Nathan Cross’ Dragons fought hard but fell to the defending premier Brisbane Broncos 24-16 at WIN Stadium on Sunday.
The clash marked the final home game of Teagan Berry and Zali Hopkins’ Dragons careers as they embark on new journeys in 2027 and beyond.
The statsheet read strongly in favour of the Red V who dominated the possession, yardage, and tackle breaking battles but it was the class of Brisbane’s one-two punch of Tamika Upton – 226 metres, four line breaks, two try assists – and 50-gamer Jesse Southwell – five line break assists, two try assists, four-from-four on conversions – which pushed the visitors to victory.
Match: Dragons v Broncos
Round 10 -
home Team
Dragons
12th Position
away Team
Broncos
3rd Position
Venue: WIN Stadium, Wollongong
The Dragons got off to a horror start with a spilt bomb gifting the Broncos first points as Jesse Southwell put Julia Robinson over in the northeastern corner before the Dragons had touched the ball.
The Dragons manufactured a hit-back not long after with Ella Koster the beneficiary of a rolling Zali Hopkins grubber which a pair of Broncos failed to clean up. Maria Paseka added the extras to lock things at six-apiece.
Brooke Anderson went close to putting the Dragons ahead a quarter of the way in out of dummy-half only for video officials to rule a knock-on in her grounding attempt.
Brisbane inched back ahead soon after with Tamika Upton slicing through and fashioning a pass to Lauren Dam who went over in the opposite corner to their opening four-pointer.
NRLW Match Highlights: Round 10 vs. Broncos
They extended their lead a half-hour in through Georgia Bartlett before Tori Shipton was denied a try for the Red V on the stroke of half-time in what was a messy, fifth-tackle sequence.
Robinson left the field early in the second half for the visitors after copping a knock before the Broncos extended their lead again through Upton.
Kasey Reh was able to find a late try for the Dragons to bring them back within eight, but that proved the final push in St George Illawarra’s comeback.
NRLW Press Conference: Round 10 vs. Broncos
