Pally’s Rhiannon Byers made a huge contribution to the Cronulla defence in a spirited fightback in the NRLW premiership with 39 tackles, by far the second rower’s highest stat for the season.
Unfortunately, the Cronulla Sharks lost to the Sydney Roosters in a nail-biting 32-28 grand final.
After the Tricolours blew the Sharks out of the water with four tries in 11 first-half minutes, underdogs Cronulla, playing their first decider in just their second season, sparked into life in the second period.
Having trailed 24-0 at the interval – on track for a record loss in a grand final – Cronulla came storming back through captain Tiana Penitani, hooker Quincy Dodd and five-eighth Georgia Hannaway in a 10-minute blitz.
Powerful prop Ellie Johnston then showed great ingenuity to catch the ball with her knees, spin past her marker and crash over to cut the margin to two points with seven minutes remaining.
But the Roosters, who had wilted in the sapping Sydney afternoon heat, managed to find another gear in attack and Kernick crashed over for her second of the afternoon with three minutes left to seal the title.
Captain Kelly, who ran for a typically impressive 161 metres with ball in hand, said she was extremely proud of how her team held on under the pressure of a grand final.
“We had a lot of girls that probably have never played big games in this arena before, but they really stood up and did their job,” she said.
“When we were getting scored on quite a bit, it was quite tough and mentally sometimes that can affect people. But I think the proudest moment for me was seeing those girls stand up and making sure that we got that win.”
Cronulla winger Casey Staples had a torrid afternoon under Jocelyn Kelleher’s towering bombs, with the Roosters five-eighth given ample time and space to measure her kicks.
Each of Easts’ first three tries came soon after their chasing pack forced the rugby sevens convert to spill the ball, letting them recover possession high up the field.
Kernick powered her way over for the opener after a quarter of an hour before winger Jayme Fressard scored in the left corner and Parker scored a double as the Sharks’ defence crumbled.
Aiken fed Jessica Sergis through a gaping hole in the Cronulla line and the Jillaroos centre, in her first start since August 10, slipped through untouched to send her side into the break with a seemingly insurmountable lead.
Having closed the margin to six late on, the Sharks gifted the Roosters possession with an unforced error from the kick-off and followed that by conceding a penalty for a slow ruck.
Kelleher kicked the goal to extend the lead beyond a try once more, and that proved the difference.
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