2022 NRL Women's season

The 2022 NRLW Premiership was the fifth professional season of Women's rugby league in Australia. The season started on Saturday, 20 August and ran for seven weekends. This comprised five rounds, semi-finals for the top four teams, and a Grand Final that was played on Sunday 2 October as a curtain raiser to the 2022 men's Grand Final.^[1] This was the last season before the NRLW went professional.^[2][3]

NRL Telstra Women's Premiership
Duration	20 August – 2 October
Teams	6
Minor premiers	Sydney Roosters
Matches played	18
Points scored	679
Highest attendance	42,921
Lowest attendance	505
Broadcast partners	Nine Network Fox League Sky Sport (NZ) Sky Sports (UK)
Premiers	Newcastle Knights (1st title)
Wooden spoon	Gold Coast Titans (1st spoon)
Biggest home win	Roosters 34 — 6 Dragons
Biggest away win	Roosters 38 — 16 Eels
Dally M Award	Raecene McGregor
Top point-scorer(s)	Zahara Temara (46)
Top try-scorer(s)	Jayme Fressard (5) Teagan Berry (5) Tamika Upton (5)
← 2021 2023 →

Teams

The line-up of teams remained the same as the postponed 2021 season (held from February to April in 2022). The number of teams would be increased to 10 in 2023.

Colours	Club	Season	Head coach	Captain(s)
	Brisbane Broncos	5th season	Kelvin Wright	Ali Brigginshaw
	St. George Illawarra Dragons	5th season	Jamie Soward	Kezie Apps
	Sydney Roosters	5th season	John Strange	Isabelle Kelly[4]
	Newcastle Knights	2nd season	Ronald Griffiths[5]	Millie Boyle and Hannah Southwell[6]
	Parramatta Eels	2nd season	Dean Widders[7]	Tiana Penitani and Simaima Taufa[8]
	Gold Coast Titans	2nd season	Karyn Murphy[9]	Brittany Breayley-Nati

Win/loss table

Team	1	2	3	4	5	SF	GF
Brisbane Broncos	NEW −18	SYD −20	GCT +18	SGI −1*	PAR −12
Gold Coast Titans	SGI −14	NEW −4	BRI −18	PAR +2	SYD −26
Newcastle Knights	BRI +18	GCT +4	PAR +2	SYD −2	SGI +22	SGI +24	PAR +20
Parramatta Eels	SYD −22	SGI −6	NEW −2	GCT −2	BRI +12	SYD +14	NEW −20
St. George Illawarra Dragons	GCT +14	PAR +6	SYD −28	BRI +1*	NEW −22	NEW −24
Sydney Roosters	PAR +22	BRI +20	SGI +28	NEW +2	GCT +26	PAR −14
Team	1	2	3	4	5	SF	GF

Bold – Home game
* – Golden point game
Opponent for round listed above margin

Regular season

The first announcement of the 2022 NRLW season's fixtures was released by the NRL on 8 July 2022.

Matches in rounds 1–3 were played as either curtain raisers or closers to men's matches, or as standalone fixtures. The announcement of Round 4 fixtures was delayed until the NRL placings were known and the four NRL week one finals matches were determined.^[1][10] Round 5 was a triple-header at Central Coast Stadium using the same format as rounds 1 and 2 from the 2021 season.

Round 1

Home	Score	Away	Match information
			Date and time	Venue	Referees	Attendance	Reports
Parramatta Eels	16 – 38	Sydney Roosters	Saturday, 20 August, 1:00 pm	CommBank Stadium	Belinda Sharpe	26,451[α]	[11][12][13]
St. George Illawarra Dragons	26 – 12	Gold Coast Titans	Sunday, 21 August, 12:00 pm	WIN Stadium	Karra-Lee Nolan	5,135[β]	[14][15][16]
Newcastle Knights	32 – 14	Brisbane Broncos	Sunday, 21 August, 6:10 pm	McDonald Jones Stadium	Kasey Badger	8,323[γ]	[17][18][19]

Round 2

Home	Score	Away	Match information
			Date and time	Venue	Referees	Attendance	Reports
Brisbane Broncos	8 – 28	Sydney Roosters	Saturday, 27 August, 1:10 pm	Suncorp Stadium	Kasey Badger	11,816	[20][21][22]
Parramatta Eels	10 – 16	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Sunday, 28 August, 12:00 pm	CommBank Stadium	Belinda Sharpe	9,987[δ]	[23][24][25]
Gold Coast Titans	12 – 16	Newcastle Knights	Sunday, 28 August, 6:10 pm	Cbus Super Stadium	Rochelle Tamarua	11,816[ε]	[26][27][28]

Round 3

Home	Score	Away	Match information
			Date and time	Venue	Referees	Attendance	Reports
Sydney Roosters	34 – 6	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Friday, 2 September, 5:40 pm	Allianz Stadium	Kasey Badger	41,906[ζ]	[29][30][31]
Brisbane Broncos	22 – 4	Gold Coast Titans	Saturday, 3 September, 1:10 pm	Moreton Daily Stadium	Belinda Sharpe	1,619	[32][33][34]
Newcastle Knights	18 – 16	Parramatta Eels	Sunday, 4 September, 12:00 pm	McDonald Jones Stadium	Karra-Lee Nolan	9,189[η]	[35][36][37]

Round 4

Home	Score	Away	Match information
			Date and time	Venue	Referees	Attendance	Reports
Gold Coast Titans	18 – 16	Parramatta Eels	10 September, 1:05 pm	AAMI Park[θ]	Karra-Lee Nolan	505	[38][39][40]
Brisbane Broncos	18 – 19	St. George Illawarra Dragons	11 September, 2:50 pm		Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski	1,229	[41][42][43]
Sydney Roosters	18 – 16	Newcastle Knights	11 September, 1:10 pm	Allianz Stadium	Belinda Sharpe	4,063[ι]	[44][45][46]

Round 5

Home	Score	Away	Match information
			Date and time	Venue	Referees	Attendance	Reports
Brisbane Broncos	16 – 28	Parramatta Eels	Sunday, 18 September, 12:05 pm	Central Coast Stadium	Kasey Badger	3,066	[47][48][49]
Gold Coast Titans	12 – 38	Sydney Roosters	Sunday, 18 September, 1:55 pm		Belinda Sharpe	4,776	[50][51][52]
St. George Illawarra Dragons	8 – 30	Newcastle Knights	Sunday, 18 September, 3:45 pm		Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski	6,214	[53][54][55]

Notes:

1. This NRLW match was part of a triple-header. The NRLW match followed a KOE NSW Cup match and preceded an NRL fixture between the Parramatta Eels and Canterbury Bulldogs. An attendance for the NRLW was not announced at the ground. The attendance for the NRL match was 26,451.
2. This NRLW match was part of a double-header. The NRLW match preceded an NRL fixture between the St. George Illawarra Dragons and Gold Coast Titans. An attendance for the NRLW match of 5,135 was published on the NRL website's Match Centre. The attendance for the NRL match was 12,348.
3. This NRLW match was part of a double-header. The NRLW match followed an NRL fixture between the Newcastle Knights and Canberra Raiders. The attendance for the NRL match was 16,768.
4. This NRLW match was part of a double-header. The NRLW match preceded an NRL fixture between the Wests Tigers and St. George Illawarra Dragons. An attendance for the NRLW match of 8,323 was published on the NRL website's Match Centre. The attendance for the NRL match was 9,987.
5. This NRLW match was part of a double-header. The NRLW match followed an NRL fixture between the Gold Coast Titans and Newcastle Knights. The attendance for the NRL match was 11,816.
6. This NRLW match was part of a double-header. The NRLW match preceded an NRL fixture between the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs. An attendance for the NRLW was not announced at the ground. The attendance for the NRL match was 41.906. The NRLW match was rescheduled by the NRL on 13 August. The original schedule was for the match to follow an NRL fixture, Wests Tigers vs Canberra Raiders, at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday, 4 September.
7. This NRLW match was part of a double-header. The NRLW match preceded an NRL fixture between the Newcastle Knights and Cronulla Sharks. An attendance for the NRLW of "about 9,100" was announced at the ground. The attendance for the NRL match was 16,808.
8. These two NRLW matches were part of a Triple-Header. The NRLW matches preceded an NRL fixture between Melbourne Storm and Canberra Raiders. An attendance for each NRLW match was announced at the ground. The attendance for the NRL match was 20.838.
9. This NRLW match was part of a double-header. The NRLW match preceded an NRL fixture between the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs. An attendance for the NRLW was announced at the ground. The attendance for the NRL match was 39,816.

Ladder

2022 NRL Women's season v t e
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Sydney Roosters	5	5	0	0	0	156	58	+98	10
2	Newcastle Knights	5	4	0	1	0	112	68	+44	8
3	St. George Illawarra Dragons	5	3	0	2	0	75	104	−29	6
4	Parramatta Eels	5	1	0	4	0	86	106	−20	2
5	Brisbane Broncos	5	1	0	4	0	78	111	−33	2
6	Gold Coast Titans	5	1	0	4	0	58	118	−60	2

Ladder progression

• Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
• Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
• Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.

	Team	1	2	3	4	5
1	Sydney Roosters	2	4	6	8	10
2	Newcastle Knights	2	4	6	6	8
3	St. George Illawarra Dragons	2	4	4	6	6
4	Parramatta Eels	0	0	0	0	2
5	Brisbane Broncos	0	0	2	2	2
6	Gold Coast Titans	0	0	0	2	2

Finals series

Two semi-finals were played on 25 September 2022 as part of a quadruple-header also featuring the men's and women's Prime Minister's XIII matches against Papua New Guinea .^[56][57][58]

Home	Score	Away	Match information
			Date and time	Venue	Referees	Attendance	Reports
Newcastle Knights	30 – 6	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Sunday, 25 September, 2:05 PM	Suncorp Stadium	Kasey Badger	3,649	[59][60][61]
Sydney Roosters	10 – 24	Parramatta Eels	Sunday, 25 September, 3:50 PM		Belinda Sharpe	6,173	[62][63]

The Grand Final was played on Sunday, 2 October 2022, between the winners of the two semi-finals, at Accor Stadium as curtain-raiser to the 2022 men's season grand final.

Home	Score	Away	Match information
			Date and time	Venue	Referees	Attendance	Reports
Newcastle Knights	32 – 12	Parramatta Eels	Sunday, 2 October, 3:55 PM	Accor Stadium	Kasey Badger	42,921	[64]

Grand Final

Main article: 2022 NRL Women's Premiership Grand Final

Sunday, 2 October 4:05pm AEDT (UTC+11:00)

Newcastle Knights	32 – 12	Parramatta Eels
Tries: 7 Takairangi  17', 63' Paki  20' Teitzel  27' Upton  38' Southwell  67' Clydsdale  69' Goals: 2 Dibb  28' (1/4) Southwell  68' (1/3)	1st: 14 – 6 2nd: 18 – 6 Highlights Reports[65][66][67]	Tries: 2 Anderson  12' Taufa  50' Goals: 2 Preston  13', 51' (2/2)

Accor Stadium Attendance: 42,921 Karyn Murphy Medallist: Tamika Upton (Newcastle) Referee: Kasey Badger

Team details

Newcastle Knights FB 1 Tamika Upton WG 2 Kiana Takairangi CE 3 Shanice Parker CE 4 Bobbi Law WG 5 Emmanita Paki FE 6 Kirra Dibb HB 7 Jesse Southwell PR 8 Caitlan Johnston HK 9 Olivia Higgins PR 10 Millie Boyle (c) SR 11 Romy Teitzel SR 12 Yasmin Clydsdale LK 13 Kayla Romaniuk Interchange: BE 14 Emma Manzelmann BE 15 Tayla Predebon BE 16 Simone Karpani BE 18 Caitlin Moran Reserve: RE 17 Makenzie Weale Coach: Ronald Griffiths Parramatta Eels FB 1 Gayle Broughton WG 2 Zali Fay CE 3 Abbi Church CE 4 Rikeya Horne WG 5 Cassey Tohi-Hiku FE 6 Ashleigh Quinlan HB 7 Tayla Preston PR 8 Kennedy Cherrington HK 9 Brooke Anderson PR 10 Ellie Johnston SR 11 Christian Pio SR 12 Vanessa Foliaki LK 13 Simaima Taufa (c) Interchange: BE 14 Filomina Hanisi BE 15 Seli Mailangi BE 16 Najvada George BE 17 Rima Butler Reserve: RE 18 Ruby-Jean Kennard Coach: Dean Widders

Team of the week

At the conclusion of each round, the media department of the NRL announce a team of the week. Seventeen players were named.

Jersey	Position	Round 1[68]	Round 2[69]	Round 3[70]	Round 4[71]	Round 5[72]	Semi-finals[73]
1	Fullback	Sam Bremner	Tamika Upton	Sam Bremner	Evania Pelite	Gayle Broughton	Tamika Upton
2	Wing	Teagan Berry	Teagan Berry	Leianne Tufuga	Julia Robinson	Zali Fay	Teagan Berry
3	Centre	Isabelle Kelly	Tiana Penitani	Jessica Sergis	Isabelle Kelly	Jessica Sergis	Abbi Church
4	Centre	Page McGregor	Evania Pelite	Rikeya Horne	Shenae Ciesiolka	Taliah Fuimaono	Shanice Parker
5	Wing	Julia Robinson	Julia Robinson	Jaime Chapman	Karina Brown	Jayme Fressard	Cassey Tohi-Hiku
6	Fullback	Taliah Fuimaono	Tarryn Aiken	Zahara Temara	Zali Hopkins	Ashleigh Quinlan	Kirra Dibb
7	Halfback	Jesse Southwell	Raecene McGregor	Raecene McGregor	Rachael Pearson	Jesse Southwell	Tayla Preston
8	Prop	Millie Boyle	Shannon Mato	Chelsea Lenarduzzi	Millie Boyle	Jesse Southwell	Millie Boyle
9	Hooker	Keeley Davis	Destiny Brill	Olivia Higgins	Quincy Dodd	Destiny Brill	Brooke Anderson
10	Prop	Steph Hancock	Sarah Togatuki	Caitlan Johnston	Tara McGrath-West	Kennedy Cherrington	Kennedy Cherrington
11	Second-row	Shaniah Power	Kezie Apps	Vanessa Foliaki	Yasmin Clydsdale	Yasmin Clydsdale	Romy Teitzel
12	Second-row	Keilee Joseph	Olivia Kernick	Amber Hall	Kezie Apps	Otesa Pule	Yasmin Clydsdale
13	Lock	Simaima Taufa	Holli Wheeler	Keilee Joseph	Georgia Hale	Simaima Taufa	Holli Wheeler
14	interchange	Kennedy Cherrington	Emma Manzelmann	Tayla Preston	Jada Ferguson	Ali Brigginshaw	Ashleigh Quinlan
15	interchange	Tallisha Harden	Tayla Predebon	Jocelyn Kelleher	Simaima Taufa	Keilee Joseph	Caitlan Johnston
16	interchange	Holli Wheeler	Keilee Joseph	Monalisa Soliola	Keilee Joseph	Shannon Mato	Ellie Johnston
17	interchange	Emma Tonegato	Chelsea Lenarduzzi	Tamika Upton	Rima Pirini Butler	Tayla Predebon	Sarah Togatuki

Dream Team

In the week between the semi-finals and Grand Final, the Rugby League Players Association announced a Dream Team. The team was selected by the players, who each cast one vote for each position.^[74]

Jersey	Position	Player
1	Fullback	Sam Bremner
2	Wing	Julia Robinson
3	Centre	Isabelle Kelly
4	Centre	Jaime Chapman
5	Wing	Leianne Tufuga
6	Fullback	Tarryn Aiken
7	Halfback	Raecene McGregor
8	Prop	Millie Boyle
9	Hooker	Destiny Brill
10	Prop	Caitlan Johnston
11	Second-row	Olivia Kernick
12	Second-row	Amber Hall
13	Lock	Keilee Joseph

Individual awards

Dally M Medal Awards Night

The following awards were presented at the Dally M Medal Awards ceremony in Sydney on the night of 28 September.^[75]

Dally M Medal Player of the Year: Raecene McGregor ( Sydney Roosters)^[76]

Captain of the Year: Isabelle Kelly ( Sydney Roosters)^[77]

Coach of the Year: John Strange ( Sydney Roosters)^[78]

Provan-Summons Medal: Toni Hunt ( Brisbane Broncos)

Rookie of the Year: Jesse Southwell ( Newcastle Knights)^[79]

Try of the Year: Tarryn Aiken for Brisbane Broncos versus Sydney Roosters (27 August 2022).

Tackle of the Year: Tarryn Aiken for Brisbane Broncos on Jessica Sergis of the Sydney Roosters (27 August 2022).

RLPA Players' Champion Awards

The following awards were voted for by NRLW players at the end of the season.

The Players' Champion: Raecene McGregor ( Sydney Roosters^[80]

Rookie of the Year: Gayle Broughton ( Parramatta Eels)^[81]

Dennis Tutty Award: Hannah Southwell ( Newcastle Knights)^[82]

Statistical awards

Highest Ppint scorer in regular season: Zahara Temara ( Sydney Roosters) 44 (1t 20g)

Top try scorers in regular season: Jayme Fressard ( Sydney Roosters) 5

Players and transfers

Main article: List of current NRL Women's team squads

Player signings for the 2022 season began in May 2022.

Table last updated: 21 July 2022.

2022 NRLW transfers^[83]

Player	2021 club	2022 club	Announcement date	Reference
Millie Boyle	Brisbane Broncos	Newcastle Knights	18 May 2022	[84]
Lauren Brown	Brisbane Broncos	Gold Coast Titans	23 May 2022	[85]
Hagiga Mosby	Brisbane Broncos	Gold Coast Titans	5 Jun 2022	[85]
Tamika Upton	Brisbane Broncos	Newcastle Knights	18 May 2022	[84]
Nakita Sao	Brisbane Broncos	Injured	13 Mar 2022
Annetta Nu'uausala	Newcastle Knights	Brisbane Broncos	7 Jun 2022	[86]
Emily Curtain	Parramatta Eels	Gold Coast Titans	5 Jun 2022	[85]
Botille Vette-Welsh	Parramatta Eels	Injured	5 Apr 2022	[87]
Madison Bartlett	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Gold Coast Titans	5 Jun 2022	[85]
Jaime Chapman	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Brisbane Broncos	3 Jun 2022	[88][89]
Kody House	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Retired	22 Apr 2022	[90]
Yasmin Clydsdale	Sydney Roosters	Newcastle Knights	3 Jun 2022	[91]
Olivia Higgins	Sydney Roosters	Newcastle Knights	3 Jun 2022	[91]
Simone Karpani	Sydney Roosters	Newcastle Knights	3 Jun 2022	[91]
Brydie Parker	Sydney Roosters	Injured	11 Apr 2022
Tayla Predebon	Sydney Roosters	Newcastle Knights	3 Jun 2022	[91]
Hannah Southwell	Sydney Roosters	Newcastle Knights	1 Jun 2022	[92][93]
Brooke Walker	Carlton AFLW	Parramatta Eels	27 May 2022	[94]
Gayle Broughton	New Zealand 7s	Parramatta Eels	1 Jun 2022	[95][96]
Brooke Anderson	No club	Parramatta Eels	1 Jun 2022	[95]
Rueben Cherrington	No club	Parramatta Eels	17 May 2022	[97]
Vanessa Foliaki	No club	Parramatta Eels	1 Jun 2022	[95]
Ruby-Jean Kennard	No club	Parramatta Eels	1 Jun 2022	[95]
Tayla Preston	No club	Parramatta Eels	1 Jun 2022	[95]
Rima Pirini Butler	No club	Parramatta Eels	1 Jun 2022	[95]
Ash Quinlan	No club	Parramatta Eels	1 Jun 2022	[95]
Crystal Tamarua	Gold Coast Titans	Brisbane Broncos	9 Jun 2022	[98]
Jasmine Fogavini	No club	Brisbane Broncos	9 Jun 2022	[98]
Sophie Holyman	Queensland Reds Rugby Union	Brisbane Broncos	9 Jun 2022	[98]
Tamsin Barber	No club	Newcastle Knights	9 Jun 2022	[99]
Tiana Davison	No club	Newcastle Knights	9 Jun 2022	[99]
Caitlin Moran	No club	Newcastle Knights	9 Jun 2022	[99]
Nicole Nathan	No club	Newcastle Knights	9 Jun 2022	[99]
Emmanita Paki	No club	Newcastle Knights	9 Jun 2022	[99]
Shanice Parker	No club	Newcastle Knights	9 Jun 2022	[99]
Kiana Takairangi	No club	Newcastle Knights	9 Jun 2022	[99]
Brianna Clark	Gold Coast Titans	Brisbane Broncos	10 Jun 2022	[100]
Nita Maynard	Parramatta Eels	Brisbane Broncos	10 Jun 2022	[100]
Paige Parker	Newcastle Knights	Brisbane Broncos	10 Jun 2022	[100]
Shakiah Tungai	No club	Brisbane Broncos	10 Jun 2022	[100]
Annette Brander	No club	Gold Coast Titans	23 Jun 2022	[85]
Apii Nicholls-Pualau	No club	Gold Coast Titans	23 Jun 2022	[85]
Rona Peters	No club	Gold Coast Titans	23 Jun 2022	[85]
Destiny Brill	Gold Coast Titans	Sydney Roosters	23 Jun 2022	[101]
Jayme Fressard	Newcastle Knights	Sydney Roosters	23 Jun 2022	[101]
Shaniah Power	Gold Coast Titans	Sydney Roosters	23 Jun 2022	[101]
Corban Baxter	Sydney Roosters	Pregnancy	27 Jun 2022	[102]
Fatafehi Hanisi	Parramatta Eels	St. George Illawarra Dragons	1 Jul 2022	[103]
Zali Hopkins	No club	St. George Illawarra Dragons	1 Jul 2022	[103]
Andie Robinson	No club	St. George Illawarra Dragons	1 Jul 2022	[103]
Monalisa Soliola	No club	St. George Illawarra Dragons	1 Jul 2022	[103]
Shontelle Stowers	No club	St. George Illawarra Dragons	1 Jul 2022	[103]
Sam Bremner	Pregnancy	Sydney Roosters	1 Jul 2022	[104]
Shannon Rose	No club	Sydney Roosters	1 Jul 2022	[104]
Jasmin Strange	No club	Sydney Roosters	1 Jul 2022	[104]
Jada Taylor	No club	Sydney Roosters	1 Jul 2022	[104]
Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa	No club	Sydney Roosters	1 Jul 2022	[104]
Roxette Murdoch	Brisbane Broncos	Gold Coast Titans	17 Jul 2022	[85]
Makenzie Weale	No club	Newcastle Knights	21 Jul 2022	[105]
Jakiya Whitfeld	No club	Newcastle Knights	21 Jul 2022	[105]
Zali Fay	No club	Parramatta Eels	21 Jul 2022	[8]
Najvada George	No club	Parramatta Eels	21 Jul 2022	[8]
Losana Lutu	No club	Parramatta Eels	21 Jul 2022	[8]
Cassey Tohi-Hiku	No club	Parramatta Eels	21 Jul 2022	[8]
Luisa Yaranamua	No club	Parramatta Eels	21 Jul 2022	[8]