Indie Bostock stars in NRLW debut as Dragons win 36-14 against Raiders
Dragons rookie Indie Bostock has announced herself as an NRLW star of the future, capping off a dream debut with a try-scoring double, as the Red V upset the Raiders.
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Zali Hopkins may have wrapped up the best Try July celebration of the season after the Dragons hooker reenacted a move made famous by cult hero Mark Riddell, as a Red V rookie lived up to the hype with a stunning NRLW debut.
The first-half try was one of many highlights for the young Dragons side who left Canberra with two crucial competition points after they shocked the Raiders to win 36-14 under new coach Nathan Cross.
He would have been thrilled with what he saw on Saturday afternoon, with Indie Bostock announcing herself as a star of the future.
The hype around Bostock has been growing for years, and the teenage sensation lived up to it with two tries and an assist on debut.
She showed her class in the under-19s Origin match last month and was rewarded with an NRLW debut where she took just three minutes to wow the crowd with a scintillating 80-metre effort down the right edge.
Just like her brother, Jack Bostock, Indie can score tries in bunches and she doubled up early in the second half when she backed up a big break by Teagan Berry, with the rookie denied a hat-trick by the Bunker for a knock-on.
Indie Bostock on debut! ðŸŽï¸
— NRLW (@NRLWomens) July 5, 2025
Telstra Moment of the Match. pic.twitter.com/nOZRXw6IlL
Berry links up with Bostock 🔗 pic.twitter.com/LknQcarKmm
— NRLW (@NRLWomens) July 5, 2025
And while Bostock deserves all the headlines, Berry showed she’s still the best attacking weapon at the club as she raced 70 metres from a scrum to score just when the Raiders were threatening a comeback.
The big win was sealed in the final few minutes when veteran halfback Raecene McGregor crossed under the posts and celebrated like Jack and Rose to seal the Titanic upset.
Bostock capped a dream afternoon when she popped a brilliant offload at the death to set up Margot Vella to add a try assist to go with her 152 running metres.
MAKING PIGGY PROUD
The money has been flowing to start Try July, and we’ve already seen of the great celebrations after Hopkins darted over from dummy-half to give the Red V a 12-4 lead midway through the first half.
Instead of celebrating with her teammates, she raced to the stands, sat down and applauded her effort just as Riddell did 23 years ago.
The moment was made even better given Riddell is an assistant coach with the NRLW team and was there to cheer on the move he made famous.
Zali Hopkins honours Piggy 👠Sportsbet #TryJulypic.twitter.com/HRNALmCpxB
— NRLW (@NRLWomens) July 5, 2025
SEVENTH HELL
Canberra’s shocking record at home continued as they slumped to a seventh-straight defeat at GIO Stadium.
Their left edge looked dangerous every time they got in position, while their forwards were strong through the middle, but things just didn’t click for the Green Machine.
They have other concerns with strike centre Mackenzie Wiki on report for a high shot in the first half.
COWBOYS KICK OFF 2025 CAMPAIGN IN STYLE
—Patrick Woods
The Cowboys kicked off their NRLW campaign in style, claiming a suffocating 20-6 triumph over the Titans in front of a large and boisterous crowd in Townsville.
North Queensland’s resolute defence kept the Gold Coast scoreless for the first 67 minutes of the contest while the Cowboys’ back three each found the try line to stamp their authority in the first half.
Jakiya Whitfeld’s move to fullback opened up space on North Queensland’s edges which allowed them to break the line once some fatigue got into the contest. The Jillaroos star led the game in tackle breaks (8) and metres (206).
The NRLW’s all-time tackles leader Georgia Hale added 61 to her career total – with only one miss – while her Cowboys counterpart Bree Chester made 43 tackles with only one miss.
After starting the match with a flourish, the Titans’ attack petered out and as the game went on they looked less and less likely to breach the brick wall defence.
Cowboys co-captain Kirra Dibb’s kicking game was excellent, keeping the Titans pinned in their own corners while halves partner Rosie Kelly worked well with her new teammates.
TITANIC FLOP
The Titans came into the game with high expectations but failed to deliver in attack despite completing at an impressive rate.
It took 53 minutes for the Gold Coast to finally break the line and by that stage North Queensland had seven – with every back except Blackwell notching a linebreak.
The Titans need to address their spluttering attack quickly if they want to make a splash in this year’s short season.
CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE
Both Cowboys centres were outstanding on North Queensland’s new-look edges, linking perfectly with their wingers to set up the first two tries.
Each boasting representative experience, Peters and Roache carried the ball well and missed only one tackle between them.
Peters was devastating on the right edge, finishing the game with seven tackle breaks and sparking North Queensland’s first attack with a great linebreak from within her own half before setting up the opening try.
NRLW STAR MAKES TRIUMPHANT RETURN WITH BRONCOS
Tamika Upton’s Broncos return went to script while an NRLW debutant dazzled with a double as Brisbane survived an early scare to avoid becoming the third heavy favourite to taste defeat in the opening round.
A tight first half opened up after the break as Brisbane’s class carried them to a comfortable 28-4 victory over the Wests Tigers thanks to two tries from Kerri Johnson who had a field day playing on the end of their all-star left edge.
“I thought she grew in confidence as the game went on,” Broncos coach Scott Prince said of the debutant who was found out defensively for a Tigers try.
“It was her second game of rugby league so she’s had to take in a lot with the pre-season and trial game.
“She’s one of those players who wants to learn the game and she’s doing her best at training.”
Barnstorming centre Mele Hufanga was held up twice in the space of three minutes in the second half, but her winger didn’t have the same issues as Johnson backed up a big break from the returning Upton to open the scoring.
The Broncos surged into premiership favouritism the moment superstar fullback Upton announced she was signing with them, and she showed her class with three try assists and just as many line-break assists.
She simply had to watch on as Destiny Brill scored a slashing solo try out of dummy-half from 42 metres out, before Johnson finished off some nice work to get the ball rolling in the second half.
The Tigers fought bravely but couldn’t hold on forever as State of Origin hero Chelsea Lenarduzzi got on the scoreboard before Upton threw the final pass for Hufanga to get her customary try.
TIGERS EARN THEIR STRIPES
This was supposed to be the biggest mismatch on paper in round one, but the Tigers made life difficult for the Broncos, with Brett Kimmorley’s young squad defending stoutly against last year’s highest-scoring team.
The Broncos dominated the possession and territory stats, but it took them 20 minutes to open the scoring at home.
The visitors had no ball in the first half but had some joy when Caitlin Turnbull darted over from dummy-half in her first game, with attacking fluency their main focus for the rest of the season.
DOUBLE DELIGHT
We’re only a few games into the new NRLW season but we may have already seen the best try-saving tackle of the year after Wests Tigers fullback Jetaya Faifua somehow denied Brianna Clark early in the second half.
The Broncos prop charged onto a short ball from Ali Brigginshaw and looked certain to score, only for Faifua to whack her close to the line and keep one hand on her foot as Clark reached out to score.
Brisbane players started doing their Try July celebration, only for the referee to spot the double movement, with Faifua coming up with another huge play to deny Hayley Maddick a few minutes later.
BULLDOGS UPSET KNIGHTS TO MAKE HISTORY IN NRLW
Cameron Ciraldo spoke on Thursday about how the Bulldogs of 90 years ago laid the foundation for the club by training in paddocks and having to use the lights from their cars to help them train.
Under the bright lights at Accor Stadium on Friday night, 17 women made history for the Bulldogs as they celebrated their arrival into the NRLW with a famous 26-12 win over Newcastle to make it two upsets in as many nights to start the new season.
“In our team, we talk about the pioneers of our club from 90 years ago that laid the foundation for what this club is today,” Ciraldo said on Thursday.
“The girls get to do that with what they’re doing. Win, lose or draw, they get to set a foundation for our NRLW program moving forward.
“We look back at the guys who were training 90 years ago in paddocks with potholes everywhere and using the lights from their cars to start a club.
“We’re very respectful of that and totally understand that those guys laid the foundation for where we are now. We’re very excited about the opportunity the girls get.”
The Bulldogs are doing special things on and off the field in 2025, with Friday night’s game attracting a crowd of 6011 who got to see their team make history in their inaugural NRLW appearance.
A sensational offload from Andie Robinson sets up the first ever NRLW try for the Bulldogs ðŸ‘
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) July 4, 2025
📺 Watch #NRLWBulldogsKnights on ch.502 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/QaxXCht7d1
🔢 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/yWvPcJCBKppic.twitter.com/bdujAeGwsV
HANDY ANDIE
The Bulldogs were on the back foot for much of the first half, but the brilliance of fullback Andie Robinson turned the game on its head.
Robinson ran for 146 metres in a frenetic first half that saw her held up over the line before she threw an offload to set up Moana Courtenay for the club’s first NRLW try, with the centre adding another as the blue and whites kicked clear.
It was her massive kick return that led to an Ash Quinlan try a few plays later to give the hosts the halftime lead, with Robinson denied a deserved try because of a forward pass.
The Bulldogs had a stack of possession in the second half and finally made it count when Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa pounced on a grubber to score a try to go with her 182 running metres.
TOUGH KNIGHT AT THE OFFICE
There were huge question marks over how the Knights would perform without Tamika Upton, but not even she could have saved them given their inability to get through their sets.
The night started well when Georgia Roche threw a dummy and sliced through to open the scoring, but they were well beaten in the middle and couldn’t match the energy of the competition newcomers.
OPENING GAME UPSET AS EELS SHOCK SHARKS WITH STATEMENT WIN
—Eamonn Tiernan
Parramatta just missed finals in 2024 but they’ve burst out of the blocks in 2025 with an 18-16 upset victory over last year’s grand finalists Cronulla in the NRLW season opener on Thursday night.
The Eels are the youngest side in the competition and had five players making their NRLW debut against Cronulla, but they were clinical from the outset.
Parramatta completed at 93 per cent in the first half as a kicking masterclass from halfback Rachael Pearson had the hosts on the back foot.
Cronulla had several chances to win it late at Shark Park but the visitors’ goal line defence stood tall all night and proved the difference.
“We’re stoked. We had heaps of trust in our debutants, so we went into the game confident and they pulled through,” Parramatta centre Rory Owen said.
“The coaches will be ecstatic, we had a big focus on defence and I think we really showed we’ve been focused at training.”
It was a thrilling contest between two genuine premiership contenders this season but it was a night to forget for the officials.
They missed three blatant forward passes before one was finally picked up in the dying minutes that ended the Sharks’ chances of snatching a late victory.
PERFECT PEARSON
Eels halfback Rachael Pearson booted the Sharks off the park in a dominant first half.
Pearson set up the opening try with a grubber into the posts that caught Sharks duo Georgia Hannaway and Emma Verran napping as Chloe Jackson pounced to score first points of the NRLW season.
Pearson also set up the second try with another grubber but this time for herself as she caught out Verran again and regathered to score a simple try.
Pearson catches them napping and kicks for herself 🔥
— NRLW (@NRLWomens) July 3, 2025
Telstra Moment of the Match. pic.twitter.com/cdlQuXt5r3
The Parramatta No. 7 should have had a third try assist off her boot but Martha Mataele couldn’t reel in a chip to the corner.
On the stroke of halftime, Pearson threw a dummy and sliced through before putting through a kick that should have seen prop Elsie Albert score but she couldn’t finish.
Pearson’s general play kicking was also on point as she kept Cronulla’s back three on the back foot all night.
BATTLE OF THE FULLBACKS
All eyes were on the match up between fullbacks Emma Verran and Abbi Church heading into this clash and it was the latter who got the better of her NSW teammate.
Eels No. 1 Church looked dangerous every time she touched the ball and ran for 123 metres from 14 carries and also set up a try.
Verran endured a horror first half, letting in two tries and making two errors. But the former Dally M Medal winner showed her class in the second stanza with some dangerous runs and epic defence.
Verran helped set up the Sharks’ go-ahead try in the 49th minute and then made a try-saver on Zali Fay with just seven minutes left to keep her side in the game. She finished with 140 run metres from 14 carries.
“We were in it but unfortunately couldn’t hold on,” Verran said.
“When we had the ball in the first half we looked dangerous and the message at halftime was go back through the middle and we did that and I thought we had them there but it just slipped through our fingers.”
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Originally published as Indie Bostock stars in NRLW debut as Dragons win 36-14 against Raiders
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