Why Broncos have ‘freakish’ rival to thank for their lethal spine

It took an impassioned plea from one of the NRLW’s leading superstars to entice Jada Ferguson back to rugby league, and on the cusp of a second premiership ring.

The Brisbane Broncos hooker had been aged out of the game after under-12s, with her Toowoomba home town short of opportunities for girls beyond that.

She instead tried her hand at rugby sevens, before Queensland Maroons superstar Tarryn Aiken – who will line up against Ferguson for the Roosters in Sunday’s grand final – got in her ear.

“Exactly,” Ferguson laughed, when put to her that if she helped inspire a Broncos triumph – having scored in last year’s decider – it would partly be by Aiken’s doing.

“I didn’t come back to rugby league until I was 18 when I moved down to the Gold Coast for university. We played touch together, and she said ‘come to league, come to league’,” Ferguson said.

“I played with her at Tweed Seagulls, and then in my first year of league I made under-19s Origin and then got selected in the Broncos squad. She’s had a big impact on getting me over to rugby league, so it’s exciting to verse her and hopefully beat them.

“She helps me to be confident in myself. She’s just a good mentor as well as a player, she does so well in the game and her eyes-up footy is unreal … she can make and break a game, she pulls off stuff that is pretty freakish.”

The pair have gone on to represent Queensland together, featuring in the 2025 series defeat. Ferguson’s touch football background has seeped into her rugby league career – finishing third for dummy-half runs in 2026 (52) and equal-first across the past three seasons (148) – and has cast her eye towards an Aiken reunion for Australia at this year’s World Cup.

When Ferguson arrived at Red Hill, Aiken was the marquee halfback of the Broncos – inspiring the club’s 2019 and 2020 premierships, the latter against her current Roosters outfit.

Her fullback on that day was Tamika Upton, who will now chase her sixth NRLW premiership – a fourth for the Broncos, having won consecutive titles with the Newcastle Knights.

Upton has been heralded the best player in the women’s rugby league space, with three Dally M Medals to show for it, but there is a strong case for Aiken to be considered in similar regard.

“She’s an incredible player, I played a lot with her, and she’s probably the brains, but she’s also got the strike as well. She’s got the talent to get through the line, but she’s also one of the most talented at setting up other people around her, which is why they’re such a good team,” Upton said.

“It [our relationship] actually goes way back, I actually played a bit of touch football with Tarryn as well in our junior years, so I’ve known her for a very long time. It’s no coincidence she’s as good as she is; she works very hard, and she’s a very diligent trainer.”

Brisbane edge forward and fellow Maroon Romy Teitzel added: “We’ve seen what Tarryn can do single-handedly for the Roosters, Jillaroos, and even alongside her in the Queensland arena.

“She creates opportunities out of nothing, so she’ll be very dangerous for us, but she’s one player out of 17 who take the field for them this weekend. I also like my halfbacks as well, they can create some pretty cool opportunities.”

Having missed last year’s decider between the powerhouse clubs due to a knee injury, Aiken – who became the first player to be named in the Players’ Dream Team for a fifth time this year – is now out to ensure the career of retiring former teammate, Ali Brigginshaw, does not end on a high note.

She will enter the decider fresh off scoring the match-winning try against the Canberra Raiders to seal a preliminary final victory in an undefeated campaign, as Sydney seek to extract revenge from Brisbane’s 22-18 victory in 2025.

“I’m just really proud to see her out there, I know she’s an enemy on Sunday, but she’s also been a teammate of mine, and to see her go down last year hurt. To see her back out there, we’d rather take on the best,” Brigginshaw said of the 27-year-old.

“She’s a big game player and performing very highly. She directs that team, but they’ve got Tarryn Aiken, and we’ve got Jesse Southwell, so it’s the battle of the sevens out there, and that’s what I’m excited to see – two of the best going at it.”

Stepping into Aiken’s old jersey this year has been arguably the brightest light in the NRLW, with Southwell relishing the challenge, before watching her childhood club – the Knights – end a 25-year wait between NRL grand final appearances.

“I, personally, didn’t think I’d be alive to see it, which is crazy. Newcastle would be buzzing right now, and it was buzzing when we made those grand finals,” Southwell said.

The 21-year-old has gone on to hoist the silverware twice with Newcastle, guided New South Wales to State of Origin glory, represented Australia three times, and even won gold in rugby sevens at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

But she concedes if not for Aiken, the trail may never have been blazed for her to attain such lofty heights, having taken elements of the 2024 Golden Boot winner’s running game and taken it further to lead the competition in line engagements (80).

“I’ve definitely loved watching Tarryn. She’s an outstanding player, I think her stats speaks for itself, she’s one of the best players in rugby league,” Southwell said.

“You take things from different types of players, and Tarryn’s no exception. You want to be the best, and you’ve got to watch the best, so I’m learning a lot of different things from different players, and she’s definitely one of them.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.