Brisbane are eying a Broncos NRLW dynasty after steamrolling St George Illawarra 30-6 to claim their second straight title.
A year after dismantling the Roosters in the grand final, the Broncos dominated the Dragons from the opening minutes in Sunday afternoon’s decider at ANZ Stadium.
It came after five Broncos defected to the Dragons at the end of last season, setting up an intense rivalry between the star-studded teams.
But it had little effect on Brisbane, who have lost just one match in the competition’s two-year history and see no reason why their dominance can’t continue.
“The hope is for next year that everyone returns and we just continue this,” captain Ali Brigginshaw said.
“Whoever is picked to wear this jersey just buys into it and follows the values.
“It just goes to show that we have faith and the coaches to pick the right people who pick the club.
“Whoever the coach picked or the team signed, they just pulled on the jersey and get the job done.”
Brigginshaw controlled the match with ease and former Dragon Raecene McGregor was impressive alongside her at five-eighth.
Forwards Millie Boyle and Amber Hall dominated the middle as the Broncos ran almost double the metres as the Dragons and had 63 per cent of the ball.
Former Dragon Annette Brander, named Karyn Murphy medallist, was also dangerous on the edge.
Such was Brisbane’s dominance, the Dragons had just nine play-the-balls in Brisbane’s half in the opening 50 minutes.
“It was definitely a game plan to go through the middle. That’s where we felt we had a big advantage,” coach Daniel Lacey said.
Everything that could go wrong did for the Dragons in front of 36,785 people.
Star hooker Brittany Breayley missed part of the first half with an ankle injury while youngster Maddison Weatherall was taken to hospital after a bad leg cut.
Takiele Katoa also hurt her shoulder in the second half, as did Australian lock Holli Wheeler as they finished with just one on their bench.
The Saints also made errors at the worst times, including a first-half fumble in a scrum after the Broncos made a push against the feed.
After Lavinia Gould opened Brisbane’s account in the fourth minute out of dummy-half, McGregor made the most of the scrum error when she stepped over in the next set.
Brigginshaw landed the knockout blow after the break when she put winger Julia Robinson over with a sharp cut-out ball to make it 18-0.
Forward Chelsea Lenarduzzi and Amber Pilley extended the lead with tries before Kezie Apps scored a late consolation four-pointer for the Dragons.
“I was watching through split fingers,” Dragons coach Daniel Lacey said.
“I don’t know how to explain it … The stats don’t lie. I don’t need to bring it up. It was obvious. They outplayed us.”
