Top 8 best Week 1 Finals since 2013

Week One of the 2023 Finals is upon us. We've been presented with three mouth-watering clashes, as well as an expected Newcastle win over Canberra. Week One of the Finals can be very hit or miss. Sometimes, you get game of the year contenders. Other times, unfortunately, the pretenders are separated from the contenders in a brutal fashion. Everyone remembers the Grand Finals. Prelims too. Sometimes, though, games that take place in the weeks prior fall away from our memory. Today is a day to revive some of those Week One classics. In the spirit of the Top Eight battling it out this weekend, we've narrowed it down to our top eight games from Week One of the Finals since 2013: Bulldogs 11 def Dragons 10 - 2015 Truthfully, I had to re-watch the highlights to remember the large majority of this game. The finish, however, will live long in memory. Shaun Lane looked certain to send the Dogs through with his 78th-minute try. The Dragons would put up a short kick-off and would be awarded an off-side penalty, allowing Gareth Widdop to send it to Golden Point after the siren. The Dogs played Extra Time far better than their opponents, allowing Josh Reynolds to nail a simple field goal and win a marvellous game of footy. Sharks 16 def Raiders 14 - 2016 The Sharks travelled to Canberra sans their bed-ridden captain Paul Gallen, only to lose stand-in captain Wade Graham in the seventh minute. Canberra led 12-0 heading toward halftime before a Matt Prior try, in the game of his life, put the Sharks in with the slightest of chances. Holmes would score for the Sharks before a Canberra penalty goal restored parity. This game would twist and turn right to the final siren. James Maloney's 75th-minute penalty goal would ultimately prove the difference despite Canberra's best efforts to steal it late. This certainly isn't the most memorable game on this list but that final four minutes aged me several years, and for that, it earns is spot here. Panthers 29 def Roosters 28 - 2020 2020, unfortunately, falls into the forgotten years, both for the Rugby League and the world, but this game stands out. The twists and turns in this game made us neutral fans dizzy. The Roosters came out of the blocks, breathing fire and scoring twice in the opening ten minutes. Penrith would respond by scoring the next five tries and looked to have it well in hand. Tries to Tedesco, Morris and Crichton set up a breathtaking last-minute and a half. Penrith would ultimately hang on but if this game goes another two minutes, the Chooks advance. Roosters 24 def Broncos 22 - 2017 A Friday night thriller decided only via the kicking tee. This game was as close as you will ever see. Almost every stat was almost identical. The Roosters led 14-0 at one stage and this looked like it might fizz out. The Broncos would go back to back in the 68th and 70 minute to seemingly steal this. A 74th-minute try to Latrell Mitchell would allow Michael Gordon to land the game-winning conversion, both only after a few minutes of scramble. This actually kickstarted a brilliant weekend of Finals footy with two further thrillers in the next three games. For mine, though, this was the highest quality game of them all. Broncos 16 def Cowboys 12 - 2015 When you think of Finals Footy, this game comes to mind! Largely forgotten due to what would eventuate a few weeks later but this game was as physical and as bruising as they come. Corey Parker's boot would prove the difference, kicking three from three, including a penalty goal, but this game could have gone either way. The quality of this game was such that it had neutrals begging for a rematch on the biggest stage of them all. This game certainly had a defensive lean to it but, by no means, did that mean this was boring. As a Sharks fan I was thrilled to have a battered Cowboys side given to us in Week Two coming off this clash. How wrong I would be! Cowboys 32 def Cronulla 30 - 2022 As a Sharks fan, this one hurts, but you cannot deny how entertaining a game this was. Both seemed to enter into a pre-match agreement not to tackle. It was strange for a Finals game, which are usually won on defence, but it made for a fun night in the Shire. The Sharks looked to have this match won until Jason Taumalolo's 79th-minute try allowed Valentine Holmes to send it to Golden Point extra time. Holmes, a Sharks 2016 Premiership winner, came back to haunt his old club by nailing the most perfect 42 metre drop goal you'll ever see. This game swung in momentum countless times. The Cowboys opened the scoring before the Sharks took the ascendancy. Tom Dearden then changed the game for the Cowboys before a second half charge saw the Sharks run clear. Then the aforementioned Taumalolo try and Holmes field goal send the Cowboys through to the most unlikely of Prelims. Roosters 25 def Titans 24 - 2021 This was total and utter Rugby League chaos! Titans fans would have wiped this from their memories. "Why didn't he pass?" they scream to this very day, when reminded. The game itself was super entertaining, but all everyone will remember is the finish. The Titans were gone. The mighty Chooks had them dead to rights with 15 minutes to go. Jarrow Wallace would score with 10 minutes to go and set up a grandstand finish. Sam Walker seemed to have sunk the Titans with a field goal with two minutes to go. Then, with under a minute left on the clock, trailing by a point, Beau Fermor would run 80 metres and set up an attacking raid with 30 seconds left. The Titans went right and if Patrick Herbert passes that ball to an unmarked Corey Thompson, the Titans deliver an all time Finals finish. Roosters 4 def Manly 0 - 2013 Not only was this the best Week One Final's game of the past decade, it can lay claim to be one of the best games of all time. If you haven't seen this game, you'd look at the score-line and raise your eyebrows at such an outlandish claim. One try was scored across 80 minutes. Only four line breaks were made. The Roosters, who won, didn't even register a single line break. Manly completed at only 65%. This was the most brutal game of modern Rugby League that I can ever remember. Defensively, this game was undoubtedly the best game potentially ever. I was there that night, and I still have no idea how Manly didn't run up a score. They had all the running, made all the breaks and looked destined to win this game. The Roosters absolutely belted the Manly ball carriers close to the line, forcing a series of game-saving errors. When Roger Tuivasa-Sheck crossed for the Roosters in the ninth minute, I thought we were in for a night to remember. We were but for totally different reasons. It's tough to enjoy a highlights package of the game, but on the night, this was the most entertaining, brutal and perfect Finals footy game I can ever remember.