List of National Rugby League golden point games
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The golden point, a sudden death overtime system, is used to resolve drawn rugby league matches in the National Rugby League, Australasia's top competition in the sport. The term is borrowed from the golden goal system formerly employed in association football. The golden point is used to determine a winner when scores are level at the end of regular time.[1] Prior to its introduction into the National Rugby League competition at the beginning of the 2003 season, normal season games were left as draws; in finals matches, 20 minutes extra time ensued (10 minutes each way), with a replay in the event of a draw. If the scores are level at the end of 80 minutes, five minutes are played, the teams swap ends with no break, and a further five minutes are played. Any score (try, penalty goal, or field goal) in this 10-minute period secures a win for the scoring team, and the game ends at that point.[1] If the scoring event is a try, no conversion is attempted. If no further scoring occurs, the game is drawn and each team receives one competition point.
As of 12 July 2026, 182 golden point games have been played, with 19 remaining a draw after the ten minutes of golden point extra-time. Daly Cherry-Evans has scored the winning points on seven occasions, more than anyone in the NRL, while Nathan Cleary has scored the winning points on five occasions, followed by Johnathan Thurston, Valentine Holmes, Jamayne Isaako, and Shaun Johnson all behind on four. The Penrith Panthers and North Queensland Cowboys have played the most golden point games with 29, while the Dolphins have played the least with six since entering the competition in 2023. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are the most successful team under the format, having won 14 of their 18 golden point matches (including a draw), whilst the Newcastle Knights are the worst, having won just four of their 20 matches. The St. George Illawarra Dragons were the final club to win their first golden point match, after five previous failed attempts. The New Zealand Warriors have featured in the most drawn matches with five.
The two teams that have met each other the most times in golden point games are the Penrith Panthers and the North Queensland Cowboys, with a total of five match-ups. Four of the games were played in Townsville while only one was played in Penrith. The results are evenly spread, each team winning two games and their most recent game resulting in a draw.
The first golden point game in a grand final occurred in 2015, between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys, which was won 17–16 by the Cowboys after a Johnathan Thurston field goal sealed the win and a first premiership title for the Cowboys.
Following the 2015 NRL Grand Final the rules for tied NRL finals matches reverted to two five minute periods of extra-time, followed by golden point extra time if required.[2]
The first golden point game in a NRL Women's Premiership match occurred during the fifth season of the competition in 2022, with Rachael Pearson of the St. George Illawarra Dragons scoring a field goal to defeat the Brisbane Broncos 19–18.
List of golden point matches
| Drawn games | |
| Finals match | |
| Grand Final |
Tally
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 332 | 317 | +15 | .806 | |
| 2 | 20 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 402 | 384 | +18 | .650 | |
| 3 | 21 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 401 | 396 | +5 | .619 | |
| 4 | 28 | 16 | 1 | 11 | 616 | 601 | +15 | .589 | |
| 5 | 29 | 15 | 4 | 10 | 589 | 595 | −6 | .586 | |
| 6 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 282 | 281 | +1 | .571 | |
| 7 | 29 | 15 | 2 | 12 | 664 | 647 | +17 | .552 | |
| 8 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 468 | 461 | +7 | .500 | |
| 9 | 25 | 11 | 2 | 12 | 486 | 486 | 0 | .480 | |
| 10 | 23 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 463 | 470 | −7 | .457 | |
| 11 | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 432 | 442 | −10 | .455 | |
| 12 | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 575 | 576 | −1 | .442 | |
| 13 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 366 | 373 | −7 | .417 | |
| 14 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 160 | 161 | −1 | .333 | |
| 15 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 410 | 431 | −21 | .318 | |
| 16 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 337 | 345 | −8 | .310 | |
| 17 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 400 | 417 | −17 | .300 |
Statistics
| Rank | Scoring play | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1–point field goal | 109[c] |
| 2 | Try | 35 |
| 3 | No score (draw) | 19 |
| 4 | Penalty goal | 16 |
| 5 | 2–point field goal | 3 |
Note: 2–point field goals introduced from 2021 NRL season
| ^ | Active NRL player. |
| Rank | Player | Method | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Try | 2pt | 1pt | PG | |||
| 1 | Daly Cherry-Evans^ | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | Nathan Cleary^ | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| =3 | Johnathan Thurston | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| =3 | Valentine Holmes^ | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| =3 | Jamayne Isaako^ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| =3 | Shaun Johnson | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| =7 | Clinton Schifcofske | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| =7 | Chris Sandow | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| =7 | Trent Hodkinson | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| =7 | Cooper Cronk | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| =7 | Josh Reynolds | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| =7 | Mitchell Pearce | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| =7 | Benji Marshall | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| =7 | Cameron Smith | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| =7 | Matt Burton^ | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| =7 | Jamal Fogarty^ | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| =7 | Mitchell Moses^ | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Note: Minimum three golden point scores.
List of NRLW golden point games
| Drawn games | |
| Finals match | |
| Grand Final |
| # | Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue | Golden point(s) scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18–19 | 10 September 2022 | AAMI Park | Rachael Pearson[112] | ||
| 2 | 16–17 | 27 July 2023 | The Gabba | Lauren Brown[113][114] | ||
| 3 | 18–19 | 12 August 2023 | WIN Stadium | Zahara Temara[115][116] | ||
| 4 | 14–14 | 2 August 2025 | McDonald Jones Stadium | None[117] | ||
| 5 | 17–16 | 30 August 2025 | GIO Stadium | Zahara Temara[118] | ||
| 6 | 19–18 | 31 August 2025 | Sharks Stadium | Chantay Kiria-Ratu[119] | ||
| 7 | 17–16 | 13 September 2025 | Cbus Super Stadium | Lauren Brown[120] |
Notes
- Local time in Las Vegas.
- Moses kicked a field goal to win the game but was awarded a penalty for pressure on the kicker. Ronald Volkman kicked the subsequent goal, the first ever instance of two scoring actions taking place in a golden point game.
- In the 180th golden point game, Mitchell Moses kicked a field goal to win the game but was awarded a penalty for pressure on the kicker. The subsequent goal was the first ever instance of two scoring actions taking place in a golden point game, but the field goal is considered as the winning play.