The Eels headed into the final round of the regular season having not won a game but they are 70 minutes away from the unlikeliest of titles after beating Brisbane in Round 5 and backing it up with an 24-10 win over the previously unbeaten Roosters.
It means Parramatta can become the first club in history to win both the NRLW and NRL titles in the same season, becoming just the second team after the 2018 Roosters to have both the men’s and women’s teams play on grand final day.
The Knights controversially beat them earlier in the year, but Parramatta has improved immensely since then with halves Ash Quinlan and Tayla Preston looking better with each game.
The Eels will be hoping to avoid the traditional grand final week drama after inspirational leader Simaima Taufa was placed on report for a hip-drop tackle on Sarah Togatuki.
Ironically, Togatuki had to beat a charge to play in last season’s grand final, but Parramatta hope they won’t have to go that far this time around.
The Eels can’t afford to lose Taufa who has made more metres and tackles than any Parramatta player this season.
She led from the front again with 133 metres and 33 tackles, while fellow middle forward Kennedy Cherrington was equally outstanding after she was rocked by a textbook tackle from Olivia Kernick in the second half.
Knights officials should give raises to everyone in the NRLW recruitment team after a number of high-profile purchases helped Newcastle reach the grand final with a 30-6 win over the Dragons.
This is a team that claimed the wooden spoon and didn’t win a game in its inaugural season, but they are into the decider just a few months later thanks to some special performances by former Broncos Millie Boyle and Tamika Upton.
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The representative star made 161 metres and scored one of the great individual tries in NRLW history when she skittled NSW teammates Emma Tonegato and Keeley Davis with a couple of brutal fends on her way to the line.
Upton had some enormous runs on her way to 166 metres and eight tackle busts, and it was fitting that the speedy fullback blitzed the Dragons through the middle to seal the win and become the equal-leading try-scorer in NRLW history with 11
The Dragons have been one of the most consistent teams of 2022 but they were out of sorts on Sunday, butchering plenty of opportunities close to the line as things fell apart in the second half
They rely so heavily on Tonegato who had a game-high 211 metres and tried her heart out, but things just didn’t go her way
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