The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have claimed the 2026 Lisa Fiaola Cup after a thumping 40-4 victory over the Central Coast Roosters at Leichhardt Oval.
Jada Breeze Gray claimed Player of the Match Honours after dominating through the middle of the field, while Meleane Hala claimed a 20-point haul with a hat-trick and four goals.
Both sides pressed for first points after early nerves halted their progress, with neither able to break through as discipline and defence set the tone in the early stages of the match.
Match: Bulldogs v CC Roosters
Grand Final -
home Team
Bulldogs
away Team
CC Roosters
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
A courageous catch for a highball from fullback Emacyn-Eden Ieremia earned her side a penalty, before the ball swung out wide with Meleane Hala swan diving over for the first try of the match. Her attempt from the sideline fell just short, with the Bulldogs leading 4-nil after thirteen minutes.
Buoyed from their first try, another opportunity presented itself when a thumping tackle forced a drop ball, only for a scrum to be called with the line was wide open.
But that didn't deter the brave Bulldogs, with Caszius Fatialofa crashing over just a few minutes later to extend the score to 8-nil.
The side survived a raid from the Roosters on the line, forcing an error, before an unlucky tackle resulted in a sin bin in the side's first real test of the day.
Despite the adversity, it was the Bulldogs showing plenty of fight after forcing another error on their line, and just moments later it was Hala crossing over for her second after she recovered a beautiful chip kick.
The Blue and Whites held on for one final set before the half-time whistle, taking a 12-nil lead as the sides headed into the sheds.
Still down to twelve players to start the second half, the first set saw another forced error off the Roosters as the defence converged, and it was Ieremia falling over the line just moments later out wide.
The momentum continued, as Fatialofa bagged a second try with another barging effort as the match returned to 13-on-13. Hala's conversion saw the scoreboard at 22-nil with 20 minutes remaining.
Raneh Siteine swooped on an intercept to add her name to the scoresheet, before the Bulldogs added a seventh try through Talita Haumono. Not long after, it was Hala taking advantage of an error from a high ball to claim her hat-trick.
An intercept from the Roosters was thwarted as the Bulldogs' grit converged to keep their opponents scoreless, before their opponents finally crossed for a consolation try.
But it was the Bulldogs running away with a 40-4 victory, claiming the Club's second Lisa Fiaola Cup Premiership in emphatic fashion.
“We worked so hard this year, and we spoke about being in the moment off the back of being disappointed last year,” Head Coach Vanessa Foliaki said.
“For us we spoke about the things that made us so good this year and that was going through the middle.
“We spoke about going through challenges and adversity, but we’ve got to stay in and keep our head up and keep moving for each other.”
“Credit to the Roosters, they were outstanding last week, and we knew we had to turn up today and that’s what we did.”
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 40 (Meleane Hala 3, Caszius Fatialofa 2, Emacyn-Eden Ieremia, Raneh Siteine, Talita Haumono tries; Meleana Hala 4 goals) def Central Coast Roosters 4
