In a competition where the difference between the haves and have-nots has become stark, a grand final between the two teams with the most was perhaps inevitable.
The Roosters and the Broncos both have enjoyed historic success this year, their dominance sucking much of the drama from the extended regular season.
Other teams that believed they were capable of pulling off the upset consistently fell short, merely delaying this final game.
Never before has a decider been so drenched in star power.
The Roosters have won every game so far in 2025. (Getty Images: Darrian Traynor )
The Roosters are searching for back-to-back premierships and are unbeaten through 12 games this year, winning the only regular-season match-up between the two.
To the Tricolours’ five-eighth, Corban Baxter, the 30-26 epic felt like a grand final in itself.
“We started really strong in that game and then they had the second half of their lives,” Baxter said.
“A lot has happened in between then; we’ve both grown and learned different things throughout, but it’ll be a tough one.
“They have such a great team and so many threats across the park. It was a tight one, as tight as it gets, and I’m expecting the same this weekend.”
Apart from that Roosters loss, Brisbane has destroyed everybody else with a combination of sparkling attacking play, a relish for the spectacular, and an utter lack of mercy.
They scored the most points of any team in the league and conceded the fewest.
Their narrowest margin of victory this year is 14 points, and their leading pointscorer, backrower Romy Teitzel, managed more points on her own than the entire Wests Tigers team combined.
They can score from anywhere at any time, but most of the good stuff comes through fullback Tamika Upton, who broke the league’s record for tries in a season and also leads the competition in line breaks, line break assists, and try assists.
Upton has dominated every facet of the season.
(Getty Images: Bradley Kanaris)
It is why they will carry slight favouritism into Sunday’s grand final despite the Roosters’ perfect record, especially after John Strange’s side were given a scare by Cronulla in the preliminary final.
It took a late field goal from Jocelyn Kelleher to get them home, but Baxter is confident their best is yet to come, and some of it may yet come from her.
The 30-year-old made her return from an ankle injury against the Sharks, replacing star halfback Tarryn Aiken, who tore her ACL in the club’s final regular season game, to form a new halves combination with the underrated Kelleher.
Baxter, by her own admission, was a bit scratchy on return, but the former Test and Origin representative and one-time premiership captain has the skill, athleticism and pedigree to make her mark when it matters. And given she missed last year’s grand final through injury, she has extra motivation to succeed.
“Tarryn is a massive part of this team, and it’s a huge hole, especially in attack. I’ll never fill those shoes, I know that, but I like to think I can bring my own style to that team,” Baxter said.
Roosters on cusp of perfect season
“I love playing with Joce, I think she’s someone who’s so reliable and can fill so many positions — she knows our game plan inside out, and she’s someone I really trust playing alongside.
“I don’t like to sit on the sidelines. I was very proud of the girls [last year], and I still felt part of it, but going down and missing out on lifting the trophy, it just makes that drive to be there this year even sweeter.”
The stakes of the game are high. If the Roosters win, they will join the Broncos as the only club with three NRLW titles — and it was a win over Brisbane years ago that set them on that path.
Back in 2022, with the Broncos coming off a hat-trick of titles and red-hot favourites to land a fourth, they took on the Roosters in a sudden-death semi-final.
With just a six-team competition at the time, the Roosters snuck into the finals despite a losing record in the regular season and were expected to be cannon fodder for a Brisbane side who had only lost two games in their history to that point.
Early on, things went to the script — Brisbane led 16-0 after just 13 minutes, but the Roosters clawed their way back for a 22-16 win that Baxter treasures even more than the grand final triumph over St George Illawarra a week later.
“That might be my favourite game ever. We were written off early in that season. The Broncos came out flying in that game, but we were able to turn it around and cause a massive upset,” Baxter said.
“That’s when we learned how to win, how to win tough games. We found some belief in that game.”
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Since that day, the Roosters have become a powerhouse. They have won 33 of their 39 games since then, and look every bit as dominant as the Broncos once did.
It has been a longer journey back for Brisbane. They have always been among the premiership contenders, but finding their best football when it counted was a struggle.
After that loss to the Roosters in 2022, they didn’t win another final until last week’s 30-6 win over Newcastle to set up a game that feels many years in the making.
The winners can stamp themselves as the pre-eminent club in the history of the NRLW thus far, and the Roosters could carve their name into legend should they become the first team in the extended competition to go undefeated.
They will have to defy the odds to do so, but Baxter is confident they are yet to peak.
“We haven’t played our best yet this season,” Baxter said.
“In most of our girls’ heads, it hasn’t been the perfect season, from the outside looking in, it might look like that because we’re getting the wins, but we know we can be better.”
