The Newcastle Knights have gained the NRLW premiership in simply their second season following a convincing 32-12 defeat of Parramatta within the grand closing at Sydney’s Olympic stadium.
Key factors:
- Knights fullback Tamika Upton was awarded the Karyn Murphy Medal
- The Knights scored seven tries to 2 in opposition to the Eels
- They’d did not win a match of their first NRLW season
The Knights had been wood spooners of their debut NRLW marketing campaign earlier this 12 months, failing to win any of their 5 matches.
However a superb recruiting technique – which introduced Brisbane Broncos premiership winners Millie Boyle and Tamika Upton to the Knights – and religion proven within the membership’s juniors similar to 17-year-old Jesse Southwell helped arrange the premiership triumph.
Upton’s position within the Knights’ victory was mirrored within the fullback being awarded the Karyn Murphy Medal because the participant of the match.
The Knights scored seven tries to 2 in opposition to the Eels, who had been additionally contesting their second NRLW season.
The Eels pulled off the upset of the season once they beat the beforehand undefeated Sydney Roosters of their elimination semifinal final Sunday.
They solely simply scrapped into the finals, with their sole win of the minor premiership coming within the closing spherical once they beat three-time premiers Brisbane.
However the Eels weren’t overawed by the event on grand closing day and so they opened the scoring within the twelfth minute when hooker Brooke Anderson touched down for a close-range attempt.
Anderson caught the Knights’ goal-line defence napping, having formed to go proper from dummy half earlier than burrowing her method over to the left of the posts, giving Tayla Preston a straightforward conversion try from the tee.
Preston added the extras to assist the Eels to an early 6-0 lead, nevertheless it didn’t take lengthy for the Knights to discover a response.
Camped deep contained in the Eels’ half, the Knights had been rewarded for his or her second-phase play when a superb Upton offload within the deal with helped create an overlap to ship winger Kiana Takairangi over untouched in the suitable nook.
The conversion try was missed, nevertheless the Knights seized the lead solely three minutes later by way of a attempt to Emmanita Paki.
The Knights established their 14-6 half-time lead seven minutes from the break by way of Romy Teitzel’s transformed attempt.
Halfback Southwell confirmed off her excellent play-making expertise, taking the ball to the defensive position earlier than executing a neat draw-and-pass transfer that noticed second-rower Teitzel steam by way of a gaping gap to attain.
Kirra Dibb transformed to provide the Knights their eight-point buffer on the scoreboard.
The Knights prolonged their result in 18-6 early within the second half, with Upton crossing on the left edge.
Upton used her spectacular velocity to get on the skin of Preston and capitalise on the strain the Knights had constructed by way of their assault.
Trailing by 12 factors, the Eels refused to hold their heads and so they struck again when captain Simaima Taufa crashed over from a fast faucet for a attempt beneath the posts.
Preston transformed the attempt to lower the Knights’ result in 18-12.
The Eels appeared on the verge of levelling the rating within the 57th minute, with Gayle Broughton touching down on an attacking kick from Preston into the in-goal space.
However the attempt was disallowed after Broughton was penalised for pushing Knights’ Yasmin Clydsdale within the again.
It proved to be the Eels’ closing real scoring likelihood, earlier than the Knights iced their deserved victory by way of late tries to Takairangi, Southwell and Clydsdale.