The Roosters’ got their NRLW season off to an almost perfect start, demolishing the returning Warriors side 30-6 in beautiful sunshine at Allianz Stadium.
But it did come at a cost – winger Jayme Fressard had to be taken from the field on a medicab while sucking on a green whistle after suffering a suspected dislocated elbow mid-way through the second half.
Fressard appeared to suffer the injury as she tried to palm off Warriors winger Michaela Brake while gunning for the corner. Fressard immediately held her arm at an odd angle, and after unsurprisingly bombing the put-down, was in obvious pain.
“She’s grabbing that right elbow straight away … you can see there’s some deformation in that elbow,” Ruan Sims said in commentary for Nine as replays rolled.
Sims said she had suffered a dislocated elbow herself, and described them as “awful” and “incredibly painful”.
Fressard’s loss will be a huge blow to Roosters coach John Strange, owing to her ability to play in a variety of positions in the back line, which gives him flexibility with his interchange.
For the Warriors, it was not the return to the NRLW they would have wanted, although Patricia Maliepo’s first half try did give them and their fans in the stands a reason to cheer.
The Chooks were polished for the most part and showed little signs of any early-season rust.
Taina Naividi provided one of the early season highlights, scoring a perfect first half hat-trick in the space of just 16 minutes.
Having gone into the break up 18-6, the Roosters scored again in the first minute after the resumption off the back of a Matekino Gray error.
The Warriors also played the Roosters in the first ever NRLW game back in 2018. They won that clash 10-4.
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