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Now this is what you call “doing a Bradbury”.
After the Roosters lost their final round match against the Dragons by 16-10 at Kogarah Oval a fortnight ago, dropping them to fifth on the ladder in the process, they needed to pray for a miracle on the final day if they were to take their place in the semi-finals.
That miracle came when the Brisbane Broncos thrashed the Parramatta Eels by 38-4 in the final match of the regular season, which dropped the Eels’ points differential below that of the Roosters, thus allowing the ladies from Bondi to finish fourth on the ladder.
They then pulled off a miracle of their own in the preliminary final, coming from 16-0 down to upset the Broncos by 22-16 and ensure that we’d have a new NRLW premier after three seasons of dominance by the northerners.
Going into their third decider, many asked whether the Chooks could carry on that momentum against a Dragons side which had been more consistent throughout the season, winning four of their five regular season matches as well as the preliminary final against the Titans.
The Dragons, who started favourites to claim their first title, started brightly when winger Madison Bartlett scored off the scrum feed after just two minutes, punishing the Roosters who’d come up with the first error of the match.
The missed conversion from Rachael Pearson left the score at 4-0.
Jamie Soward’s side continued to attack the Roosters line, but could not come up with the chocolates, and were later reduced to 12 women when Taliah Fuimaono was sin-binned for a high shot on Brydie Parker, who suffered a suspected ACL injury in the same play.
This forced the Roosters to activate their 18th player, Joeli Morris, for what would be her NRLW debut.
Keeley Davis then thought she’d scored her side’s second try in the shadows of half-time, and just as Pearson looked set to line up for the easiest of conversions, the bunker intervened and overturned it after replays showed that a Roosters player had touched the ball.
After the second half commenced, the Dragons were denied again when Talei Holmes was held up over the tryline by ex-teammate Jessica Sergis, then Fuimaono was penalised for an obstruction play when in possession, thus turning the ball over.
The Roosters immediately cashed in, scoring their first try of the afternoon through Yasmin Makes, and the unsuccessful conversion from Zehara Temara left the score at 4-all with over 20 minutes of the match remaining.
Ultimately it was the ladies from Bondi that finished stronger; after another penalty against the Red V, Isabelle Kelly finished off a brilliant play by the Roosters to score, with the successful conversion from Temara seeing them take a 10-4 lead.
As the clock wound down, the Dragons tried everything they could to level the scores, but their desperation and poor decision making under pressure saw them turn the ball over once again and it was left to Olivia Higgins to score under the posts for the Roosters.
The successful conversion from Temara saw them skip out to a 16-4 lead and that would prove to be the final score, the result seeing the Roosters become the second team in the competition’s short history to take out the premiership.
(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
It marked the second consecutive week that they were able to come from behind to win, while it was also the first time the Dragons had lost a match after leading at the long break.
It was a well-deserved win for the Roosters, who had started the season poorly losing their first two matches, and whose finals hopes were left hanging in the balance after they, as mentioned at the top of the article, lost their final round match to the Dragons by 16-10.
But after earning their stay of execution, and then falling behind 16-0 early in their preliminary final against the Broncos, they sparked into action and after two previous grand final defeats at the hands of the northerners, finally got to experience their day in the sun.
Forward Sarah Togatuki, who successfully sought a downgrade on a high tackle charge at the tribunal on Tuesday night, won the Karyn Murphy Medal as the best-on-ground, while it was also a fitting 28th birthday present for captain Corban Baxter.
Raecene McGregor also became a three-time premiership player, adding her medallion to those she won with the Broncos in 2019 and 2020, while sister Page (Dragons) remains in pursuit of her own title glory.
For the Dragons, going from wooden spooners in 2020 to premiers in a short space of time proved a bridge too far, but after years of struggle they were finally able to realize their potential and they should be proud of what they have achieved this season.
Jamie Soward, who was a premiership player with the Dragons in 2010, was earlier in the week named as the NRLW coach of the year for his efforts in turning the side’s fortunes around, as well as unearthing unheralded players such as Emma Tonegato, Teagan Berry, Madison Bartlett and Rachael Pearson.
Tonegato was jointly named the Dally M Player of the Year with Millie Boyle, and was one of the Dragons’ best making 206 metres from 24 runs with the football, but it would not be enough.
It is the second time the Red V have fallen short on grand final day, after being on the wrong end of a 30-6 masterclass by the Broncos in 2019.
There is no doubt their time will come and they would love nothing more than to finally mount the premiership dais while captain Kezie Apps, who turned 31 earlier this year, is still playing.
It also remains to be seen whether Sam Bremner, who sat out the first season after giving birth to her second child, will return to the side in the second season to be held this year, which will take place in August/September and remain at six clubs.
After the 2022 NRLW season, the league will expand to eight sides the following year, and then to ten sides in 2024, ensuring the spread of talent across the game as well as equal opportunity for each club to achieve what the Broncos (three times) and Roosters have done.
To finish off, congratulations to the Sydney Roosters on a premiership well deserved, made even more remarkable considering the situation they found themselves in halfway through Round 5 and the fact they were able to put a pause on the Broncos’ dynasty for the moment.
With the delayed 2021 NRLW season officially over, players will now return to their state leagues, during which they will stake their claims for State of Origin selection with the match to be played at GIO Stadium in Canberra on Friday, June 24.
Then of course we do it all over again towards the end of the year, with the grand final likely to be played on the same day as the men’s decider at Accor Stadium on Sunday, October 2.
Question is, can the Roosters win two premierships this calendar year, or will the Broncos prove they are not yet a spent force and bounce back from their shock preliminary final exit to once again mount the premiership dais?
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