Brisbane have continued their winning ways in the NRL Telstra Women's Premiership with a comfortable 28-10 victory over a gallant Newcastle outfit in round two of the competition.
The Broncos weren't at their best in slippery conditions at WIN Stadium but combined enough well in key moments to record their second win of the season.
Tries to Millie Boyle and Tamika Upton set the tone for a 12-0 lead before Shenae Ciesiolka produced a fine effort to score the side's third of the afternoon.
Broncos debutant Hagiga Mosby then had a moment to remember when she finished off a scrum play on the left edge to score a try on debut.
Debutant Hagiga Mosby extends the Broncos lead
Newcastle were, for the most part, their own worst enemies with another week of poor completion rates and execution cruelling them.
However, they'll take away some positives from their second-ever performance with a gutsy defensive effort despite the result.
Tries to Knights pair Maitua Feterika and Jayme Fressard got the side within reach of a late comeback before a try through Broncos veteran Amy Turner sealed the win.
This article contains content that is only available on NRL.com
Match Snapshot
- Both sides struggled with completion rates throughout the 70 minutes with torrential rain throughout the clash;
- The Knights were denied a try in the 10th minute through Katelyn Vaha'akolo due to obstruction;
- Broncos forward Kaitlyn Phillips left the field in the 23rd minute with a knee injury after falling awkwardly in a tackle.
- Brisbane's forward pack were in control with Millie Boyle (193 metres), Amber Hall (123 metres) and Chelsea Lenarduzzi (102 metres) dominant in the middle.
- Three players scored their first tries in the NRLW - Hagiga Mosby, Shenae Ciesiolka and Jayme Fressard.
Tamika Upton finishes off a beautiful Broncos move
Plays of the Game
Tamika Upton and Shenae Ciesiolka scored a pair of classy tries in the greasy conditions to highlight the win.
Brisbane's right edge continued to fire for a second week with Upton's first half try a slick effort started by Ciesiolka.
The pair combined again in the second half to finish off a late Amber Hall offload with a long-range effort giving Ciesiolka her first NRLW try.
Shenae Ciesiolka scores her maiden NRLW try
What they said
"Realistically, when you are coming up against the competition frontrunners - and they have been for four years - with five minutes to go you want to be in the game, and we were. The squad that Brisbane had the last few years is different to the last few years. They are a good team and we can't take that away from them, but it just shows that if your pack is willing to take it to them there is opportunity there"- Knights coach Casey Bromilow on his team's performance.
Maitua Feterika gets the Knights on the board
"We only had captain's run yesterday. We hadn't seen each other since Tuesday. We got home in the early hours of Monday after our game last weekend and some people couldn't go home. There are some people who still haven't been back to their houses since that game. For a few players it puts a lot of pressure and stress on other areas so we just put football into perspective and that's why we ended up cancelling Thursday to make sure everyone got sorted outside of football. Hopefully everyone is getting back on their feet in the whole of south-east Queensland." - Broncos coach Kelvin Wright on the impact Brisbane's floods had on his team's preparation.
What's next
Brisbane to travel to CommBank Stadium next Sunday for a clash against the the competition's other unbeaten side the Dragons.
For the Knights, they'll join their male counterparts for a trip to the Sydney Cricket Ground for an entertaining double-header against the Roosters on Saturday.
Jayme Fressard can't be caught