The blue and gold takeover of NRL grand final day is on after the Eels’ NRLW side joined the men with an almighty upset to seal a spot in their first women’s decider.
Despite only avoiding the embarrassment of finishing the season winless in the last round of the regular season, fourth-placed Parramatta stunned minor premiers and defending champions the Roosters with a 24-10 win at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
Dean Widders’ side will take on the Knights in the NRLW grand final, but only seven days earlier needed a surprise win over the Broncos to scrape into fourth spot on points differential with just one win from five games.
But they burst out of the blocks against a wasteful Roosters and never looked back to secure their first berth in an NRLW grand final.
“We just saw what the Parra boys have done over these last few weeks, turn up with the intent and the desire, and getting the job done no matter what,” Widders said. “It was a very similar performance from our side. It’s been picked up, you can see in the performance.
“The fans will love this week, but I know what they’ll love more: if we can both get the job done. We won’t just be happy to be there and I guarantee you the men’s team won’t just be happy to be there as well with all the preparation they’ve done.”
The Eels’ Tess Staines tries to crash through the Roosters defence.Credit:Getty
Eels captain Simaima Taufa was enormous against her old club and was so caught up in the emotion of the win, had to apologise after a slip of the tongue in her press conference.
“[The men’s win] helped us with us [also] striving to be there and it was a carrot dangling in front of our eyes [thinking], ‘f—, we’re going to represent western Sydney’,” Taufa said. “Sorry about the swearing. But we’re going to do it loud and proud.”
Eels halfback Tayla Preston scored one of the four tries and kicked all of her conversions with Widders to give star outside Tiana Penitani (quad) every chance to be fit for the grand final after missing the Roosters clash.
The Knights, who went winless in their foundation campaign earlier this year, powered into the grand final after a brutal performance from captain and star recruit Millie Boyle.
Rikeya Horne crashes over for the clinching try.Credit:NRL Photos
The former Broncos star scored a phenomenal solo try and ran for 233 metres in just 49 minutes as second-placed Newcastle eased past last year’s grand finalists the Dragons 30-6.
“Quite possibly the best performance by a skipper that I’ve seen in a very long period of time, particularly the last two weeks when we really needed something special,” Knights coach Ronnie Griffith said of Boyle.
“Today there were periods of time when we ask a fair bit of Millie defensively, then she has two carries a set. The coaches box went up [when she scored], we were in raptures.”
Fellow signing Tamika Upton bagged two tries and took bragging rights over St George Illawarra opposite Emma Tonegato, who was controversially adjudged to have bobbled the ball when she appeared to score with the Dragons trailing 12-6 in the first half.
“It was a try,” Dragons coach Jamie Soward said. “She still had her finger on it. It was a try. It changes the game.
“Newcastle were great and it’s going to be a great grand final, but it was a try. I don’t know why we took three minutes to look at it. They kept having a look at it and found a reason not to give it.
“When it was 18-6 and we had all the ball, you can get in those situations where you try really hard, and then it doesn’t come off for you. Then all of a sudden you leak a try and the last 15 minutes wasn’t us.”
Soward expressed concern about the looming transfer frenzy with four more teams – the Tigers, Sharks, Cowboys and Raiders – joining the NRLW competition next year.
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