In a league of her own: Upton takes a shot at NRLW history

Author: Alicia Newton NRLW Reporter
Timestamp: Thu 28 Sep 2023, 04:01 PM

Knights fullback Tamika Upton is on the verge of taking the outright lead for premierships won by an NRLW player ahead of Sunday's grand final against the Titans.

The 2023 NRLW Dally M medal winner is the only active player with three titles to her name going into the decider and is gunning to keep her 100 percent strike rate alive on grand final day.

Knights teammates Yasmin Clydsdale, Tayla Predebon and Olivia Higgins are chasing their third consecutive titles while Titans veteran Stephanie Hancock is chasing her third personal premiership.

Hancock won two premierships in her first two years at the Broncos, including with Upton in 2019, before a brief stint with St George Illawarra.

Upton won two premierships at the Broncos in 2019-2020 before shifting to the Knights, where she guided them to a maiden title with a player-of-the-match performance in last year's grand final.

"[Winning a fourth premiership] is not something I'm thinking about at the moment because every year is different for me," Upton told NRL.com.

"I'm a day-to-day person and that's how I approach life in general, which is not always a good thing, but it works for footy.

Upton wins NRLW Player of the Year in a cliffhanger

"I've got laid-back parents and how I was brought up was to not buy into any of that outside noise of hype or how good you or the team are.

"We've been taught to work hard, especially at training. We do a lot learning at this club and it's something I've been really happy about this year is how much I've been able to learn."

Upton's main goal this year was to get through a full season after she was previously struck down by injury or illness - a mission complete which is set to have her in contention for Jillaroos selection next month.

"I'm proud with the work I've done to get through a full season," she said.

"A lot of people helped me along the way. It was frustrating season after season to miss one or two games in a five-week comp, so this year has been a really big positive.

"I feel a big difference physically when I'm out there more. I used to miss a lot of training sessions but haven't really missed one this year. It's played a big part in what I've been able to do."