The Broncos are in sevens heaven with their high-flying convert Stacey Waaka and fellow winger Julia Robinson stealing the show as the hosts made it back-to-back wins with a 28-22 victory over the Raiders.
It’s been a whirlwind month for Waaka who won the sevens gold medal for New Zealand in Paris and then made her NRL debut on the wing last week, and she already looks to have found her feet in rugby league with an eye-catching performance on Saturday.
It took her just a minute to show how dangerous she is in the air when she flew high to reel in an Ali Brigginshaw kick, with some quick hands setting up Shenae Ciesiolka for the first of her two tries.
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Having set up the opener, Waaka got in on the action for her first NRLW try with an almost identical play that saw her fly high and crash over to give Brisbane a 12-6 lead at the break.
The script writers nailed the moment with Waaka then winning it with five minutes to go when she latched onto a Ciesiolka pass to break the deadlock after some poor goal-kicking kept Canberra in the contest.
SUPERWOMAN
Waaka may have dominated the first half, but it was all Robinson after that with the rep star breaking Canberra hearts with two incredible plays in the space of five minutes to give Brisbane a 10-point lead.
Robinson has been one of the most consistent performers in the NRLW with few able to match her athleticism.
That freakish ability was on show with a spectacular finish in the corner as she flew for the line and kept her feet in the air to get the ball down, before Robinson plucked an intercept and raced 85 metres when the Raiders looked certain to score.
WALKING WOUNDED
They may have dropped their third game in a row, but the Raiders didn’t lose any admirers after they pushed Brisbane all the way despite being starved of possession and losing two players to injury.
Monalisa Soliola came off after 25 minutes with what looked to be an elbow injury before Shakiah Tungai – who was playing fullback while Apii Nicholls was off for an HIA – had a sickening head clash with Brigginshaw which forced both players from the field.
Brigginshaw was able to return but Canberra scored twice while she was off, with Emma Barnes darting over from dummy-half to tie things up with 12 minutes to go.
Source Agencies
