September 21: Roosters end title drought; Panthers slugged 25K
On this day, the Knights upstaged the Storm, the Roosters snapped a 29-year premiership drought and the Panthers were fined $25,000 in the wake of a controversial semi-final win over the Eels.
1974
Coach Jack Gibson and captain Arthur Beetson mastermind Eastern Suburbs' 19-4 victory over Canterbury in the grand final to end the club's 29-year premiership drought.
1987
Future Gold Coast Titans winger Anthony Don is born in Sydney. A late bloomer in NRL terms, Don debuted with the Titans in 2013 and spent his entire career with the club before retiring in 2021 with 152 games and 85 tries to his name. He represented NSW Country in 2017.
1989
Sandor Earl is born in Wellington, New Zealand. Earl debuted with the Roosters in 2009 before joining Penrith for three seasons. After switching to the Raiders he served a four-year ban before returning to the NRL with the Storm in 2019-20.
1990
Future international Sam Kasiano is born in Auckland, New Zealand. Kasiano played 139 games with the Bulldogs from 2011-17 and 14 games with the Storm in 2018 before joining the Catalans Dragons. Kasiano represented New Zealand in 2012-13 and also played for Samoa in 2015.
2013
The Wayne Bennett-coached Newcastle Knights stage a major boilover when they down Melbourne 18-16 in the second semi-final at AAMI Park. It is the Knights' first victory in Melbourne since 2004 and extends the career of veteran hooker Danny Buderus by at least another week.
2021
Penrith are fined $25,000 and trainer Pete Green suspended for the rest of the season after Green stopped play at a crucial point of the semi-final against Parramatta to treat hooker Mitch Kenny before he had a chance to assess his condition. Under NRL rules, Green is required to make an initial assessment of a player's condition before he can ask the referee to halt play.
This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton.
