The Broncos have secured a spot in next week's semi-finals after defeating the Dragons 46-12 at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Saturday night.
It was the battle for the top try scorer merits with both Teagan Berry and Mele Hufanga going head-to-head for the award, although it was the Broncos winger Julia Robinson who stole the show scoring a hat-trick, running for 230 metres, and having seven tackle breaks.
The first ten minutes saw the Dragons defending repeat sets, before Robinson was able to find an overlap and open the scoring by going over in the corner.
The Dragons hit back with a try on debut when second row Ellie Williamson broke through the Broncos defensive line untouched in the 16th minute. A conversion from Raecence McGregor put the Dragons in the lead 6-4.
It didn’t take long for the Broncos to take the momentum back, scoring two back-to-back tries under the posts through Destiny Brill and Ali Brigginshaw in the space of three minutes. This saw the Broncos push out their lead to 16-6.
Ali Brigginshaw Try
The Broncos extended their lead even further, when Hufanga busted through the defensive line scoring her ninth try in nine games. With Brigginshaw converting the Broncos went into half-time leading 22-6.
The second half started off bumpy with both teams knocking on their first touches, and it wasn’t until some first half deja vu which saw both Robinson and Hufanga going over for their second tries of the match.
Mele Hufanga Try
It was the speed of Berry which brought the Dragons back into the game, halting the Broncos try scoring momentum, as she raced away for her first try of the match in the 57th minute making the score read 32-12 in favour of the visitors.
After threating to score all night, Shenae Ciesiolka went over for a try double in the space of two minutes, before Robinson put the final touches on the match scoring her third try right on the brink of full time.
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Match Snapshot
- Dragons five-eighth Tyla Nathan-Wong was stretchered from the field in the 58th minute and did not return after failing her head injury assessment.
- Broncos centres Mele Hufanga and Shenae Ciesiolka finished the match with a double each.
- Teagan Berry finished the regular season as the NRLW's top tryscorer for 2023 season after crossing for a try in the 48th minute to take her tally to 11.
- Dragons forward Ellie Williamson had a debut to remember with a first-half try and three tackle breaks in her 63-minute stint at second row.
Play of the Game
It was Julia Robinson who stole the show for the Broncos as she scored the first try of each half and the last try of the match. But it was her final efforts that saw her run the length of the field to put the game to bed right on fulltime.
Julia Robinson Try
What They Said
“We looked tired, we tried hard. A lot of young girls there, probably would’ve been a bit hard to watch at certain stages, but it’s just been a long season. On reflection I am always proud of the group and I thought at stages there we tried hard. But with the letdown of losing last week and the season being done, it was an experience for me as a coach and I don’t even know if I got the prep right in trying to motivate the girls. But I’ll wear tonight, it’s my fault and I will be better at prepping the girls and hopefully I won’t be in that situation again.” - Dragons coach Jamie Soward
Dragons: Round 9
“We played some good footy in patches and there are certainly areas there that we could ice, as far as dropping the ball first or second tackle. It puts a lot of pressure on us, but I was really impressed with the most part of that game and I thought a lot of our girls did their job well, but overall, we obviously won the game and bought ourselves a ticket into the semis.” - Broncos coach Scott Prince
Broncos: Round 9
What's Next
The Broncos have secured a top four spot but will have to wait for the result of Sundays game between the Raiders and Titans to see who they will be playing next week.
The Dragons who will not be playing finals footy for the first time since 2021, but Jamie Soward’s team will be looking forward to the 2024 season after the announcement their fullback Tegan Berry has signed on until 2025.