Broncos thump Dragons to claim back-to-back NRLW titles

Brisbane have become the first club to clinch back-to-back titles in the NRL Holden Women's Premiership following a comfortable 30-6 win over St George Illawarra on Sunday.

A dominant Broncos side proved too clinical for the Dragons, who were under immense pressure for the game's entirety. A string of poor handling errors contributed to a horror showing in front of 36,785 fans at ANZ Stadium.

Broncos coach Kelvin Wright sprung a selection shock pre-game with fullback and Jillaroos representative Chelsea Baker left out of the 17 that suffered their first loss in NRLW history to the Warriors last week.

That decision didn't rattle the Broncos, who clicked into gear immediately with a far stronger response on the game's biggest stage.

Led by Karyn Murphy Medal winner and former Dragon Annette Brander, Brisbane were in control from the outset.

"It's such an honour but if it wasn't for the girls beside me," Brander said on being named Karyn Murphy medallist. 

"I've got my outside backs yelling at me and Ali Brigginshaw putting me through holes. It was a team effort to get this.

"The Broncos is a club I've followed since I was a young girl. The support we have at the club we've fed of that."

The Broncos had an 18% advantage in possession (59-41) and 14% edge in completion rate (72-58) which translated into a huge 706-metre margin (1367 to 661) in run metres and they finished well ahead in line breaks (six to one), offloads (12-2) and tackle breaks (21-14).

Broncos hooker Lavinia Gould continued her try-scoring feats in grand finals with a crafty short side play to weave past Maddie Studdon and Rikeya Horne on the right edge and plant the ball down for the opening four-pointer.

Another Dragons error, this time through ex-Bronco Brittany Breayley at the scrum base, allowed Raecene McGregor to step inside a sliding defence and score the side's second next to the posts.

The Dragons' shocking first half was summed up by their only opportunity in Broncos territory. They forced a line dropout only fail to get their hands on the restart before it cross the sideline.

Brisbane had a chance to go further in front but were denied a try when Meg Ward after McGregor was ruled to have run behind a teammate in the lead-up to placing a cross-field kick.