One year after the greatest and most controversial grand final in the NRLW, we’re right back where we were 12 months ago.
Once again the Roosters will face Brisbane, with the Broncos all that stands between the Tricolours and a perfect season.
But while the season seems to be ending in the same place, the changes in the two sides, plus those that loom in the near future, make this game feel like the end of an era.
Roosters Millie Elliott and Corban Baxter will retire after the match, while New South Wales Origin prop Rima Butler is bound for Wests Tigers.
But where they limped into the decider last year, without injured halfback Tarryn Aiken and winger Taina Naividi after she broke down at the club’s final training session, this time they’re fully loaded.
The Broncos have not quite been the dominant force they were last year but they showed their class downing the Gold Coast in last week’s preliminary final and have extra motivation of their own.
Ali Brigginshaw, one of the icons of the NRLW’s early years, will be playing her last game before hanging up the boots.
Throw in lingering feelings from last year’s 22-18 Broncos victory, which was sealed by a contentious try to Brisbane centre Mele Hufanga with three minutes left, and the stakes could not be higher.
The Roosters are determined to run towards the bad memories, having watched a replay of the match together before the season began.
“We’re building on the feelings from last year,” five-eighth Jocelyn Kelleher said.
“It was a big theme of our pre-season camp.
“We watched it all together and it was really hard. There were a lot of people getting emotional but it was dead silent. It was so eerie.
“We all feel the hurt and the pain from last year. We won’t let it happen again. We’ve worked so hard to fix those little things that went wrong last year.”
After another undefeated regular season, that grand final loss is the only time the Roosters have had their colours lowered in the past two years, giving them 30 wins from their last 31 starts.
The Roosters have humbled their opponents this year. (Getty Images: Mark Metcalfe)
It meant they’d forgotten what defeat could even feel like. While they’ll keep talk about it to a minimum this week, there’s no doubt it hangs over them like a spectre.
“At the time, it was a weird feeling because the result was disappointing, but there was a lot of things in the lead-up that didn’t go our way,” hooker Keeley Nizza said.
“That’s rugby league though and we still had the opportunity to win it but we didn’t. The way we rallied together and played well regardless of the result, it brought us closer together.
“We won’t speak about it too much, so it won’t need to be brought up. It’s always with us. Every year there’s a new squad and a new feel, but we won’t forget.”
That possibility of a new squad in 2027 is why the match feels like the end of something.
Elliott is a Test and Origin mainstay, Baxter has played for the club since 2019, Butler has blossomed since joining Newcastle, and each of them leaves a serious hole in the roster with their departure.
Millie Boyle is one of three key players appearing in their last game for the Roosters. (Getty Images: Matt King)
The Roosters have done an excellent job identifying and progressing talent through their women’s program, but all three are exceptionally difficult to replace.
While the club will be a premiership threat for some years to come, this game could mark the end of the club as a historically dominant force.
The combined impact of the departing trio makes them just a little more like everyone else, which could make this their last chance at the elusive perfect season.
Brisbane have already felt the pinch hurting the Roosters now. They have eight changes from last year’s grand final, including Hufanga, who left for the Warriors.
But they did welcome in Blues halfback Jesse Southwell, and with her and Brigginshaw calling the shots, the Broncos attack is sure to fire.
Plus the defending premiers boast newly minted three-time Dally M and two-time Karyn Murphy Medal winner Tamika Upton, who’s won three of the past four premierships across two different clubs.
Given her record in big matches, she’s sure to put her stamp on the game and is good enough to win it almost on her own, meaning the result is well and truly up for grabs.
The Roosters were in imperious form to end the regular season, winning their last four regular season games by a combined total of 200 points to 34, but any thought of catching them complacent was ended in the preliminary final against Canberra.
The gallant Raiders gave a fine account of themselves in an intensely physical encounter, and the 20-10 Roosters win has them primed to hit their straps when it matters most.
“That’s the sorest I’ve felt all year,” Kelleher said.Â
“We absolutely bashed each other up on that field for 70 full minutes.”
“We showed our mindset, that we could go through the grit and the arm wrestle. It’s the perfect lead in to a grand final.”
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