Brisbane have continued their NRLW dominance with an incredible three-peat after defeating the Sydney Roosters 20-10 in Sunday’s grand final.
Continuing an era of excellence for the Queensland side, the Broncos shot out to a 12-0 lead early but were pushed by a determined Roosters side at a wet ANZ Stadium.
It was a gutsy win for the Broncos led by skipper Ali Brigginshaw who earlier in the week was awarded the Dally M Medal.
The Jillaroos star was moved from the halves to lock before the match and threw a smart pass for Tallisha Harden for the game-sealer in the 45th minute.
Remarkably, in three years of the NRLW competition the Broncos have lost just one game and won all three premierships.
The Roosters mounted a huge challenge in the first half, responding from the early setbacks with two powerful tries.
High completions helped them build pressure at the end of the first half as Yasmin Meakes and Quincy Dodd both crossed to narrow the deficit to two points at halftime.
But the Broncos soon responded when towering prop Chelsea Lenarduzzi bulldozed over from close to the line in the 35th minute to go ahead by a converted try.
And despite a spirited fight back from the Roosters, the Broncos had the class to hold on for their fifth straight win.
Brisbane’s Amber Hall had a barnstorming return to the field after serving a one-week suspension for a dangerous tackle on on St George Illawarra’s Isabelle Kelly in round two.
The Broncos second-rower had a hand in two first-half tries within eight minutes and was difficult to handle on the left edge, finishing with 141 metres, four tackle-breaks, three offloads and a line-break.
First points came after Hall’s quick play-the-ball, allowing halfback Tarryn Aitken to break the line from 40 metres out and throw an inside ball to Tamika Upton to score her fifth try of the season.
Then Hall did it all herself when she powered through the defence from 30 metres out, brushing off players to score and open up a 12-0 lead.
For the Roosters, fullback Botille Vette-Welsh made a starring return from a hamstring injury, while Hannah Southwell and Sarah Togatuki were also strong.
It was the second grand final loss for the Roosters who also went down to the Broncos 34-12 in the inaugural NRLW season in 2018.