Sydney Roosters captain Isabelle Kelly’s NRLW season appears to be over after suffering what is believed to be a broken jaw in a nasty collision during the Roosters’ 15th straight victory.
The Roosters remained unbeaten in 2025 with a 30-0 thumping of the Cowboys in Townsville, but the win was marred by an agonising injury to superstar centre Kelly.
Midway through the second half, Kelly arrived late as Cowboys winger Fran Goldthorp tried to break out of Amber Hall’s tackle on a kick return.
Goldthorp threw her ball-carrying arm back just as Kelly came into the tackle and Goldthorp’s elbow smashed into Kelly’s chin.
Immediately in pain, Kelly dropped to the ground and appeared in serious distress as trainers arrived and handed her a towel to hold over her mouth.
They slowly walked off the field and was reportedly taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Her undefeated team carried on without her, taking their winning streak beyond a year by piling on four second-half tries to remain atop the table with two more games before a maximum of three finals, culminating in the grand final on October 5.
Even after the injury to the NSW captain, the reigning premiers are favourites to go back to back in 2025, with only the Brisbane Broncos within reach of them.
The Broncos’ only loss was a 30-26 defeat at the hands of the Roosters in round three.
They sit second, two wins behind the Tricolours with three games still to come, including Sunday’s clash with Canterbury, followed by games against the Warriors and Cowboys.
The Roosters close out their regular season against the Raiders and last year’s runner-up, Cronulla.
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