Tamika Upton stars for Knights against Titans in drama-charged NRLW final

Dally M medallist Tamika Upton starred in Newcastle’s nailbiting NRLW premiership win against the Gold Coast, entering the conversation as one of the all-time great female footy players.

Tamika Upton scores the match winner during the NRLW Grand Final between the Newcastle Knights and the Gold Coast Titans at Accor Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park. Pics Adam Head

Tamika Upton has entered the conversation as one of the all-time great female footy players after the Knights fullback scored two late tries to help Newcastle seal back-to-back NRLW titles with a thrilling 24-18 win over the Titans.

The Dally M Medal winner had to go deep into her bag of tricks as it looked like Newcastle’s hopes of defending their title had gone up in smoke as the Titans opened up a handy lead late in the game.

But the cream always rises to the top in the big games, and there is no one better than Upton who has now won four NRLW titles and is clearly the best player in the world right now.

With her side down by six points with 10 minutes to go, Upton did it all herself on the back of a nice offload to level the scores before she grubbered and collected a loose ball to score a try that only comes off for the players willing to gamble with everything on the line.

Upton also had two try assists and is the raging favourite to claim her second Karyn Murphy Medal in as many years after dazzling the crowd of 40,649 with a scorching performance that matched Sydney’s sweltering weather.

“If we look at the Dally M results, she certainly is (the best player in the world),” Knights coach Ronald Griffiths said.

“But I’ll tell you one thing about Tamika, she’s extremely humble. She’ll talk about her teammates and how well they went.”

Tamika Upton scored the matchwinner and won the Karyn Murphy medal for best on-ground. Picture: Adam Head

GOLD STANDARD

They finished with the wooden spoon just 12 months ago but the Titans have set themselves up to be premiership contenders for years to come.

The Gold Coast has been a barren wasteland for sporting franchises over the years but they finally have reason to be excited with a young and exciting NRLW squad that has the talent and now has the belief to match it with the elite teams.

They were the better side for long stretches on Sunday afternoon but just couldn’t contain Upton who produced the big plays when it mattered most.

“I’m so proud of the girls all year so I knew they’d play like they did today,” Titans coach Karyn Murphy said.

“They’ve got that grit about them and they fight to the final whistle.

“We’re really disappointed … but I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

SEVEN MINUTES IN HELL

The Titans should have headed into the sheds with an unassailable lead after they totally dominated the early exchanges but failed to take advantage with Gold Coast only scoring eight points after they took the safe option to slot a penalty for a hair pull.

Newcastle simply couldn’t get over halfway but a penalty swung momentum their way as they raced in three tries in the space of seven minutes to lead 12-8 at the break.

Upton played a key role in two of those tries while Shanice Parker scored one and popped an incredible pass to set up another for Sheridan Gallagher who has made the most of her switch from the round ball game to rugby league.

Teammates congratulate Jamie Chapman on her first try. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

CHAPMAN’S A FAST STAR

Everyone knew Jaime Chapman was good, but the world now knows she’s truly great after she became just the second player in NRLW history to score a hat-trick in a grand final.

The rep centre opened the scoring off a nice set play and then repeated the dose to start the second half with the first of her two tries in the space of three minutes that threatened to blow the game wide open.

She finished with 128 metres and a whopping 11 tackle busts and even got away with a blatant accidental off-side which could have proved vital midway through the second half.

“She had a great game today,” Murphy said.

“She’s a big game player so I thought she had that in her.”

Originally published as Tamika Upton stars for Knights against Titans in drama-charged NRLW final