Let’s not mince any words here: the Canberra Raiders got robbed of the 2019 NRL Premiership blind thanks to a ridiculous refereeing blunder that will almost certainly go down in history as one of the greatest howlers in Australian sporting history. Raiders players, fans, staff, and everyone in between have every right to feel furious about the end of the match, and the Sydney Roosters should quietly get a small asterisk added to the Premiership trophy.
That is almost indisputably true.
[jwplayer VN2Larm4]
What’s also true, however, is that before the match began Raiders fans stamped their traditional Viking Clap as one of the country’s most impressive sporting spectacles.
The Viking Clap, preceded by a big fat honk of a Viking Horn, welcome the Raiders onto the ground for the 2019 season decider in grand style, with the chant and clap shaking the very foundations of ANZ Stadium.
Footage from both Channel Nine’s broadcast and fans in the stands makes for some goosebump-inducing gear. Phenomenal stuff, this.
SCENES.
Powerful Viking Clap! #NRLGF pic.twitter.com/QYeIlOZqJC
— NRL (@NRL) October 6, 2019
GOOSEBUMPS! THE VIKING CLAP HAS REACHED @ANZStadium 👏👏👏 #NRLGF pic.twitter.com/vOrHTLCr5N
— Accor Stadium (@AccorStadium) October 6, 2019
This was a sporting moment I will never forget.
Grand Final Viking Clap.
👏👏👏👏#NRLGF #NRLRoostersRaiders pic.twitter.com/wI7wyDPAya
— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) October 6, 2019
The Viking Clap 👏🏼 @RaidersCanberra #NRLGrandFinal #NRLRoostersRaiders pic.twitter.com/pSrbDRExvM
— Julie Snook (@JulieSnook) October 6, 2019
Christ almighty. Imagine something even close to that firing you up before you marched out onto a field? You’d be hyped up to run through bloody granite.
Look how pumped Mal Meninga was afterwards, for god’s sake.
He hasn’t frothed that hard on anything since they tried to bring back the Lime Milk.
A real tough break with how the game wound up unfolding, but that’s a Grand Final moment that’s gonna live for a long, long time.