Classy Clydsdale leads Knights to NRLW hat-trick

Clydsdale's brilliance helped the Knights notch  a convincing 30-6 victory over Parramatta at Sydney's Eric Tweedle Stadium on Sunday.

In Sunday's second match in Wollongong, the Broncos bounced back from last week's loss to the Roosters to upset the Dragons at home by the same scoreline, 30-6.

And in the late game, the injury-ravaged Cronulla held on for a four-point home win over Wests Tigers. 

In Sydney, Clydsdale led the charge for most of the match with 20 runs for 202 metres, including a game-high 72 post-contact metres, scored a try, broke out four of tackles and made 29 of her own. 

"We're just building every single week, but we're not even halfway through the season yet,'' Clydsdale said. 

"We've still got things to work and focus on, but I'm very happy with where the girls are."

After losing their opening round against the Bulldogs, the Knights have gone on a run, with five different try-scorers on Sunday after six different names in last week's win over the Warriors.

"It's nice to have threats all over the field," coach Ben Jeffries said. 

"It's pleasing to see because it means they're enjoying their football."

Two long-range moves finished off by winger Tess Staines and centre Tenika Willison gave the Knights  a 12-0 lead at halftime.

The Eels were completing at 93 per cent and only had one error in the opening half, but the points were not forthcoming off the back of it. 

"I thought physically they just out-muscled us through the middle," coach Steve Georgallis said. 

Front-rower Elsie Albert bucked the trend, barging over under the weight of three Knights defenders, but they were the Eels' only points.

Clydsdale, Kayla Romaniuk and Sheridan Gallagher, with a heavily strapped left ankle from an earlier tackle, scored, alongside another flawless Jesse Southwell goalkicking display - five from five. 

At WIN Stadium, the Dragons looked like they might break an unenviable record of not having beaten the Broncos since 2022, when fullback Teagan Berry scored in the 15th minute and the Broncos' score sheet remained blank until the shadows of halftime when Julia Robinson crossed.

It was anyone's game at 6-6, but then the tide turned against the home side. 

Berry was sin-binned for using her knees trying to stop winger Kerri Johnson from scoring.

The Dragons also lost five-eighth Kasey Reh to concussion and the Broncos ended up scoring four unanswered tries in the second half.

"We knew coming here would be tough going as the Dragons  have plenty of heart and fight in them," Broncos No.6 Gayle Broughton told Channel Nine.

"We still have a lot to work on as we're not starting well enough, especially with the side we have. We need to be better."

In  Sunday night's final match to wrap up round four, a courageous Cronulla banished their home-game hoodoo at Sharks Stadium with a 20-16 win over Wests Tigers.

The Sharks had lost their previous two home matches by two points to the Eels and Cowboys. 

But victory came at a cost - they had no players left on their bench after forwards Brooke Anderson and Stephanie Faulkner failed concussion tests, five-eighth Georgia Hannay hurt her left ankle, and debutant Anne-Marie Kiria-Ratu strained her left knee. 

Anderson went down in the first tackle of the match. 

Although theTigers are still searching for a win in 2025, their winger Caitlin Turnbull scored a double, giving her six tries in four games to become the NRLW's leading try-scorer.

Australian Associated Press