Upton becomes first NRLW player to win five premierships as Broncos end Roosters’ run

2 days ago 4

Undefeated all season, the Roosters weren’t able to get the job done when it mattered most.

In 32 degree heat at Accor Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Broncos ended the Tricolours’ 18-match winning streak with a 22-18 victory to claim the NRLW premiership – their first since 2020.

Broncos fullback Tamika Upton, the 2025 Dally M medal winner, is now the first NRLW player to win five premierships – a perfect 5/5 record in grand finals for the game’s best player.

Fittingly, it was Upton who scored the Broncos first try of the afternoon, slicing her way through the Roosters line from a scrum play to break open the game after 17 relentless minutes.

The final five minutes of the match were chaos and carnage, as Isabelle Kelly, Keeley Davis and Rima Butler all went down injured but persevered for the Tricolours – Davis with her eye closing up from an earlier knock, Butler with a tennis ball sized egg on her face following a head clash with Olivia Kernick.

But with a premiership on the line, and the Roosters battered and bruised, it was Broncos centre Mele Hufanga – who had been so dangerous all afternoon – that barged across to score the match-winner for Brisbane.

Hufanga was awarded for her heroics with the Karyn Murphy medal – the player of the match – finishing the game with 199 rune metres, two line breaks, a try and a line-break assist.

As veteran skipper Ali Brigginshaw came from the field in the final 30 seconds following a head knock, she was cheered off like a champion, before storming the field again as a brawl erupted at full-time with tensions running high and the Tricolours hurting from defeat.

Broncos centre Julia Robinson was left bloodied after she and Aliyah Nasio threw punches on the siren.

It was never going to be easy for the Roosters to go back-to-back after winning the 2024 grand final.

When they lost halfback Tarryn Aiken – last year’s Karyn Murphy medal winner – in the final match of the regular season to an ACL injury, the Roosters were forced to adjust in time for finals.

Corban Baxter was moved into the halves, with Brydie Parker shifted to fullback.

But after Parker went off for a head injury assessment, and the Roosters went to the sheds at half-time down 12-0, coach John Strange shuffled again.

Baxter was moved to fullback once more, with Parker pushed to the wing. It ended up being a masterstroke from the Dally M coach of the year, as Parker burnt the Broncos defence to score the Roosters’ first try after 45 minutes and spark a Tricolours comeback.

Eliza Lopamaua and Mia Wood went back-to-back to give the Roosters the lead for the first time that afternoon, but the Broncos weren’t going down without a fight.

Shalom Sauaso scored in the 60th minute to keep Brisbane in the game, and they trailed by two after Romy Teitzel shanked the conversion, before Hufanga charged across to hand the Broncos their fourth NRLW premiership.