Broncos’ Chelsea Lenarduzzi: ‘It’s burnt me every year that we haven’t won’
Women’s rugby league is on the up, but for one of its proudest proponents, the downs are still impossible to avoid. Chelsea Lenarduzzi, the Brisbane and Queensland forward, has felt disappointment for her state and club in the past 12 months.
However, the longtime Bronco knows there’s nothing to do but get back on the horse. “If you don’t make a team, the sun rises the next day and you should still go to work,” she says ahead of Brisbane’s season opener against the Tigers on Saturday. “Our work is that sometimes you go to training, and sometimes you go to a recovery centre the next day after bad news.”
Left out for the first match of the State of Origin series, the 29-year-old was recalled for the second, but unable to prevent the Blues from winning the shield. It followed the pain of last season, and ignominious exit of Brisbane – three-time premiers but without a title since 2020 – in the first week of the NRLW finals.Broncos’ Chelsea Lenarduzzi: ‘It’s burnt me every year that we haven’t won’the competition,” Lenarduzzi says. “Winning is the number one goal every year, it’s burnt me every year that we haven’t won.”
The minor premiers entered the semi-final against Cronulla – a club in just their second NRLW season – on a seven-match winning streak. But in the NRLW’s old two-week finals series there were no second chances, and the highly fancied Broncos outfit led by captain Ali Brigginshaw lost 14-0 to the Sharks.
Lenarduzzi says it continues to leave a bitter taste before the 2025 NRLW season, which began on Thursday night. “We’ve got pretty high goals and high expectations for ourselves after the disappointing finish to last season,” she says.
The off-season has only increased the pressure. The club has brought back fullback Tamika Upton – a player Lenarduzzi considers the best in the world – after three seasons in Newcastle. “Now we have literally no excuse,” she says. “The only thing that’s going to stop us not performing well enough is us.”
But in the dynamic world of women’s rugby league, improvement is everywhere. The premiership-winning Roosters welcome back five-eighth Corban Baxter after she missed last season due to a knee injury. Beaten grand finalists Cronulla have recruited former New Zealand sevens player Tyla King and forward Caitlan Johnston-Green, although both will miss the start of the season.
Even the expansion sides are expected to be competitive. Canterbury recorded a win in pre-season against Parramatta, and the other new team, New Zealand Warriors – taking the competition to 12 sides – were a foundation side but withdrew during the pandemic.
