Roosters complete unbeaten NRLW season with grand-final victory
The Sydney Roosters defeated Brisbane to win the 2026 NRLW grand final and complete an unbeaten season. The result delivered a record described as the first such perfect top-grade rugby league campaign since 1959, while halfback Tarryn Aiken starred after returning from an ACL injury and Ali Brigginshaw ended her decorated career.
The Sydney Roosters completed a perfect 2026 NRLW season by defeating Brisbane in the grand final, according to ABC News Australia. The victory avenged the Roosters’ defeat by the Broncos in the previous year’s decider. Sydney won every match in 2026 and entered the final having won 30 of its previous 31 NRLW games.
The result made the Roosters the first men’s or women’s top-grade rugby league team in Australia to go through a season without a loss since the 1959 St George Dragons, the source said. St George recorded 17 wins and one draw during that campaign. Halfback Tarryn Aiken was central to the Roosters’ performance.
Having missed the previous year’s grand final with an ACL injury, she scored after regathering a grubber and later created tries for captain Isabelle Kelly and winger Jayme Fressard. Brisbane’s early errors placed the team under sustained pressure, although its goal-line defence resisted for a period. Tamika Upton also produced a try-saving tackle on Jessica Sergis, preventing what would have been another Roosters score.
The match also marked the end of Ali Brigginshaw’s playing career. The Broncos playmaker, who has contributed to the development of women’s rugby league, was placed on report after a low challenge on Aiken but was not sin-binned. The supplied results list the Roosters’ grand-final victory as 19-18 over Newcastle, while the accompanying article describes a commanding win over Brisbane and refers to several Brisbane players.
The final score of the grand final is not stated consistently in the material.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.