Bradman Best and Tyson Frizell will make history tomorrow as the first Welsh-qualified players to start an NRL grand final. The Newcastle Knights centre and prop will face the Sydney Roosters in the showpiece in Sydney in front of 80,000 spectators.
Remarkable turnaround
Newcastle finished bottom of the table this season, but reached their first grand final since 2001 after a sensational preliminary finals victory over Penrith Panthers last weekend. Both Best and Frizell have been influential in that rise.
Best, an Australia international, is a phenomenally explosive centre known for his physicality and excellent offloading game. Despite hailing from Australia, he was asked to play rugby league for Wales through heritage, but the move never materialised.
Close call with Wales
“Yeah, it was real close,” Best said in 2024 about his flirtation with the Wales team. “I agreed and everything was ready to go. But I didn't play my best for the Knights so I owed it to them to have a good pre-season so that's why I didn't get over to pull on the red jersey.”
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Best, whose Newcastle contract expires at the end of the season, said he will look at the market. He has been linked with a host of big NRL clubs, though a move to Wales rugby union seems unlikely given his stature in the NRL.
Frizell's milestone
The 34-year-old Frizell has already represented Wales, as well as Australia and Tonga in rugby league, and was at one time heavily linked with a move to represent Wales in rugby union. His brother, Shannon, is the All Blacks backrower.
After 305 games in the NRL, this will be Frizell's first NRL grand final.
