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The Sydney Roosters avenged last year's grand final loss to Brisbane with a record-equalling 30-6 win, completing an undefeated season and sending retiring stars out on a high.
The Sydney Roosters have won the NRLW grand final, defeating the Brisbane Broncos 30-6 to avenge last year's defeat and complete an undefeated season. The victory equalled the biggest winning margin in an NRL grand final and sent retiring stars Millie Elliott and Corban Baxter out on a high.
Sydney Roosters Dominate NRLW Grand Final
Led by halves Jocelyn Kelleher and Tarryn Aiken, the Roosters produced a footballing lesson in power, precision and skill. Winger Brydie Parker scored a hat-trick, while a charging try from prop Amber Hall put an exclamation mark on the win. The Roosters have now won 30 of their past 31 games. The Roosters scored six tries to lead 26-0 at half-time, the largest advantage in history in an NRLW decider.
They shrugged off a shaky start, when winger Jayme Fressard sent the ball over the sideline attempting to trap it with her foot from the kick-off, to turn in a clinical display. Kelleher, who wore the No.7 in last year's decider and blamed herself for the late Broncos try that secured the 2025 title, more than atoned. She conjured an inch-perfect cross-field kick for Parker to score the opening try and finished with two try assists and two linebreak assists.
Aiken missed last year's grand final after rupturing her ACL in the final round of the regular season. She took control with her elite skillset, scoring a try and setting up two others in the opening half as part of a scintillating scrum move with Kelleher and Baxter that put captain Isabelle Kelly in. Aiken's next bomb was bungled by the Broncos and Fressard swooped. Aiken and Kelly then sent Parker in for her second, before Hall crashed over.
Roosters Withstand Brisbane Second-Half Challenge
Brisbane came out stronger in the second half and kept the Roosters out for the first 20 minutes, but Parker completed her hat-trick in the second period. Last year the Tricolours were unbeaten until the decider, which the Broncos won 22-18 with a late and controversial try.
Four-time premiership winners Brisbane, who had not previously lost a decider, saved one of their worst games of the season for last, slumping to a completion rate of 60 per cent and being restricted to 10 minutes fewer with the ball than the Roosters. The result marked a sorry ending to the stellar club career of retiring great Ali Brigginshaw, the incumbent Jillaroos captain and arguably the NRLW's most influential player.
Even three-time Dally M Medallist Tamika Upton, the incumbent Australian and Queensland fullback, had trouble with Kelleher's bombs at the back. The Broncos' 30-6 victory over the Dragons in the 2019 decider, back when the competition was four teams and a four-week season, set the record for the highest winning margin, which the Roosters equalled on Sunday.
NRLW Competitive Balance Questions Remain
The NRLW has faced questions over the distribution of talent and the pace of its expansion, with critics arguing the Roosters and Broncos are too far ahead of the rest of the league. Sunday's grand final, in which predictions of another close contest fell flat, suggested the league still does not have the competitive balance quite right. The Roosters' triumph gave their club the perfect start ahead of Sunday night's NRL decider against Newcastle.
7NewsAustralia
brisbanetimes:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
NRLW Sydney Roosters Brisbane Broncos Grand Final Rugby League NRLW Grand Final Brydie Parker Hat-Trick Undefeated Season
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