Minor premiership in sight but Brigginshaw wants much more

The Broncos' sizzling six-game winning streak has given them a shot at the minor premiership but skipper Ali Brigginshaw says expectations are set much higher than that at Red Hill.

After claiming three successive titles between 2018-20, the Broncos have been to the finals every year since but are still chasing an elusive fourth premiership.

“I've said this before, when you pull on this jersey, there's no other expectation but to make grand final day, so that's where our sights are set,” Brigginshaw said.

“We have got to get there and we're doing well so far.

“We always set our standard really high.”

Going into the final round equal on 12 points with the Roosters and Sharks, a win over the Dragons on Saturday is the first priority and they will then watch on to see how the Tricolours perform on Sunday.

Brigginshaw played her 40th NRLW game in the last-gasp win against the Sharks in Round 8 and credited her team’s recent run of success to their resilience and want to turn up for each other.

The effort and enthusiasm from her teammates has inspired her continue to push herself all season and has also helped her to continue enjoying her footy.

“Absolutely love it, I love the grind mentality that the girls have,” the 34-year-old said.

“We’ve probably had teams (in the past) where we'd lose those sorts of games (against the Sharks), so I love how tough the girls have become and how much we wanted it.

“It's a really good team and it's exciting.

“The game's getting faster, so I’ve got to keep my calm head and I thought that was probably not one of my best games, I made quite a few errors, and it's something I've got to work on.

“But I'm just still enjoying my footy. I love the girls. They respect me, and we work really well together, so just love and being a part of it.”

There is no doubt the inclusion of five-eighth Gayle Broughton has been a big boost for the Broncos, after the former Silver Fern missed the first two rounds recovering from off-season back surgery.

In her six appearances this season, Broughton has scored two tries and produced one try assist and two line break assists, but it is her leadership and quick decisions on the field that have had the most impact.

“I love Gayle, we complement each other well when I'm a bit hot headed and she's the calm head,” Brigginshaw said.

“Absolutely love playing with her, she's an excitement machine. Full credit to Gayle, absolutely love having her there.”

With a points differential of +86 compared to the Roosters' +96, Brigginshaw knows her teams needs to find their attacking groove on Saturday and win by a decent margin to put some heat on John Strange's team.

"We've had moments in games where we switch off, so I just want a good quality performance," Brigginshaw said.

“I want us to follow our game plan, just that buy-in mentality. I just really want to finish off the regular season with a quality win.

“Getting there to the minor premiership, we've done it before, but our sides are set up for grand final day.

“You want that silverware, you want that trophy.

"We could tick off the minor premiership if we get the win [against the Dragons] but I'm going for more.”