Latest news with #AliBrigginshaw
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NRLW opening wins for Broncos, Dragons and Cowboys
Brisbane, St George Illawarra and North Queensland have opened their NRLW campaigns in the best possible style. Tamika Upton's return to the Broncos brought immediate benefits as she helped the three-time champions to a 28-4 win over Wests Tigers at Totally Workwear Stadium on Saturday. The 28-year-old was back in Brisbane colours after three years with Newcastle and reaffirmed why she won the 2023 Dally M Medal with three try assists, four line-break assists, and six tackle busts in her afternoon's work. "She's just an X-factor. Tamika always goes about her football so professionally," Broncos captain Ali Brigginshaw said. "Today she started to really find her groove." Watch all the highlights from Broncos v Tigers in Round 1 of the NRLW Premiership. — NRLW (@NRLWomens) July 5, 2025 The visitors were in the fight at halftime trailing 8-4, but Brisbane went from a trot into a gallop piling on four unanswered tries. "A little bit nerve wrecking and frustrating in that first half. We had a lot of footy but just didn't do too much with it," Broncos coach Scott Prince said. "But in the second half the girls came out with real intent to turn the Tigers around and put them in their corner." Fittingly it was two NRLW debutants that scored their team's first points. Rugby recruit Kerri Johnson touched down in the 21st minute after a 35-metre break upfield by Upton. Wests Tigers Caitlin Turnbull, who scored 13 tries in 11 games for Wentworthville in NSWRL's Harvey Norman Premiership last year, grabbed her maiden NRLW try. Brisbane snapped their round-one blues after losing the opening match of the past three seasons. The league's top-two tryscorers added to their individual tallies, when St George Illawarra overran Canberra at GIO Stadium. Dragons fullback Teagan Berry registered her 30th four-pointer and Raiders winger Madison Bartlett scored her 27th in the Red V's 36-14 win. 18-year-old debutant Indie Bostock took just three minutes to score a runaway 80-metre try for the Dragons after being called up into the centres from the extended bench. The star of the NSW U19s State of Origin win last month, and the sister of Dolphins winger Jack, added a second by supporting Berry down the right after the break. That put the visitors up 18-4 but the Raiders' revival came through tries to Bartlett and Sophie Holyman. St George Illawarra responded with another three tries – Berry, halfback and captain Raecene McGregor and winger Margot Vella. The Dragons only won two of nine games last year but rookie coach Nathan Cross seems to have them on course for a few more in 2025. In Townsville, North Queensland enjoyed a 20-6 win over Gold Coast. Watch all the highlights from Cowboys v Titans in Round 1 of the NRLW Premiership. — NRLW (@NRLWomens) July 5, 2025 Ricky Henry's Cowboys produced nine line breaks to two and 29 tackle-busts to 17 as they rattled off a four tries-to-one victory at Queensland Country Bank Stadium. They were three minutes from recording their first whitewash in their short three-year history, but a consolation try to Titans centre Georgia Gray put an end to that. England international Fran Goldthorp got the party started in the 19th minute, with winger Krystal Blackwell and fullback Jakiya Whitfield also scoring for a 14-0 lead at the break. Emma Manzelmann bagged the Cowboys' fourth and final try with a darting 20-metre run.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Broncos' Chelsea Lenarduzzi: ‘It's burnt me every year that we haven't won'
Women's rugby league is on the up, but for one of its proudest proponents, the downs are still impossible to avoid. Chelsea Lenarduzzi, the Brisbane and Queensland forward, has felt disappointment for her state and club in the past 12 months. However, the longtime Bronco knows there's nothing to do but get back on the horse. 'If you don't make a team, the sun rises the next day and you should still go to work,' she says ahead of Brisbane's season opener against the Tigers on Saturday. 'Our work is that sometimes you go to training, and sometimes you go to a recovery centre the next day after bad news.' Left out for the first match of the State of Origin series, the 29-year-old was recalled for the second, but unable to prevent the Blues from winning the shield. It followed the pain of last season, and ignominious exit of Brisbane – three-time premiers but without a title since 2020 – in the first week of the NRLW finals. 'I think we obviously had a lot of early success as a team but that feeling of wanting to win has never really gone away, no matter where we finish in the competition,' Lenarduzzi says. 'Winning is the number one goal every year, it's burnt me every year that we haven't won.' The minor premiers entered the semi-final against Cronulla – a club in just their second NRLW season – on a seven-match winning streak. But in the NRLW's old two-week finals series there were no second chances, and the highly fancied Broncos outfit led by captain Ali Brigginshaw lost 14-0 to the Sharks. Lenarduzzi says it continues to leave a bitter taste before the 2025 NRLW season, which began on Thursday night. 'We've got pretty high goals and high expectations for ourselves after the disappointing finish to last season,' she says. The off-season has only increased the pressure. The club has brought back fullback Tamika Upton – a player Lenarduzzi considers the best in the world – after three seasons in Newcastle. 'Now we have literally no excuse,' she says. 'The only thing that's going to stop us not performing well enough is us.' But in the dynamic world of women's rugby league, improvement is everywhere. The premiership-winning Roosters welcome back five-eighth Corban Baxter after she missed last season due to a knee injury. Beaten grand finalists Cronulla have recruited former New Zealand sevens player Tyla King and forward Caitlan Johnston-Green, although both will miss the start of the season. Even the expansion sides are expected to be competitive. Canterbury recorded a win in pre-season against Parramatta, and the other new team, New Zealand Warriors – taking the competition to 12 sides – were a foundation side but withdrew during the pandemic. Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion But Lenarduzzi's Broncos – coached by former NRL premiership winner Scott Prince – enter the season heavily backed, and had eight players in the Maroons' latest State of Origin side. Despite the pain of last year, Lenarduzzi says she tries not to let disappointment dwell. 'Whenever there's a setback or anything, while it's frustrating for me, because I am a bit experienced and I have gone through ups and downs in my career, I just keep doing the process.' After winning her place back in the Maroons side she helped turn the tide against a powerful Blues pack, and scored the winning try in the third match to prevent a whitewash. Last week she re-signed with the Broncos for two more years, which will make it 10 seasons as a Bronco. The prop forward is also a director for the Rugby League Players Association, and is already preparing to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement which will come into force in 2028. She says the priorities in NRLW are to increase the squad sizes from 24 to at least 30 to cover injuries and provide a platform for future expansion, increasing resources for club staff to improve the professional environment, and pushing Origin back in the calendar so that it falls during or after the NRLW season. 'This year, the quality of the [State of Origin] games were really good, but imagine how good they'd be if everyone was in top condition,' she says. Lenarduzzi – who describes the NRLW as 'the best or one of the best' women's sporting competitions in the world – also wants a revolution in the rhetoric that surrounds women's rugby league. 'What's always been a frustration as a female athlete, is that there's this perception that you need to be nice, 'everyone's your friend', 'we're just here to grow the game.' In reality the elite players want to win the comp,' she says. The prop wants more debate from commentators and fans about the skills of the players, their agility, and their kicking games, and less about their personality and life off the field. And she wants respect for female athletes who prioritise athletic success. 'When fans of sport talk about like Michael Jordan, they talk about how ruthless and aggressive and competitive he is, which is great, right?' she says. 'But another personal idol of mine is Serena Williams, and she's copped so much shit throughout her career for being ruthless and aggressive and competitive. The difference is that she's not expected to be like that, because she's female.'
The Age
20-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
‘Think how it would affect your kids': Champion's call against vile abuse
Upon her unveiling as the Brisbane Broncos co-captain, Ali Brigginshaw has issued a palpable message to those who have taken to social media in a series of vile attacks on players. 'My message is if you're writing a comment, think about how it would affect your kids or your partner at home, because they're the people it's affecting,' Brigginshaw warned. 'I can cop most things and try not to read them, but when you go home and see your family upset that's when it hits home.' This was the first chance Brigginshaw had taken to address the abuse she received following Queensland's defeat in the women's State of Origin series, with her wife revealing the family had received messages to 'kill themselves'. Incidents of threatening comments issued to New South Wales star Liam Wright and Newcastle winger James Schiller have followed, as Brigginshaw lamented 'it does happen to every player'. Loading The 35-year-old revealed she removed herself from social media for five weeks following the attacks, claiming it was 'probably the best five weeks I've had' and admitting she will likely do the same throughout the NRLW season. 'You can be flying and nothing will affect you, and then that day you wake up when things aren't going your way it can really affect you,' Brigginshaw said. 'I didn't expect to feel the way I did – I always see myself as quite a tough player and am able to cope with most challenge. But in the pressure and the moment I was in, it hit me hard.'
Sydney Morning Herald
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Think how it would affect your kids': Champion's call against vile abuse
Upon her unveiling as the Brisbane Broncos co-captain, Ali Brigginshaw has issued a palpable message to those who have taken to social media in a series of vile attacks on players. 'My message is if you're writing a comment, think about how it would affect your kids or your partner at home, because they're the people it's affecting,' Brigginshaw warned. 'I can cop most things and try not to read them, but when you go home and see your family upset that's when it hits home.' This was the first chance Brigginshaw had taken to address the abuse she received following Queensland's defeat in the women's State of Origin series, with her wife revealing the family had received messages to 'kill themselves'. Incidents of threatening comments issued to New South Wales star Liam Wright and Newcastle winger James Schiller have followed, as Brigginshaw lamented 'it does happen to every player'. Loading The 35-year-old revealed she removed herself from social media for five weeks following the attacks, claiming it was 'probably the best five weeks I've had' and admitting she will likely do the same throughout the NRLW season. 'You can be flying and nothing will affect you, and then that day you wake up when things aren't going your way it can really affect you,' Brigginshaw said. 'I didn't expect to feel the way I did – I always see myself as quite a tough player and am able to cope with most challenge. But in the pressure and the moment I was in, it hit me hard.'
Daily Mail
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Channel Nine star slams Aussie podcasters with a huge following after they posted a 'gross and misogynistic video' about the NRLW
Channel Nine identity Marlee Silva has slammed popular Aussie podcasters Jon-Bernard and Nick Kairouz after the brothers recently posted a video where they questioned the relevance of the NRLW competition. After first discussing the soon to be released rugby league video game by Big Ant Studios on July 26, attention soon turned to whether the code should also incorporate women's stars. And it quickly took a dark turn. 'Big question the WNRL (sic) going to be in the game,' Nick Kairouz asked. 'I feel like that would be a waste of money,' he continued. 'It's a waste of the budget,' Jon-Bernard Kairouz responded with. The Sydney based brothers then moved onto the player rankings the game will provide - before mocking Queensland Origin veteran Ali Brigginshaw plus Parramatta Eels forward Kennedy Cherrington. Steady criticism has followed from the likes of Channel 9's Silva, Fox League's Lara Pitt and NSW Blues women's star Abbi Church. The daughter of Roosters and Bulldogs legend Rod Silva wasn't finished yet, posting on her own Instagram page about the divisive clip which she labelled 'really gross and misogynistic' Silva was the most vocal, posting a response to the clip publicly to the Kairouz brothers on Instagram. 'Such a boring way to tell us you've run out of content ideas lads,' she said. 'Not an NRLW fan? All good. The girls will continue to flourish and positively impact our game regardless - just stop and think of the ways this rubbish impacts your young male audience.' The daughter of Roosters and Bulldogs legend Rod Silva wasn't finished yet, posting on her own Instagram page. 'That is a really gross and misogynistic video,' she began. 'I usually just let videos like this go, but I remembered that they reach so many young impressionable men and that's really dangerous. 'Being rewarded with lots of likes and follows for expressing your it very attractive to young people who want to do what you do....(who will then potentially) mimic the misogyny and develop the attitudes you have towards women, in everyday life.' They brothers also courted controversy online when they recently ridiculed NSW Blues star Isabelle Kelly for failing to ground the ball when attempting to score a try in a women's Origin game. Daily Mail Australia reached out to Jon-Bernard Kairouz for comment. The comedian first rose to prominence on social media during Sydney's Covid lockdowns when he accurately 'predicted' the daily case numbers. He became known as 'the TikTok numbers guy' after repeatedly revealing the NSW Covid tally hours before then NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian in 2021.
