Gunnedah Times congratulates all its NRL footy tipping competition winners

The Gunnedah Times 2024 NRL Footy Tipping Competition winners enjoyed a day to remember at last Sunday’s grand final in Sydney.

Readers’ tipping competition winner Chris ‘Paddy’ Mallon and Business House champ, Davidson Cameron & Co, represented by Jenny Randall, won a trip to the NRL Grand Final between the Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers.

The packages included return airfares, premium tickets to the final at Accor Stadium and accommodation at Radisson Blu’s five-star luxury Sydney Plaza hotel in the city’s centre. The Radisson was a footy tipping competition sponsor.

Chris attended with his wife Jann and described it as a fantastic experience. “We had seats on the western side near the tryline, about 10 rows back,” Chris said.

“It was fantastic to watch it live.”

A highlight for the Gunnedah local was watching his beloved club, the Roosters win the women’s grand final 32-28 against the Sharks in the preliminary match.

He also relished meeting at the stadium new friends from all states and countries – one seat across was a bloke from North Queensland and the other side was an NRL fan from New Zealand.

“The people you met there were amazing,” Chris told the Gunnedah Times.

Back at the hotel, Chris said the service and quality at the Radisson Blu was almost faultless.

“The accommodation was unbelievable – the staff were great, they couldn’t do enough,” he said.

It was Chris’ first grand final in more than 40 years – the last prior when he saw Parramatta Eels win the 1981 premiership against Newtown Jets 20-11.

Incidentally, Newtown last weekend lost a narrow State Championship battle 20-18 to Queensland club side, Norths Devils, in a preliminary match at the stadium.

As Penrith took victory on Sunday, Jean Palmer also won the Gunnedah Times’ NRL Finals Fever Footy Tipping competition.

“I was more surprised than anything,” she said.

Mrs Palmer successfully tipped the most winners in the finals series and won a $150 voucher to be spent at any participating business in the tipping competition.

The secret to her tipping prowess?

“I didn’t let my heart rule my head,” Mrs Palmer remarked.

Such was her resoluteness to stick the strategy, she even tipped against her club, the Cronulla Sharks, in the preliminary finals.

Second place was won by Jesse Northey-Baldwin, who also won last year’s finals competition. He won a $100 voucher for his efforts this year.

Third place in the finals series was won by Phillip Donnelly ($50).

He led for much of the closing stages of the regular season tipping competition until a self-described “shocker” bundled him out of contention in one of the last rounds of the season-long campaign.

First in the Business House Finals Series was Berryman Diesel. In second place was AC Whalan and third, Stripes Engineering.

Winning businesses receive free advertisements in the Gunnedah Times.

Winners of the Gunnedah Times NRL Footy Finals Tipping Competition, Phillip Donnelly (third place), Jean Palmer (first place) and Jesse Northey-Baldwin (second place). The footy tippers won vouchers valued up to $150 to be spent at local businesses in Gunnedah.