3 months ago
20
The first match of the NRLW’s first Magic Round ended in the first draw in the competition’s history.
Wild weather put a dampener on the action in Newcastle as nearly 30mm of rain saturated the surface on Saturday morning before the first ball had been kicked.
A crowd of 13,000 was anticipated for the opening day’s play of what is a historic occasion for the women’s game, but relentless rain and strong winds kept away all but the most diehard Novocastrians, with only a few thousand fans braving the weather at McDonald Jones Stadium.
But the intensity of play matched the extremity of the weather, with four players leaving the field injured in the opening seven minutes of the 14-14 draw between the Bulldogs and the Titans.
It was the first time an NRLW match had gone to golden point in 2025 and just the fourth time since the competition was established in 2018, and after failed field goal attempts and plenty of dropped ball, the teams could not be separated when the final whistle was blown.
Bulldogs skipper Tayla Preston pushed her only field goal attempt of the first half of extra time to the right, and the Titans couldn’t get the ball close enough for halfback Lauren Brown to try and replicate her heroics from game two of the 2023 Origin series.
Bulldogs skipper Tayla Preston.Credit: Getty Images
A knock-on in front of the sticks for the Gold Coast and another bungled field-goal opportunity for Canterbury saw the teams go the full 80 minutes with the scores unchanged as lighting descended on Newcastle.
It was the boot of Preston that had kept the Bulldogs in the match to begin with, after Canterbury trailed by 10 at half-time.
Preston kicked a 40/20 to set up winger Elizabeth MacGregor for her second try of the afternoon to lock the scores at 14-all.
The Bulldogs had the momentum and looked the more likely winner when Titans forward Jasmine Solia was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder charge on Monica Tagoai, who subsequently left the field for a head injury assessment. But the Gold Coast managed to survive the last 10 minutes to force added time.
It had been a dramatic start to the match, with Shannon Muru, Lily Patson, Shaniece Monschau and Paea Uilou all coming from the field injured in the opening seven minutes, though the Bulldogs trio of Muru, Monschau and Uilou all eventually returned to play.
It was an equally dramatic finish, with neither team able to ice the key moments in rain that was at times so heavy the players could barely see the ball.
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