The 2021 NRLW premiership was the fourth professional season of Women's rugby league in Australia. The season was planned to start in August 2021, postponed to October 2021 and further postponed to 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The competition was held from February to April 2022, with the 2022 NRL Women's season later commencing in August 2022.
Teams Three new teams joined the competition: the Parramatta Eels, Gold Coast Titans and Newcastle Knights. The New Zealand Warriors entered a recess in this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Teams for the Round 1 matches on Sunday, February 27 were announced on February 22, 2022.
ClubSeasonHead coachCaptain(s) Brisbane Broncos4th season Kelvin Wright Ali Brigginshaw (6) Gold Coast Titans1st season Jamie Feeney Brittany Breayley-Nati (6) Newcastle Knights1st season Casey Bromilow Romy Teitzel (5) Parramatta Eels1st season Dean Widders Simaima Taufa (5) St. George Illawarra Dragons4th season Jamie Soward Kezie Apps (5) also Keeley Davis (2: Rounds 2 & 3) Sydney Roosters4th season John Strange Corban Baxter (5) also Hannah Southwell (2: Rounds 1 & 2) Notes: In the Captain(s) column The number next to the name indicates the number of games played as captaincaptains only one, the Broncos, had both appear in every match. The word also indicates the player deputised as captain when the regular captain missed one or more matches. None of the clubs appointed joint captains.
Win/loss table
Team 1 2 3 4 5 SF GF Brisbane BroncosSYD+16NEW+18SGI+4GCT−2PAR+34SYD−6 Gold Coast TitansSGI−8SYD+10PAR−10BRI+2NEW+4SGI−6 Newcastle KnightsPAR−1BRI−18SYD−16SGI−36GCT−4 Parramatta EelsNEW+1SGI−10GCT+10SYD−1BRI−34 St. George Illawarra DragonsGCT+8PAR+10BRI−4NEW+36SYD+6GCT+6SYD−12 Sydney RoostersBRI−16GCT−10NEW+16PAR+1SGI−6BRI+6SGI+12 Team 1 2 3 4 5 SF GF
Bold – Home game Italics – Game played at neutral venue Opponent for round listed above margin
Home and away season * Note all games are played in 2022 NOT 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic * All times AEDT Source:
Round 1 HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeVenueRefereesAttendanceReports St. George Illawarra Dragons20 – 12 Gold Coast TitansSunday, 27 February, 12:00pmMcDonald Jones Stadium Karra-Lee Nolan 2,615 Sydney Roosters4 – 20 Brisbane BroncosSunday 27 February, 1:50pmMcDonald Jones Stadium Belinda Sharpe 3,847 Newcastle Knights12 – 13 Parramatta EelsSunday 27 February, 3:40pmMcDonald Jones Stadium Kasey Badger 5,049
Round 2 HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeVenueRefereesAttendanceReports Newcastle Knights 10 – 28 Brisbane Broncos Sunday, 6 March, 12:00pm WIN Stadium Kasey Badger 1,036 Sydney Roosters 16 – 26 Gold Coast Titans Sunday, 6 March, 1:50pm WIN Stadium Karra-Lee Nolan 1,278 St. George Illawarra Dragons 10 – 0 Parramatta Eels Sunday, 6 March, 3:40pm WIN Stadium Belinda Sharpe 2,079
Round 3 HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeVenueRefereesAttendanceReports Sydney Roosters 28 – 12 Newcastle KnightsSaturday, 12 March, 1:00pmSydney Cricket Ground Karra-Lee Nolan St. George Illawarra Dragons 18 – 22 Brisbane BroncosSunday, 13 March, 12:00pmCommBank Stadium Belinda Sharpe Parramatta Eels 24 – 14 Gold Coast TitansSunday, 13 March, 1:45pmCommBank Stadium Kasey Badger
Round 4 HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeVenueRefereesAttendanceReports Gold Coast Titans 28 – 26 Brisbane BroncosSaturday, 19 March, 1:00pmCbus Super Stadium Belinda Sharpe Parramatta Eels 18 – 19 Sydney RoostersSunday, 20 March, 12:00pmMcDonald Jones Stadium Kasey Badger Newcastle Knights 4 – 40 St. George Illawarra DragonsSunday, 20 March, 1:45pmMcDonald Jones Stadium Karra-Lee Nolan
Round 5 HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeVenueRefereesAttendanceReports St. George Illawarra Dragons 16 – 10 Sydney RoostersSaturday, 26 March, 1:00pmNetstrata Jubilee Stadium Belinda Sharpe 1,023 Gold Coast Titans 14 – 10 Newcastle KnightsSunday, 27 March, 12:00pmSuncorp Stadium Karra-Lee Nolan Brisbane Broncos 38 – 4 Parramatta EelsSunday, 27 March, 1:45pm Suncorp Stadium Kasey Badger
Ladder
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.
Team123451 Brisbane Broncos 2 4 6 6 82 St. George Illawarra Dragons 2 4 4 6 83 Gold Coast Titans 0 2 2 4 64 Sydney Roosters 0 0 2 4 45 Parramatta Eels 2 2 4 4 46 Newcastle Knights 0 0 0 0 0
Finals series On 25 March 2022 it was announced that both NRLW semi-finals will be held at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday, 3 April 2022. At the conclusion of Round 5 on 27 March the semi-finalists, match-ups and playing order were all confirmed. HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and Time (Local)VenueRefereeCrowdReports SEMI Finals St. George Illawarra Dragons 24 – 18 Gold Coast Titans Sunday, 3 April 2022, 12.00pm Leichhardt OvalKasey Badger 1,734 Brisbane Broncos 16 – 22 Sydney Roosters Sunday, 3 April 2022, 1.45pm Leichhardt OvalBelinda Sharpe2,124
Grand Final
Team of the Week At the conclusion of each round, the media department of the NRL announce a team of the week. Thirteen players equivalent to the number of players on the field for one team are named.
Jersey Position Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Semi-finals 1 Botille Vette-Welsh Tamika Upton Botille Vette-Welsh Emma Tonegato Emma Tonegato Emma Tonegato 2 Teagan Berry Katelyn Vaha'akolo Hagiga Mosby Karina Brown Madison Bartlett Leianne Tufuga 3 Jessica Sergis Amy Turner Tiana Penitani Evania Pelite Shenae Ciesiolka Jessica Sergis 4 Tiana Penitani Shenae Ciesiolka Isabelle Kelly Jaime Chapman Isabelle Kelly Isabelle Kelly 5 Emily Bass Madison Bartlett Brydie Parker Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsell Hagiga Mosby Julia Robinson 6 Tarryn Aiken Tarryn Aiken Tarryn Aiken Taliah Fuimaono Taliah Fuimaono Zahara Temara 7 Rachael Pearson Rachael Pearson Maddie Studdon Kimiora Breayley-Nati Ali Brigginshaw Raecene McGregor 8 Millie Boyle Millie Boyle Elsie Albert Mya Hill-Moana Millie Boyle Millie Boyle 9 Keeley Davis Brittany Breayley-Nati Lauren Brown Lauren Brown Olivia Higgins Keeley Davis 10 Phoebe Desmond Elsie Albert Annetta Nu'uausala Steph Hancock Sarah Togatuki Steph Hancock 11 Olivia Kernick Tazmin Gray Olivia Kernick Kaitlyn Phillips Kody House Keilee Joseph 12 Amber Hall Shaylee Bent Shaylee Bent Shaniah Power Amber Hall Amber Hall 13 Simaima Taufa Destiny Brill Destiny Brill Hannah Southwell Jessika Elliston Jocelyn Kelleher
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.
Jersey Position Player 1 Emma Tonegato 2 Karina Brown 3 Jaime Chapman 4 Shenae Ciesiolka 5 Teagan Berry 6 Taliah Fuimaono 7 Rachael Pearson 8 Elsie Albert 9 Lauren Brown 10 Millie Boyle 11 Amber Hall 12 Shaniah Power 13 Destiny Brill
Individual awards
Dally M Medal Awards Night The following awards were presented at the Dally M Medal Awards ceremony in Brisbane on the night of 7 April 2022.
Dally M Medal Player of the Year: Tied Millie Boyle ( Brisbane Broncos); and Emma Tonegato ( St George Illawarra Dragons)
Captain of the Year: Brittany Breayley-Nati ( Gold Coast Titans)
Coach of the Year: Jamie Soward ( St George Illawarra Dragons)
Try of the Year: Shaniah Power for Gold Coast Titans versus Brisbane Broncos (19 March 2022).
Tackle of the Year: Emma Tonegato for St George Illawarra Dragons on Jessica Sergis of the Sydney Roosters (26 March 2022).
Grand Final Day Awards The following awards were presented at Redcliffe, Queensland on Grand Final day, 10 April 2022.
Veronica White Medal: Karina Brown ( Gold Coast Titans)
Karyn Murphy Medal Player of the Match: Sarah Togatuki ( Sydney Roosters)
RLPA Players' Champion Awards The following awards were voted for by NRLW players at the end of the season.
The Players' Champion: Emma Tonegato ( St George Illawarra Dragons)
Rookie of the Year: Destiny Brill ( Gold Coast Titans)
Dennis Tutty Award: Ali Brigginshaw ( Brisbane Broncos)
Statistical Awards Highest Point Scorer in Regular-season: Lauren Brown ( Brisbane Broncos) 34 (17 g)
Top Try Scorers in Regular-season: 4 Madison Bartlett ( St George Illawarra Dragons), Emily Bass ( Brisbane Broncos), Teagan Berry ( St George Illawarra Dragons), Shenae Ciesiolka ( Brisbane Broncos), and Hagiga Mosby ( Brisbane Broncos).
Highest Point Scorer across the Full Season: Lauren Brown ( Brisbane Broncos) 38 (19 g)
Top Try Scorer across the Full Season: Madison Bartlett ( St George Illawarra Dragons) 6
Club Awards Award Knights Eels Titans Broncos Dragons Roosters Player of the Year Annetta Nu'uausala Botille Vette-Welsh Jessika Elliston Millie Boyle Tied. Elsie Albert & Emma Tonegato Isabelle Kelly Player's Player Annetta Nu'uausala Simaima Taufa Lauren Brown Sarah Togatuki Highest Point Scorer Romy Teitzel 8 (2t) Kirra Dibb 8 (4 g) Maddie Studdon 19 (1t 7 g 1fg) Steph Hancock 16 (4t) Jasmine Peters 16 (4t) Lauren Brown 38 (19 g) Rachael Pearson 28 (1t 12 g) Zahara Temara 21 (10 g 1fg) Top Try Scorer Romy Teitzel 2 Abbi Church 2 Tiana Penitani 2 Christian Pio 2 Steph Hancock 4 Jasmine Peters 4 Emily Bass 4 Shenae Ciesiolka 4 Hagiga Mosby 4 Madison Bartlett 6 Isabelle Kelly 4 Coaches Award Shirley Mailangi Julia Robinson Shaylee Bent Community Award Simaima Taufa Karina Brown Tallisha Harden Jocelyn Kelleher Rookie of the Year Emily Bass Olivia Kernick Try of the Year Shenae Ciesiolka Isabelle Kelly Back of the Year Shenae Ciesiolka Forward of the Year Millie Boyle
Players
Brisbane Broncos The team was coached by Kelvin Wright. Jumper numbers in the table below are those assigned to be used in the Semi-finals.
J#PlayerPosition(s)DebutSeasonsMatTryGoalPts20182019202020212021 StateInterstateTests6 Tarryn Aiken 2019 3 14 3 0 12 4 m 4 m 1t 6 m 2t 7 m 3t 1 g 2 m 1t 5 Emily Bass 2021 1 5 4 0 16 5 m 4t 8 Millie Boyle 2019 3 13 4 0 16 4 m 4 m 1t 5 m 3t 7 m 5t 3 m 1m7 Ali Brigginshaw 2018 4 18 5 0 20 4 m 2t 4 m 1t 4 m 1t 6 m 1t 9 m 3t 13 g 10 m 1t 2 g 17 m 7t 16g9 Lauren Brown 2020 2 10 1 19 42 4 m 1t 6 m 19 g 7 m 25 g 2 m 6 g 4 Shenae Ciesiolka 2020 2 9 4 0 16 3 m 6 m 4t 9 m 5t 2 m 18 Jada Ferguson 2021 1 4 0 0 0 4 m 6 m 1t 13 Lavinia Gould 2018 4 14 2 0 8 4 m 1t 4 m 1t 2 m 4 m 8 m 1t 12 Amber Hall 2019 3 13 4 0 16 4 m 1t 3 m 1t 6 m 2t 6 m 2t15 Tallisha Harden 2018 4 14 2 0 8 1 m 3 m 4 m 1t 6 m 1t 6 m 2t 4 m 2 m 1t21 Toni Hunt 2021 1 1 0 0 0 1 m 8 m 2t 24 Lesa Kaleti Mataafa 0 0 0 0 0 10 Chelsea Lenarduzzi 2018 4 17 4 0 16 4 m 3 m 1t 4 m 2t 6 m 1t 6 m 4t 4 m 1m14 Hayley Maddick 2021 1 5 0 0 0 5 m 6 m 19 Hagiga Mosby 2021 1 4 4 0 16 4 m 4t 16 Roxette Murdoch 2021 1 6 1 0 4 6 m 1t 10 m 3t 11 Kaitlyn Phillips 2020 2 7 1 0 4 2 m 5 m 1t 6 m 1t 20 China Polata 2021 1 1 0 0 0 1 m 22 Jessikah Reeves 0 0 0 0 0 7 m 1t 2 Julia Robinson 2018 4 13 6 0 24 4 m 2t 3 m 1t 4 m 2t 2 m 1t 4 m 2t 2 m 1 m 1t34 Nakita Sao 2021 1 1 0 0 0 1 m 6 m 1t 17 Sara Sautia 2021 1 6 0 0 0 6 m 6 m 1t 3 Amy Turner 2019 2 10 3 0 12 4 m 1t 6 m 2t 4 m 2t 1 m ?m1 Tamika Upton 2019 3 11 7 0 28 3 m 1t 4 m 5t 4 m 1t 5 m 6t 2 m 2t Notes: Amy Turner was selected in the 2007 Australian Jillaroos team that played two Test Matches against New Zealand Māori women's rugby league team, however, the lists of players that took the field in those matches are yet to be confirmed by the contributor to this page. Nakita Sao played for Wests Panthers and later North Sydney in the 2021 state competitions of, respectively, Queensland and New South Wales. Nakita Sao also played for Wests Panthers ( 4 m 1t) in the Queensland's Under 19 club matches in 2021.