NRL: Kiwis' grand finale

Sonny Bill Williams of the Roosters celebrates after winning the 2013 NRL Grand Final. Photo / Getty Images

Six New Zealanders are in the two NRL teams chasing league’s ultimate prize.

Six Kiwis will chase league's Holy Grail tonight, continuing a trend that has accelerated rapidly since the turn of the century.

Almost a quarter of the Broncos' 17-man squad, along with two Cowboys, add a distinctive New Zealand flavour to the grand final.

More than 50 Kiwis have featured on the final day of the NRL season in the past six years, often playing key roles in the Big Dance.

From 2000-09, there were another 49, from David Solomona, Nathan Cayless, Alex Chan and David Vaealiki with the Eels in 2001, to Jeff Lima and Adam Blair at the Storm in 2009.

That wasn't always the case. There were only five appearances by New Zealanders in the grand final through the 1980s.

There were a lot less players from this country across the Tasman, but also those who went tended to end up at underachieving clubs. Players such as Mark Graham, Olsen Filipaina, Clayton Friend, Dean Bell and Hugh McGahan, players who would grace any era, didn't come close to making a grand final.

New Zealanders have regularly featured at the most powerful clubs in the modern era, especially in the past decade. Think of the Kiwi presence at the Storm, Sea Eagles, Bulldogs and Roosters.

Since Bill Noonan became the first Kiwi to play in a grand final - appearing for the Canterbury Bulldogs in a 19-4 loss to the Eastern Suburbs Roosters in 1974 - there have been many milestones.

In 1987, Darrell Williams became the first New Zealander to lift the Winfield Cup, and seven years later, Ruben Wiki and Quentin Pongia became the first pair of winning Kiwis (for the Raiders over the Bulldogs).

In 1999, there were a record four New Zealanders on the victorious Storm team, and in 2005, Paul Whatuira become the first Kiwi to record grand final wins with different clubs.

Two notable marks remain. No New Zealander has captained a team to grand final glory, with Nathan Cayless (Parramatta, 2001 and 2009), Stacey Jones (Warriors, 2002) and Simon Mannering (Warriors, 2011) all falling short.

And no Kiwi has ever won the Clive Churchill medal for the grand final's man of the match. That's partly due to the predominance of halves who win the award but might also indicate some home-town bias from the judges, who have historically been the Kangaroos selection panel.

Among many great performances, Matthew Ridge (1996), Tawera Nikau (1999), Benji Marshall (2005), Adam Blair (2009) and Sonny Bill Williams (2013) were strong contenders for best on field.