With just two rounds to go in the National Women’s Rugby League Premiership, there are still six teams fighting it out for top-four spots: the Cronulla Sharks, Sydney Roosters, Brisbane Broncos, Newcastle Knights, Parramatta Eels and the North Queensland Cowboys, with the Gold Coast Titans joining the teams that cannot make finals.
It was a high-scoring round with some impressive tries and dominant displays. The Roosters had a huge win over the Sharks and the Broncos upset the Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Here are your talking points for Round 7.
I thought the Dragons would be riding high after their huge win over Parramatta last week, but instead there was an announcement on Monday that coach Jamie Soward would not be required for 2025.
Soward has been at the Dragons since 2021 and last year extended for a further two seasons.
Given the Dragons missed finals last year, I can understand why they may have been looking for a fresh start, but I found the timing of the announcement odd; just after a big win over Parramatta and with the Dragons still a slight chance of playing finals footy at that point (they can no longer make finals after a loss this weekend).
I wonder why the club decided not to wait until the end of the season to make this announcement? It has almost certainly derailed the rest of the season and clearly left a bitter taste in Soward’s mouth.
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I could not have possibly predicted that the Roosters would beat the Sharks 40-0.
The Sharks have been the in-form team of the competition and were unbeaten leading into this match. It was seen as the last big test for the Sharks who seemed to be cruising toward the minor premiership.
But it was not to be.
Isabelle Kelly of the Roosters is tackled by Emma Tonegato of the Sharks. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The Roosters have been up and down this season but showed their class with a dominant display with tries to seven different players. The only concern is an AC joint injury for Tarryn Aiken who did not finish the match.
With just two rounds to go, the Sharks still sit on top of the ladder but are only two points ahead of the Roosters. It’s also unclear what impact such a big loss will have on their confidence going forward.
Both teams have challenging runs home with the Sharks set to face the Broncos, who will be riding high after beating the Knights, and then the Tigers, with the Roosters having games against North Queensland and then the Eels. The minor premiership may end up coming down to the final week.
It was last chance saloon for the Titans and Parramatta this weekend. The winner would still have a slim chance of playing finals footy in 2024, whilst the loser would not feature in the finals.
It was always going to be a tough ask for the Eels, given the injury to Kennedy Cherrington last week and disappointing losses to the Knights and Dragons in the last two weeks, but it was the Eels who were victorious 24-14 in one of their bravest performances to date.
The Eels only had 43 per cent of possession and in the second half were defending what felt like set after set. The Eels made 310 tackles compared to the Titans 224, but for the most part, the Eels’ goal-line defence stood strong.
There were some stand-out performances for the Eels. Elsie Albert scored a double and was damaging with ball in hand running for 152 metres. Rory Owen scored one of the tries of the season, brushing off Evania Pelite and is a player to watch for the future.
The Titans will be extremely disappointed with their season after making the grand final last year, but at times there was just too much dependence on Lauren Brown.
– Isabelle Kelly was a standout for the Roosters. She ran 250 metres and scored a try.
– The Sharks nine-game winning streak has come to an end. This was their first loss in the NRLW this season.
– The Canberra Raiders scored four tries in the final 14 minutes to beat the St George Illawarra Dragons 38-34. Madi Bartlett, Teagan Berry, Grace Kemp and Alexis Tauaneai all scored doubles.
The Wests Tigers were unlucky against the North Queensland Cowboys after dominating most of the key statistics.
They have another chance to get their first win of the season when they take on the St George Illawarra Dragons.
The Sharks have another tough assignment against the Broncos and the Eels need to beat the Raiders to keep their finals hopes alive.
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