BATH-BOUND Sam Burgess defied a fractured cheekbone to help South Sydney to a memorable NRL Grand Final victory in the "battle of Britons".

The former Bradford forward brushed off the sickening injury sustained in a clash of heads with his England teammate James Graham in the very first first tackle of a brutal clash to stay on for the full 80 minutes as the Rabbitohs secured a 30-6 win over Canterbury Bulldogs that earned them a first title since 1971.

It was an act of bravery that will earn Burgess a place in sporting folklore as he bowed out of rugby league amidst a flood of tears in front of a record crowd of 83,833 at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney.

"It's a crazy feeling," an emotional Burgess said, as he attempted to compose himself at the end of a game that was in the balance for an hour. "It's been a fantastic 12 months and what a way to finish it off."

Burgess is the first non-Australian to win the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match in an NRL Grand Final.

Burgess, 25, who has spent the last five seasons with the famous Rabbitohs club after being lured to the NRL by Russell Crowe, will now take up a three-year contract with Bath but his start in rugby union is likely to be delayed as he recovers from his horrific facial injury.

"It's f****d, it's gone," Burgess told television touchline reporter Brad Fittler as he came off the field at half-time.

Burgess explained later: "It feels like I cracked my eyeball in the first tack. I just played on adrenalin, my teammates talked me through it.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to be sore tomorrow but I would do it again, I'm just thankful to be in this position."

Burgess' twin brothers Tom and George also played their part in the epic victory. George was forced off with concussion after 23 minutes but returned shortly afterwards and, with the scores locked at 6-6, produced a barnstorming run to score the most important try of his career on 57 minutes.

That opened the floodgates as Souths ran in three further tries in the final quarter to end their 43-year wait for glory and secure a place in the World Club Challenge against Wigan or St Helens on Sunday, February 22.

Burgess' elation was in sharp contrast to the despair on the face of Graham, who became the first Englishman to lead a team out for an NRL Grand Final since Tommy Bishop in 1973 and played his heart out in a losing cause.

Graham emerged unscathed from his collision with Burgess, as he did from another accidental head clash that knocked out Souths forward Dave Tyrell in the second half.

There was, however, no disguising the pain and anguish as the former St Helens captain came to terms with a seventh Grand Final defeat.

He was a winner with Saints in 2006 but was in the losing side five times in a row at Old Trafford before leaving for Australia and Sunday's NRL Grand Final defeat was his second in three years.

Another British winner at the ANZ Stadium was Hull KR-bound former Warrington back rower Tyrone McCarthy, who scored the match-winning try that earned Northern Pride a 32-28 victory over Penrith Panthers in the inaugural State Championship.

Winger Javid Bowen, nephew of Wigan full-back Matt Bowen, scored a hat-trick of tries for the Cairns-based side, who had trailed 28-16 in the match played as a curtain-raiser to the NRL Grand Final.