Brisbane, St George Illawarra and North Queensland have opened their NRLW campaigns in the best possible style.
Tamika Upton's return to the Broncos brought immediate benefits as she helped the three-time champions to a 28-4 win over Wests Tigers at Totally Workwear Stadium on Saturday.
The 28-year-old was back in Brisbane colours after three years with Newcastle and reaffirmed why she won the 2023 Dally M Medal with three try assists, four line-break assists, and six tackle busts in her afternoon's work.
"She's just an X-factor. Tamika always goes about her football so professionally," Broncos captain Ali Brigginshaw said.
"Today she started to really find her groove."
The visitors were in the fight at halftime trailing 8-4, but Brisbane went from a trot into a gallop piling on four unanswered tries.
"A little bit nerve wrecking and frustrating in that first half. We had a lot of footy but just didn't do too much with it," Broncos coach Scott Prince said.
"But in the second half the girls came out with real intent to turn the Tigers around and put them in their corner."
Fittingly it was two NRLW debutants that scored their team's first points.
Rugby recruit Kerri Johnson touched down in the 21st minute after a 35-metre break upfield by Upton.
Wests Tigers Caitlin Turnbull, who scored 13 tries in 11 games for Wentworthville in NSWRL's Harvey Norman Premiership last year, grabbed her maiden NRLW try.
Brisbane snapped their round-one blues after losing the opening match of the past three seasons.
The league's top-two tryscorers added to their individual tallies, when St George Illawarra overran Canberra at GIO Stadium.
Dragons fullback Teagan Berry registered her 30th four-pointer and Raiders winger Madison Bartlett scored her 27th in the Red V's 36-14 win.
18-year-old debutant Indie Bostock took just three minutes to score a runaway 80-metre try for the Dragons after being called up into the centres from the extended bench.
The star of the NSW U19s State of Origin win last month, and the sister of Dolphins winger Jack, added a second by supporting Berry down the right after the break.
That put the visitors up 18-4 but the Raiders' revival came through tries to Bartlett and Sophie Holyman.
St George Illawarra responded with another three tries – Berry, halfback and captain Raecene McGregor and winger Margot Vella.
The Dragons only won two of nine games last year but rookie coach Nathan Cross seems to have them on course for a few more in 2025.
In Townsville, North Queensland enjoyed a 20-6 win over Gold Coast.
Ricky Henry's Cowboys produced nine line breaks to two and 29 tackle-busts to 17 as they rattled off a four tries-to-one victory at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
They were three minutes from recording their first whitewash in their short three-year history, but a consolation try to Titans centre Georgia Gray put an end to that.
England international Fran Goldthorp got the party started in the 19th minute, with winger Krystal Blackwell and fullback Jakiya Whitfield also scoring for a 14-0 lead at the break.
Emma Manzelmann bagged the Cowboys' fourth and final try with a darting 20-metre run.