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Sydney Roosters beat Brisbane Broncos as reigning champs stamp authority on NRLW

The Roosters celebrated a gritty win in Brisbane. (Getty Images: Bradley Kanaris)

Raecene McGregor starred as reigning NRLW champions Sydney Roosters made it two-from-two to start their season with a dominant 28-8 win over Brisbane.

McGregor ran for 101 metres, had six tackle-busts, two linebreaks and two try-assists as her side cruised to a second-consecutive win over the Broncos after knocking them out in last season's semi-final.

Two tries in the final five minutes of the opening stanza to Olivia Kernick and Samantha Bremner gave them a healthy buffer heading into the sheds after Destiny Brill burrowed over from dummy-half after 12 minutes.

Kernick got her second try in the 48th minute after the Broncos scored twice through Tarryn Aiken to narrow the deficit to eight points.

But the Roosters fired right back through Shawden Burton six minutes later before McGregor took the ball to the line deep in Broncos territory to set up their fifth.

The space opened up on the right edge from her run and Zahara Temara found Jayme Fressard with a cut-out pass to seal the result.

The only blight on the Roosters' performance was losing star centre Jessica Sergis after half-time to a hamstring injury and Sarah Togatuki near full-time after a big tackle, with a grand final rematch against St George Illawarra looming next week.

McGregor's side made the most of their dominant territory and possession in the first half as Brisbane completed at just 53 per cent because of handling errors.

The hosts had numerous opportunities but a combination of stellar defence from their opposition and poor ball control saw them lose possession eight times while conceding as many penalties.

They tidied up the errors in the second half but the Roosters won the war of attrition in midfield to hold on for a second 20-point win of the season and keep Brisbane winless.

Ladder

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