson gifted his NRL premiership ring to Connor Watson (pictured). Image: Roosters<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, fans and fellow players still expressed their sadness for Watson that he didn’t get to play. Former teammate Chad Townsend wrote on social media: “Devastated for Connor Watson! One of the genuine good guys of rugby league! It can be a cruel game! Has had a great stint at the Roosters!”<\/p>\n

Another person wrote: “I feel for Connor Watson man. He’s a great guy.” While another added: “I actually feel sorry for Connor Watson.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NRL fans are sparing a thought for one luckless Roosters star after their 19-18 triumph in the grand…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":916270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-916269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=916269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/916270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=916269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=916269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=916269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}