ULTIMATE GUIDE: Sunday's NRL grand final day is set to be a scorcher, with temperatures in western Sydney forecast for upwards of 36 degrees.
While the men's grand final will begin at 7.30pm, making it slightly cooler, there are two games prior to that which will be played in the sun at Accor Stadium.
The state championship is set to begin at 1.20pm, while the NRLW grand final kicks off at 3.55pm.
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It means those four teams will be playing at the hottest time of day, potentially in temperatures nudging 40 degrees in the middle of the field. Nine's Today host Karl Stefanovic called it "oppressive" heat.
ARLC chairman Peter V'landys, though, says there are protocols in place to help combat the heat.
"The players' safety is paramount to us," V'landys told Today on Friday.
"The fact the main game is played at 7.30pm certainly takes the pressure off that, but there are earlier games.
Watch the 2023 NRL grand final exclusively live and free on 9Now
"We will put all our protocols in place – the heat stress index, we measure humidity, we measure wind, we measure temperature.
"We're going to have mist fans there, we're going to allow some rule changes, plus additional ice. We will be ready for the heat, but the main match won't really be affected."
While the NRL game will run as normal, V'landys said minor changes can be made to the state championship and NRLW grand final.
"We'll change the interchange rules… we can extend half-time, we can actually have 20-minute breaks," he said.
"We will put everything in place. All those measures will be implemented on Sunday."
Here's everything you need to know about the NRL's 2023 grand final day.
WHEN AND WHERE IS THE 2023 NRL GRAND FINAL?
The 2023 NRL grand final will be held at Accor Stadium in Sydney's Olympic Park on Sunday, October 1.
WHAT TIME WILL THE NRL AND NRLW GRAND FINALS KICK OFF?
The NRL grand final between Penrith and Brisbane is scheduled to kick off at 7.30pm, AEDT.
Earlier in the day, the state championship between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Brisbane Tigers will kick off at 1.20pm, while the NRLW grand final between the Knights and Titans will kick off at 3.55pm.
HOW TO WATCH THE 2023 NRL GRAND FINAL
Nine and 9Now will have live and exclusive coverage of the 2023 NRL grand final day from Accor Stadium.
The entire day will be covered, starting with Weekend Today from 7am, into Sports Sunday at 10am, the Sunday Footy Show from 11am, and then full grand final coverage from 1pm featuring the state championship, NRLW, and NRL grand finals.
Watch the 2023 NRL grand final exclusively live and free on 9Now
WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF THE 2023 NRL GRAND FINAL?
As of Friday morning, the Panthers were $1.64 favourites to win the NRL grand final with bookmaker Sportsbet.
The Broncos were paying $2.27 as outsiders.
WHAT ARE THE 2023 NRL GRAND FINAL TEAMS?
Both sides named 22-player squads on Tuesday.
Those squads will be reduced on Saturday night, and then the final line-up will be revealed one hour before kick-off on Sunday.
Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Izack Tago 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brian To'o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Scott Sorensen 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Jack Cogger 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Spencer Leniu 17. Luke Garner 18. Tyrone Peachey 19. Matt Eisenhuth 20. Zac Hosking 21. Luke Sommerton 22. Thomas Jenkins
Broncos: 1. Reece Walsh 2. Jesse Arthars 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Selwyn Cobbo 6. Ezra Mam 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Thomas Flegler 9. Billy Walters 10. Payne Haas 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan 14. Tyson Smoothy 15. Brendan Piakura 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Keenan Palasia 18. Corey Oates 19. Martin Taupau 20. Corey Jensen 21. Jock Madden 22. Tristan Sailor
Watch the 2023 NRL grand final exclusively live and free on 9Now
WHAT ARE THE 2023 NRLW GRAND FINAL TEAMS?
Knights: 1. Tamika Upton 2. Sheridan Gallagher 3. Shanice Parker 4. Abigail Roache 5. Jasmine Strange 6. Georgia Roche 7. Jesse Southwell 8. Tayla Predebon 9. Olivia Higgins 10. Caitlan Johnston 11. Laishon Albert-Jones 12. Yasmin Clydsdale 13. Hannah Southwell 14. Nita Maynard 15. Tiana Davison 16. Kayla Romaniuk 17. Rima Butler 18. Jacinta Carter 19. Caitlin Moran 20. Felila Kia 21. Tamerah Leati 22. Jayde Herdegen
Titans: 1. Evania Pelite 2. Karina Brown 3. Jaime Chapman 4. Niall Williams-Guthrie 5. Destiny Mino-Sinapati 6. Chantay Kiria-Ratu 7. Lauren Brown 8. Shannon Mato 9. Brittany Breayley-Nati 10. Jessika Elliston 11. Zara Canfield 12. Shaylee Bent 13. Georgia Hale 14. Sienna Lofipo 15. Stephanie Hancock 16. Rilee Jorgensen 17. Dannii Perese 18. Taliah Fuimaono 19. Kaitlyn Phillips 20. Laikha Clarke 21. Hailee-Jay Maunsell 22. Emily Bass
WHO WILL WIN THE 2023 CLIVE CHURCHILL MEDAL?
Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards won the man-of-the-match honour last year, while his halfback Nathan Cleary won it the year before that.
Here is the Sportsbet market for Sunday's medal winner:
$3.50 Nathan Cleary
$6.50 Reece Walsh
$8.50 Adam Reynolds
$11 Dylan Edwards
$12 Payne Haas
$14 Isaah Yeo, Patrick Carrigan
$19 Liam Martin
$23 Ezra Mam, Jarome Luai
WHO WILL PRESENT THE CLIVE CHURCHILL MEDAL?
The grand final medal has typically been presented by Clive Churchill's son, Rodney, but the NRL took the honour away from him after comments about Latrell Mitchell came to light last month.
The NRL decided to hand the honour to past Clive Churchill Medal winners, starting with the inaugural winner, Peter Sterling in 1986.
But Sterling was unavailable for Sunday's grand final, so 1987 winner Cliff Lyons has stepped up to the plate and will present it.
WHO IS REFEREEING THE 2023 NRL GRAND FINAL?
The NRL has picked a first-time grand final referee in Adam Gee to officiate Sunday's game.
Chris Sutton and David Munro will run the sidelines, while Ashley Klein is in the Bunker.
It's a big promotion for Gee, having trumped the more experienced Klein and Gerard Sutton to the role.
Klein was effectively dumped from the roster following costly mistakes during Storm's finals win over the Roosters a fortnight ago. Sutton, meanwhile, was overlooked after a try was scored at the end of a play involving a Reece Walsh pass which went several metres forward in the Broncos' thumping preliminary final victory over the Warriors. Sutton was the referee in that game.
Sideline judges Phil Henderson and Drew Oultram were also overlooked for their part in missing the Walsh forward pass.
WHAT DO THE 2023 NRL WINNERS GET?
The winning club of the NRL this year gets $800,000 for claiming the grand final trophy, while every player, as well as the coach, gets a diamond encrusted ring that was designed by prime minister Anthony Albanese.
The rings are said to be worth upwards of $10,000 each, and Wide World of Sports detailed this year's ring in this story.
Meanwhile, the Panthers have already pocketed $200,000 for taking out the minor premiership. They'll collect $1 million total if the team can win on Sunday.
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