By Danielle Smith
The Brisbane Broncos once again finished the regular season of the NRLW at the top of the table, after they ended the finals hopes of the Parramatta Eels during their 38-4 masterclass on Sunday.
With a minor premiership on the line for the Broncos and a place in the finals on offer for the Eels, there was a lot riding on the outcome of this match.
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In the end Brisbane were too strong for Parramatta, putting on a spectacular show for their home crowd and ending the blue and gold's first season in the NRLW.
The Broncos showed why they are the reigning champions with a blistering performance right out of the gate.
Tries to Emily Bass and Amy Turner in the first six minutes gave the Broncos an early 10-0 lead. The Eels hit back in the 17th minute through Ellie Johnston to make the score 10-4, but Brisbane returned serve through Shenae Ciesiolka and went to the half time break leading 16-4.
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The floodgates opened in the second half, with the home side piling on another 32 points and keeping the Eels at bay.
Millie Boyle was close to unstoppable, running for 238 metres and smashing out 19 hit ups. Captain Ali Brigginshaw also had a great game, scoring a try and was heavily involved in her team's success.
Parramatta were absolutely steamrolled by Brisbane, unable to get a real rhythm going throughout the game. They made it extremely difficult on themselves completing only 72 percent of their sets from 33 per cent possession. Having to make 321 tackles compared to the Broncos 173 really took its toll on the Eels.
Adding to the misery, star fullback Bo Vette-Welsh went down in the first half with a suspected ACL injury. It was a huge blow for the team and had a big impact on the rest of the game. The Eels number one will go for scans tomorrow, but early reports suggest the worst possible outcome is inevitable.
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Parramatta skipper Simaima Taufa was again one of the best for her side, leading the way with 41 tackles and doing her best to inspire her side. It unfortunately wasn't enough to stop the Broncos.
"I thought we put on a really good performance today," Broncos coach Kelvin Wright admitted during his post-match press conference.
"I was really proud of them... the way they just fought really hard for each other."
Brisbane lock Lavinia Gould was also proud of her team's performance in front of the Suncorp crowd.
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"It was a pretty special moment to be able to come back home, to play at home again. It has been a long time and we have felt that," she said.
"To have the opportunity to come back and come back strong and we wanted to obviously more so prove something to ourselves. Being in front of our home crowd, for our club, for our family, and it felt really special out there - and it showed. It showed in our performance what it meant for us."
Parramatta coach Dean Widders was visibly disappointed with the result and the season coming to an end for his team.
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"It's devastating. It really hurts," he said.
"We just didn't expect that and didn't want to end in that sort of fashion."
In next week's semi-final clashes, Brisbane will take on the Sydney Roosters and the St George Illawarra Dragons will play the Gold Coast after the Titans secured their spot in the top four following their win against the Newcastle Knights on Sunday.
Featured Image Credit: SuppliedTopics: Brisbane Broncos, Highlights, score, Parramatta Eels, nrl, Australia, NRLW