Match Centre

Grand Final: NRLW GRAND FINAL PREVIEW: Roosters v Broncos

It all comes down to this: a Grand Final that you didn't need a crystal ball to predict would be the ultimate outcome as the Minor Premiers, the Sydney Roosters, take on the Brisbane Broncos in Sunday's decider.

Coming through the season undefeated, the Sydney Roosters were two steps ahead of everyone in the competition, as they were able to blitz opponents with ease throughout the season, winning by 12 points or more in all but one of their games, which came against the Broncos early in the season. The season, though, was not all smooth sailing for the Roosters, as key injuries hampered them, testing their extra-strong depth. This included missing Tarryn Aiken for the first part of the season, an injury to Corbin Baxter, and then losing Aiken to an ACL injury at the end of the season.

Last week, the Roosters faced their strongest test in the Preliminary Final as they had to pull out a 17-16 victory over the Cronulla Sharks in Gosford last Saturday night. The tricolours put in an unusually poor performance by their standards, as errors riddled their performance, resulting in a 73% completion rate. The Roosters took a 10-6 lead into the halftime break before putting a try inside the first five minutes of the second half to extend the lead to 16-6. From there, the Roosters came under pressure late in the game when Brydie Parker was sin-binned for a professional foul and the Sharks levelled the game at 16 all. A late Jocelyn Kelleher field goal sealed the 17-16 victory.

Roosters coach John Strange has been forced into one change with New Zealand International Amber Hall in doubt for the contest with a calf injury seeing her pushed to the reserves. Aliah Nasio comes back from suspension into the second row with Taina Naividi back on the wing and Mia Wood on the bench.

Just like the Roosters, the Broncos have been dominant in the competition, winning all but one game, which was against the Roosters back in Round 3. Despite having one loss, Brisbane was the best attacking team, averaging almost 38 points per game in the regular season, and also the best defensive team, conceding just under 12 points per game during the season. The only thing stopping the Broncos from being the undefeated team was a poor first half in that game against the Roosters, which they ultimately lost.

The preliminary final performance for Brisbane looked perfect on the scoreboard, but there were plenty of red flags in their 30-6 victory over the Knights at Suncorp Stadium. Despite pure dominance on the scoreboard and in the stats, the big red flag for Scott Prince would be the error rate with the Broncos only completing at 56% with plenty of errors, which a team like the Roosters would capitalise on with ease, whereas the Knights couldn't do that, which saved the Broncos last week. 

There are no injury concerns for the Broncos and no team changes giving Scott Prince no real selection headaches.

Last meeting: Round 3 2025 - Broncos 26 Roosters 30

Who to watch: In a team filled with origin stars, Taina Naividi has been a star for the Roosters this season and after moving to the second row last week, she goes back to her natural wing position where she has been a star. Naividi has been a strong finisher for the Tricolours and defensively she was strong last week and could be the unsung hero for the Roosters.

Broncos superstar Ali Brigginshaw is in the sunset of her career and after an underwhelming Origin series mid-year, the Broncos captain has been strong this season and her poise and control of the game could be key for Brisbane. The Broncos will need her to be at her very best for the win.

Favourite: Despite an undefeated season from the Tricolours, the Aiken and Hall injuries have seen the Broncos surge into favouritism for their first title since 2020.

My tip: For so long I thought the Roosters, but the Broncos are jumping out as the team with the x-factor to win the Grand Final. The game will be decided in the last few minutes, and in warm conditions, it could become survival of the fittest, and I think that might just be Brisbane having played in similar conditions the week before. The impact of Ali Brigginshaw and Tamika Upton in attack might be the key.. Broncos by 6.