There have been a few upsets over the weekend that are making this NRLW season fairly unpredictable.
We additionally had some new gamers enter the competitors, with New Zealand rugby sevens gold medallist Stacey Waaka that includes for the Brisbane Broncos and Tyla King operating out for St George Illawarra.
The Cronulla Sharks made it three in a row with a formidable win over the Canberra Raiders, the Broncos ignited their season with a 44-4 level win over the Gold Coast Titans and the Dragons delivered Tamika Upton her first loss ever at McDonald Jones Stadium with an 18-10 win over her Newcastle Knights.
Listed here are your speaking factors for Spherical 3.
The Sharks have introduced themselves
Earlier than the season, I had the Sharks being one of many groups difficult for the highest 4 however they’ve had a formidable begin to the season profitable their first three matches.
Their win in opposition to the high-flying Raiders on Saturday was their better of the season up to now, coming from 12-0 right down to ultimately win the sport 24-12.
There have been some nice particular person efforts. Tiana Penitani by no means gave up and was rewarded with a attempt within the forty sixth centre. Annessa Biddle continues her nice kind from season 2023 and scored from a scrum win within the 54th minute.
However the day actually belonged to Nakia Davis-Welsh who scored the match-winning attempt. Davis-Welsh performed for the Parramatta Eels final season after time away from the sport since 2017 to provide start to her two youngsters. It’s a outstanding return for a girl who has performed footy on the highest ranges.
Upsets galore continued
I used to be left misplaced for phrases after the Broncos’ thrashing of the Titans. The Titans had been my decide for the premiership in the beginning of the yr however had been left reeling by a relentless Broncos assault.
Solely a idiot writes off a staff that includes Ali Brigginshaw (who had two attempt assists), however the return of Gayle Broughton made a big distinction to the Broncos, notably in assault.
Ali Brigginshaw. (Picture by Albert Perez/Getty Photos)
Mele Hufunga was again to her greatest additionally with 4 tries, displaying her energy but additionally her pace.
My focus now shifts to the Titans and their match subsequent week in opposition to the Cowboys. It is going to be an enormous week for Karyn Murphy to assist flip the mentality of her squad round after such an enormous loss.
The Dragons submit their first win
It was a weekend of upsets, with the St George Illawarra Dragons off the mark with a win over the Newcastle Knights.
We had been handled to a dominant show by a number of the brightest stars within the recreation. Tamika Upton scored the Knights’ first attempt, then Tegan Berry additionally did the identical for the Dragons, burning the opposition down the precise.
It’s actually not panic stations for the Knights. They misplaced Caitlan Johnston-Inexperienced earlier than the sport and several other gamers in the course of the recreation together with Abigail Roache and Hannah Southwell. With the sport tied at half-time, the Knights struggled to match it bodily with the Dragons within the second half.
Fast hits
-Elsie Albert made a formidable 215 metres for the Eels.
-The Broncos win over the Titans was their biggest-ever NRLW win and it was additionally the Titans’ greatest NRLW loss.
-Elli Johnston has develop into a try-scoring machine. She has now scored seven tries in her final eight NRLW video games.
-One other participant who loves a attempt is Madison Bartlett, who has now scored seven tries within the Raiders’ final 5 dwelling video games. Her complete throughout her NRLW profession is 22 tries.
-Gosford continues to be a contented searching floor for the Roosters who’ve received all three video games that they’ve performed there.
-Millie Elliot was a stand out for the Roosters, operating for 202 metres and for the Tigers Leianne Tufuga and Rikeya Horne mixed for 324 metres.
Onto the subsequent
Subsequent weekend will nearly mark the midway level of the competitors so for some groups it truly is do or die.
I’m trying ahead to watching the match between the Broncos and the Raiders, however the match of the spherical shall be between the Sharks and the Knights. That recreation shall be a great alternative for the Sharks to see how they match up in opposition to the competitors heavyweights and the Knights shall be trying to bounce again after their loss to the Dragons.
The Tigers may even be trying to find their first win over the season in opposition to the Eels and shall be sweating on damage information for Kezie Apps and Concord Crichton.
