The Newcastle Knights reasserted their own heavyweight NRLW status with a 46-10 thrashing of the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday afternoon.
In fact, it was the Ben Jeffries-coached side’s biggest win in the club’s history.
It came after Brisbane all but confirmed its finals berth after Chelsea Lenarduzzi’s last-minute try sealed a thrilling 20-16 defeat of ladder-leading Cronulla.
Titans five-eighth Sienna Lofipo dropped the kick-off and triggered a first-half onslaught from the visitors.
Newcastle’s 34-0 lead at the break was the equal-largest in premiership history.
NSW second-rower Yasmin Clydsdale scythed past Lofipo for the first of her two tries on the fourth tackle of the day, before superstar fullback Tamika Upton began pulling the strings.
She chased down Georgia Roche’s kick for her own four-pointer and an 18-0 lead after 16 minutes, before throwing the last pass in two more four-pointers in the first half.
The floodgates reopened when Ngatokotoru Arakua went to the sin bin for the hip-drop tackle that sidelined Knights’ Nita Maynard with an ankle injury in the second half.
While Newcastle had the personnel advantage, Upton helped right winger Sheridan Gallagher become the first Hunter player to record an NRLW hat-trick.
The victory usurps last season’s 38-4 thrashing of Parramatta as the Knights’ most comprehensive in four seasons.
Runners up last year, the Titans are now unable to break into the top four with one round remaining.
Simone Karpani joined Maynard in the Newcastle casualty ward after landing awkwardly on her left ankle in the final minutes, another potential blow as the team chases a third consecutive premiership.
Gold Coast superstar Jaime Chapman also had her afternoon ended prematurely by an ankle complaint.
Meanwhile, made to defend their line for long periods at Cbus Super Stadium, the Broncos rolled up-field on a seven-tackle set and took an unlikely lead when fullback Hayley Maddick found prop Lenarduzzi with a short ball.
The Queensland representative barrelled over Sharks lock Brooke Anderson en route to the tryline to seal Brisbane’s sixth-straight win with 16 seconds to spare.
It would take a big loss to ninth-placed St George Illawarra next week and Parramatta to score similarly decisive victories in its last two games for Brisbane to miss the top four.
It marks quite the turnaround for Scott Prince’s side, who went winless across the opening two weeks of 2024.
Winger Stacey Waaka left the field just before half-time in the only blight on the Broncos’ afternoon.
Earlier, the Sharks scored twice just after the break to erase Brisbane’s four-point lead, seeking to bounce back from last week’s 40-0 humbling from the Sydney Roosters.
But, winger Julia Robinson grabbed a cut-out pass from Maddick to bring the Broncos back within two points, before Lenarduzzi stepped up in the dying seconds.
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