'Better than Lego': Knights fans revive 1997 cry before Roosters final
Newcastle Knights supporters have a three-word measure for the best feeling in rugby league: better than Lego.
The old catchcry is loud again ahead of the 2026 NRL Grand Final, the championship decider of Australia's leading 13-a-side rugby league competition. Newcastle face the Sydney Roosters at Accor Stadium in Sydney on Sunday 4 October 2026, with kick-off at 7:30pm Sydney time Fox Sports Man of Many.
In league, teams get six tackles, six chances to carry the ball before they must hand it over, so territory and taking chances count for everything. The grand final is the one game that decides the champions after a long season and a knockout play-off series.
The phrase comes from the morning after Newcastle's first premiership in 1997. Former captain Matty Johns was still celebrating with fans at the Newcastle Workers' Club when he told morning television presenter Nat Barr that winning was better than Lego The Guardian. The interview, given live the next morning, was unpolished and joyful. It stuck.
7News Australia revisited the moment on 28 September, noting Johns spoke to its presenter Barr the morning after Newcastle won its first grand final 7News Australia. For viewers who grew up with the clip, the name and the setting need no introduction.
A new video published by The Guardian on 1 October asks present-day Knights fans what those words mean to them. Their answers are less about a plastic brick and more about memory. Parents recall watching in 1997. Younger fans describe learning the clip by heart through replays and social media, then repeating it in the stands.
That staying power is why the footage has become part of club folklore. It remains a popular social media clip almost three decades on, replayed whenever Newcastle reach the sharp end of the season.
The celebrations that spawned it were wild. Matthew Johns declared the win was "better than Lego" on morning television, while Andrew Johns skateboarded shirtless down King Street in Newcastle The Guardian. The images still circulate alongside the interview.
Newcastle's latest run went through Penrith, who they met in Finals Week 3 of the 2026 play-offs. The prize is a return to Sydney's grand final stage at Accor Stadium, which lists the event as the home of the NRL and NRLW Grand Finals.
What makes this stand out is the simplicity. No tactics board, no statistics. Just a tired player reaching for a childhood comparison and a city deciding to keep it.
