Broncos snatch top spot with late drama

The NRLW minor premiership race has been thrown wide open after the Broncos jumped above the Sharks into top spot thanks to a Chelsea Lenarduzzi try with 15 seconds to go that stole a stunning 20-16 win on the Gold Coast.

It looked like Cronulla would open a four-point gap at the top when they jumped out to a 16-10 lead early in the second half, but you can never write off the Broncos who closed the gap through Julia Robinson and then hit the lead with the final play of the game when Lenarduzzi charged through to score.

The result sees Brisbane join Cronulla on 12 points but with a better for and against, with the Roosters looking to join them when they face the Cowboys on Sunday.

It would set up an epic final round which starts with the Sharks hosting the bottom-placed Wests Tigers on Thursday, with the Roosters to finish off the regular season against Parramatta on Sunday.

But it’s the Broncos who will be full of confidence when they face the Dragons after they stormed home to win, with their only concern a potential lower-leg fracture to Stacey Waaka who opened the scoring after just four minutes.

SHARKS SINKING

It looked for all money that the Sharks had wrapped up a top-two finish after their two wingers raced in back-to-back tries to open the second half, but they have now lost two on the trot and are wondering what’s gone wrong after their incredible start.

Saturday’s loss in Queensland almost capped a stunning turnaround by the Sharks after they had their winning streak snapped by the Roosters a week ago with a shock 40-0 result that had people questioning their credentials.

They played with a lot more purpose with Ellie Johnston scoring one and almost sealing the result in the final few minutes, only for the Bunker to rule she grounded the ball after the referee had blown his whistle.

They’ll rue an error by Filomina Hanisi who dropped the ball over the line in the first half, with the Sharks needing to regroup quickly with a confidence boosting win heading into the finals.

The Knights have fired a warning shot to the rest of the top four after the defending premiers obliterated the Titans in the grand final rematch in the most dominant display we’ve seen this season in the NRLW.

The 46-10 shellacking came a year after the teams were involved in a thrilling decider in searing conditions in Sydney, but this was one-way traffic on the Gold Coast as the hosts melted with their season on the line.

The doubters have been lining up after Newcastle lost to Brisbane last week, but the champions played like a team with a point to prove as their biggest stars trounced the Titans.

Unsurprisingly it was grand final hero Tamika Upton who did most of the damage as she set up two tries and scored one of her own off a lovely chip kick to make it 34-0 at the break.

Yasmin Clydsdale opened the scoring after a minute and had a double before half-time, as did winger Sheridan Gallagher who scored untouched thanks to a long ball from Upton.

Gallagher then became the first Knights player to score a hat-trick on the back of another Upton assist as Newcastle racked up their highest NRLW score, although they’ll still need to win next week to book their spot in the top four.

HIP HORROR

The Titans are officially out of the finals race and they will likely be without Ngatokotoru Arakua for their last game of the season after she was sent to the sin bin for a shocking hip drop tackle on Nita Maynard.

The bench forward knew she was strife the moment she landed on Maynard’s ankle, with the Knights veteran unable to return to the field.

Discipline was a major issue for the Titans who completed six sets in the first half – Newcastle scored six tries in that period – with the hosts making 13 errors in their worst performance of the year.

It’s a disappointing fade out by the Titans who made the grand final last year and started the season on fire, but they had nothing in attack on Saturday and desperately missed the injured Lauren Brown.