Opinion
They say that defence wins footy games and that is what is going to win this year’s NRLW grand final between the Sydney Roosters and Cronulla Sharks.
I can’t wait for this game and I’m pleased for both teams that they have made it. The Sharks were the best team in the competition for the first six weeks and were unbeaten during that stretch.
The Roosters humbled them in Round 7 with a 40-0 thrashing followed by another two losses. But the Sharks surprised most of us with a win over the Broncos, securing their place in the decider in the team’s second year in the competition.
As for the Roosters, they are the most stacked team in the competition when it comes to representative players. After bowing out in the semi-finals for the last two years, it was a big moment for them to make the GF.
The challenge for the Sharks on Sunday is that the Roosters have some of the most talented players in the NRLW in their ranks. An attacking threat can come from anywhere on the field.
It could come through Isabelle Kelly who has regularly been making over 200 metres a game.
It could come through Amber Hall, who is an offloading machine. Hall is so hard to tackle and draws more than one defender creating plenty of space for those playing outside her.
Tarryn Aiken has continued to develop her playmaking ability with a shift to the halves this year. Despite being told about a month ago that she was likely to miss the rest of the season due to injury, she has fought back and played last week with painkilling injections and a heavily padded shoulder.
But the Sharks are not without attack threats of their own and the Roosters will no doubt be focused on the Sharks backline.
Emma Tonegato has shifted back to fullback, due to the injury to Jada Taylor. Tonegato is one of the most exciting players in the competition and her pace makes her a threat anywhere on the field.
Tiana Penitani and Annessa Biddle have been two of the best centres in the competition and are the perfect complement of a veteran player and an up and comer. Biddle is just in her second NRLW team in the competition and plays with such ferocity. She has the most post contact metres in the competition and will be hard to stop.
The Roosters celebrate a try scored by Sam Bremner. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)
Then there’s Georgia Hannaway. Dropped from Australian rugby sevens squad when she was injured, Hannaway found herself joining the Sharks with just 11 footy games under her belt. I’ve enjoyed her partnership with Tayla Preston, whose kicking game will be key to a Sharks victory.
What should also give the Sharks confidence is that they were able to hold the best attacking team in the competition to a duck egg (for the first time in the Broncos NRLW history) and they did so without one of their most important players, Holli Wheeler, who returns for the Grand Final after suspension.
For us as viewers, I have no doubt this will be a quality game of footy due to the calibre of players on the field.
When you look at both teams, its incredible how much experience at a top level so many players have.
The Roosters boast seven Jillaroos in their team and three women who have played for the Kiwi Ferns.
For the Sharks, they have six players who have represented a combination of Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji.
There are some tremendous stories for both teams, but none more impressive than that of Roosters fullback Samantha Bremner.
A pioneer in the women’s game, she has achieved it all including World Cup victories and State of Origin success. The one thing she has not achieved is an NRLW premiership.
It’s an incredible story given that Bremner came out of retirement just before Round 1 after the season-ending injury to Corban Baxter to help the Roosters. Her three children will no doubt be there to cheer their mum on.
But there are also 10 Sharks players who have featured in a grand final but never won one. Quincy Dodd is one of those players. She has featured in three. When she played for the Roosters, they lost one to the Broncos. Then she moved to the Dragons and lost another against the Roosters.
It may finally be her turn on Sunday afternoon. I’m tipping the Sharks in a close one with Tiana Penitani to win the Karyn Murphy Medal.
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