Drought broken in epic scenes as GF cliffhanger ends with brutal call

Oryn Keeley is a Norths Devils hero after he stormed over late to help his side stun the Newtown Jets 20-18 in the State Championship Grand Final, with his man of the match performance sure to earn him some more NRL opportunities next year.

The annual clash has been brutal for Queensland clubs over the years, but their losing streak is over after they started well and then finished over the top of a Jets side that made 15 errors in perfect conditions at Accor Stadium.

The Jets thought they were home leading 18-16 with nine minutes to go when Niwhai Puru and Jayden Berrell combined to somehow deny Jacob Gagan in the corner when the Devils centre looked certain to give his side the lead.

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They were able to survive one warning shot but the Devils landed the killer blow three minutes later when Keeley ran a perfect line and slammed the ball down to put his side in front.

It caps nine years of misery for the Queensland Cup champions who hadn’t won a State Championship clash since the Ipswich Jets got up in 2015.

However, the game was not without controversy, with a late call against the Jets souring the Devils’ win.

Trailing by two late in the game, the Jets were attacking Norths with just over a minute to go when referee Liam Kennedy ruled Jayden Berrell lost control possession when collecting a play the ball.

However, replays later showed Berrell maintained control of the football, although at that point the Jets had exhausted all their challenges, meaning Kennedy’s decision stood.

Here are three of the biggest talking points from the game.

MORE THAN JUST OK

Oryn Keeley has only played six games for the Dolphins but he’s set to see a lot more action in 2025 after he dominated the State Championship with an electric performance on the left edge for the Devils.

There’s a lot to like about the youngster from Gosford who runs hard, hits harder and is an attacking weapon after he scored two tries and set up another.

Keeley kept his side in the contest with an epic offload to set up Jordan Lipp on the stroke of half-time, and he was at it again with 25 minutes to go when he shrugged off several defenders to score before he stole the win with a great line run.

JETS CRASH LAND

The Jets have come crashing back to Earth after last week’s thrilling win in the NSW Cup final over the Bears.

Things looked so promising for Newtown with Puru nailing a 40/20 and then diving off after a Braden Hamlin-Uele offload, but poor goal-kicking proved costly for the NSW Cup champions with Puru missing three of his four attempts.

Too many errors in the second half proved costly for the Jets whose fans were on the edge of their seats when Billy Magoulias got the ball in the final minute, but he wasn’t able to replicate his heroics from a few years ago.

NOT SO ROCKY ROAD

The Sharks are well stocked for outside backs going forward, but Sam Stonestreet showed once again that he’s ready to step straight in if one of their star wingers goes down.

Stonestreet made his debut earlier this year and scored eight tries in his five appearances, including three consecutive doubles.

The local junior is still contracted for one more year but there could be interest coming his way after he scored a hat-trick on Sunday, including a stunning team try in the first half.

The lanky speedster didn’t have to do much for his second and third tries, but his first was a thing of beauty which started on Newtown’s own 10-metre line and featured some quick hands down the right edge before Stonestreet slammed the ball down.