The old adage, “A champion team will always beat a team of champions,” rings true for the Illawarra Steelers heading into this Sunday’s Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership Grand Final against the Newcastle Knights.
Often facing bigger and more experienced opponents, the Steelers finished the home and away season with the best for and against record in the competition, scoring 344 points for and 108 against from their nine wins and two losses.
Coach Jamie Szczerbanik called upon 34 players across the season, including members of last year’s inaugural women’s team, a sprinkling of Dragons NRLW players, and a large crop of Steelers juniors.
Read More >> Steelers Grand Final Team List
Experienced Hands
Hardworking prop Mackenzie Lear, who has been one of the Steelers best all season, is one of only three players to appear in every game, alongside goal-kicking utility Tayleah Handcock (pictured below left), who has starred at fullback and five-eighth, and captain Lily Rogan.
Lear will miss her partner in crime in 10 games during the regular season, Hope Millard, who has been sidelined by injury recently. However, 17-year-old NSW Origin representative Bronte Wilson (pictured below right) has been a more than handy substitute.
Rogan, Kaarla Cowan, Olivia Vale, and Jordyn Preston entered the season with a point to prove as members of the Steelers inaugural team. Last year, after finishing second in the regular season, the Steelers were knocked out in the semi-finals. Vale was a member of the Steelers’ victorious 2019 Tarsha Gale Cup side, which beat the Knights 24-12. Their experience cannot be overlooked come Sunday.
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The Young Guns
Szczerbanik’s outfit also includes five Tarsha Gale Cup premiership-winning members: Indie Bostock, Herewaka Pohatu, Wilson, Sienna Yeo, and concussion substitute Rhian Yeo.
Bostock and Wilson will cap off remarkable seasons if they can pick up their second grand final victory in the decider after featuring in the NSW Blues U19 Origin triumph.
Bostock, who carries the nickname ‘Ferrari’ because of her blinding speed, was player of the match in the U19’s Grand Final and has since starred in the open women’s grade, scoring eight tries in her seven appearances.
After scoring seven tries in the first seven games, regular winger Maria Paseka can consider herself unlucky not to get a crack at another title. The try-scoring whiz has been following HIA protocols after suffering a head knock in her Dragons NRLW debut in Round 5 against the Sharks.
Mia-Rose Walsh and Brielle Luccitti were other members of Courtney Crawford’s squad called upon throughout the season.
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Nan & The Kid
27-year-old Caitlin ‘Nan’ Moran (pictured above right) and Koffi ‘The Kid’ Brookfield (pictured above left) have formed a successful, if not unlikely, halves combination throughout the season, with former Jillaroo Moran providing the perfect foil for 17-year-old Brookfield.
Coming off the interchange bench, 17-year-old Tori Shipton is another young Steelers gun whose experience belies her age. Shae Muhleisen and Tiarna West have also added punch off the pine. West, a former Newcastle Knight, will line up against her old club on Sunday.
The squad was bolstered in the off-season by the addition of former Bulldogs Jessica Patea (Tarsha Gale Cup, pictured below right) and Trinity Tauaneai (pictured below left), who was a member of the Bulldogs premiership-winning Lisa Fiaola Cup team earlier this year. Both playing their way into Szczerbanik’s top 17 for the decider.
Dragons NRLW players Madison Mulhall, Tayla Curtis, Sophie Clancy, Alice Gregory, Maatuleio Fotu-Moala, Kim Hunt, and Charlotte Basham, another member of the all-conquering Steelers U19s, have appeared throughout the season when not on Dragons duty.
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Squad Mentality
In a proper team performance, every member of Szczerbanik’s outfit has pulled on the scarlet and white jersey this season, including Ula-Mari Cribb, Riley Scott, and Zali Yeo, who made the most of her two appearances, scoring a brace on each occasion.
Steelers Lisa Fiaola Cup U17’s captain, Tahlia O’Brien, made her debut in Round 5, and 17-year-old winger Kiara Kostovski was the last member of the squad to get a run, making her debut in the final round and scoring two tries.
They say it takes a village to raise a family. It may also be true for winning premierships.