The Sydney Roosters have become the second club to take out an NRLW championship, defeating the St George Illawarra Dragons by 16 points to 4 at the Moreton Daily Stadium in Redcliffe on Sunday afternoon.
After the first three campaigns were all won by the Brisbane Broncos - two of them over the Roosters and the other other the Dragons - it was the Roosters who knocked off Brisbane last week to ensure there would be a new champion.
The postponed 2021 season, which is the first of two to be played this year, saw the Roosters at one point sitting outside the top four before sneaking into the semi-finals.
The Dragons, on the other hand, went past the Gold Coast Titans last week to make the final, with the Titans the only one of three expansion sides - the others being the Newcastle Knights and Parramatta Eels - to make the finals.
The Dragons started the grand final like a house on fire, with star Madison Bartlett crossing for an early try in the first minute.
Scoring dried up in the tight, tough clash between the two sides though, with the score remaining 4-0 at the halftime break.
The Roosters found another gear after the break however, levelling the game through Yasmin Meakes in the 44th minute to level the game at four points a piece.
With both teams missing their conversions, the game was all locked up with just over 15 minutes to go, and with field goal territory approaching, the Dragons would take an early shot, only to miss.
The Roosters were then able to score in the 54th minute through Isabelle Kelly to take the lead, with Zahara Temara slotting the extras to make it a six-point game.
While the Dragons were still right in the contest, they couldn't find their way across the stripe, with Olivia Higgins sealing the deal for the tri-colours in the 66th minute, scoring the match-winning try for the Roosters to take out the physical encounter by a 12-point margin.
Sarah Togatuki, who played in the middle third for the Roosters and made 161 metres from 13 runs, was named player of the final.
All teams will now head back to state league football during the middle of the year, while also preparing for women's State of Origin, to be held in Canberra this year, before the 2022 NRLW season will finish on NRL grand final day and act as a pre-cursor to the Rugby League World Cup in England during October and November.
The NRL have also announced further expansion to come in the coming years, with the competition to go to eight teams in 2023 and ten teams in 2024.
