Rugby league is a team game which occasionally, for a brief window in time, becomes an individual sport.

It happened with about five minutes to go in Newcastle's NRLW grand final win over the Titans. The scores were level, the Knights were on the attack and Georgia Roche was in the pocket, waiting for the chance to take a shot at a field goal.

Newcastle went the other way. Roche threw her hands up in frustration and it was easy to understand why. The smart rugby league play would have been to get her the ball so she could take the shot.

The Knights were not doing what they were supposed to do. They were not following the rules. But rules don't really apply to a certain kind of player – they do it their way because it is their way and it's their way because it works. Living on that raggedy edge isn't easy and only the truly great players make it work.

Tamika Upton is truly great.

The Knights fullback took a pass from Jesse Southwell and, with not much doing at all, kicked for herself and touched down first to not just complete the club's charge for back-to-back titles as the Knights went on to win 24-18 and not just land her second consecutive Karyn Murphy Medal, but also to cement her 2023 campaign as the greatest single-season performance in NRLW history.

Upton already entered the game as arguably the top player in the league. She claimed the Dally M medal earlier this week on the back of a stellar year where she improved her playmaking to the point where she's now as adept at creating chances for others as she is at finishing chances created for her.

Adding a string to what was already a considerable bow was a measure of Upton's quality because it's hard to keep improving when you're already the best, and if she hadn't done that, if she hadn't made herself a more well-rounded player for no reason other than she is wired that way, the Knights don't win this game.

The Titans were up for the fight in a way a team only ever can be in their first-ever grand final. They were physical and direct and hit the Knights where it hurt.

Jaime Chapman scored three tries and looked dangerous with every touch close to the line. Evania Pelite showcased her rare gift for beating defenders again and again on kick returns. The underdogs looked well on the way to victory except for the rare occasions when Upton deemed it would not be so.

There was the bullet pass to Jasmine Strange, which kick-started the Knights' comeback. There was another pass to Shanice Parker that put them in front before half-time. There was her first try that levelled the scores and then there was the game-winner.

Of the Knights' five tries, Upton scored or assisted four of them. You cannot ask for more from a player when it counts and Upton could not have done more.

There were other heroes for the Knights. Caitlin Johnson threw herself around in the middle of the field like she didn't care what happened next as long as she put the hurt on a Titan. Parker put Sheridan Gallagher over with a beautiful bit of centre play.

Jesse Southwell had a mixed game but found the right touches when it counted. This triumph belongs to all of them and there is so much glory to be shared around after back-to-back titles. 

But there is something different that lives in Upton — that rarefied, special thing one does not see all that often. The NRLW is young enough that history is still being made all the time. The records being set right now will not last long.