One thing that’s great to see is all the babies around this team. Once upon a time, women had to retire from sport if they wanted to have kids. Now they have the opportunity to take time out and come back and play on the world stage with their kids watching from the stands. Millie Elliott’s daughter steals the show by stealing the microphone cover during her interview. It’s such a wonderful thing to see for so many reasons!

Jillaroos captain Isabelle Kelly is full of praise for her opponents.

“That was really tough,” she says. “I want to congratulate Samoa, they’ve worked really hard and made it really tough for us out there.”

Samoa captain Annetta Nuuausala is equally complimentary of the Australian team.

“We knew coming into this game that they were going to give it to us,” she says. “They’re the pinnacle of women’s rugby league internationally, so we knew it would be tough.”

68 mins: Samoa starts with the ball on their own line, but Tagoai drops the ball and Samoa have to defend again. Aiken finds a huge space to run through, but a wall of blue jerseys closes the gap. Penitani-Gray is taken down in a HUGE tackle from Crichton Ropati – it’s the tackle of the match for sure.

66 mins: Samoa’s line drop out doesn’t go the 10m and then they pick it up and are penalised. A huge hit on Kelly when she looks certain to score energises Samoa again – their tryline defence has really been outstanding. Then they hold Johnston up and we take a break while the bunker checks if she’s really held up over the line. Turns out she is! They defend again and stop Australia scoring yet again when they look certain to dive over through Penitani-Gray.

64 mins: Australia get a penalty after a dangerous tackle from Taito and look to add some more points late in the game. Aiken puts in a kick and Upton chase it, but Samoa are there in numbers to kick it dead.

62 mins: The bunker finds that Clarke lost the ball before the line and Australia are on the march down the field again in an instant. A brilliant catch under pressure from Mino-Sinapati and a linebreak from Crichton Ropati gets the ball back down the other end of the field, but Upton picks up the ball from the kick to stop Samoa scoring.

60 mins: Another set for Samoa close to their line – is this their chance to score? They’re getting close, it looks like Clarke dives over, but referee Kasey Badger says she’s short of the line. Samoa decide to challenge the decision.

58 mins: The Jillaroos start to build some momentum again, but a forward pass out on the edge gives the ball back to Samoa – Aiken got a bit overexcited when she saw how big an overlap they had.

56 mins: Samoa are showing so much determination and are working so hard to make something happen. They get a good kick away on the fifth in this set and force Chapman to play at it, earning a line drop out and a repeat set. Nuuasala starts the set strongly with a great run, but they get too close to the sideline on the next tackle and are taken into touch.

54 mins: It’s the first time Samoa have had the ball in good attacking position for a long time and they go close, but they can’t find a strong fifth tackle option – they try to run through a very small gap and have to hand the ball back over to Australia. They defend well again all through the set and force an error late to get a scrum feed just inside their own half.

52 mins: The Jillaroos keep finding themselves deep down in Samoa’s half and they’re testing every bit of the tryline defence. But Samoa hold strong and make try-saving tackle after try-saving tackle. They get a penalty that rewards their great defence and gives them an opportunity in attack.

50 mins: Huge defence from Samoa on their tryline – Kernick wants to push over the line, but they hold her back. She tries an offload, but Isa’ako picks it up for Samoa and powers downfield. A little pause as Masaga gets some medical attention after a big tackle, but she’s OK to continue. A big counterattack from Upton and Chapman when Australia get the ball.

48 mins: A strong set for the Jillaroos following the try and it’s finished with a classic Kelleher fifth tackle kick – an incredibly accurate bomb that is fumbled by Crichton Ropati and Australia have the ball close to the line yet again.

45 mins: Aiken puts a grubber in at the end of Australia’s set and Mino-Sinapati bravely dives on it with chaser coming through. But a couple of tackles later, Hall loses the ball in the tackle and the Jillaroos get a scrum 40m out. One tackle later, they’re on the 10m line and Taufa goes within a whisker of scoring.

43 mins: Some energy in this set from Samoa and a great line break from Rimoni sets them up for a good play, but they can’t get a good kick away on the fifth tackle and the Jillaroos get the ball back.

41 mins: A chance for Samoa in attack and they will want to make some good ground here. Hall pushes up the field well, but the kick is accidentally charged down by Joseph and the Jillaroos are back in great field position. But a forward pass from Upton to Kelly close to the line gives the ball back to Samoa.

39 mins: Fast hands from the Jillaroos off the scrum and they get the ball moving down the field. Aiken throws a great cut out pass, but Chapman can’t hold on to it and Samoa breathe a sigh of relief, as that would have been a certain try.

37 mins: Samoa give away a penalty straight away in the second half for ruck interference – not the start they wanted. But Joseph knocks the ball on early in the set after some strong Samoan defence and they get a scrum in the middle of the field, then throw a forward pass. It’s all happening!

34 mins: Samoa look to be on struggle street late in the half – they’re not making mistakes, but they don’t look to have the same attacking power they had earlier in the game. But it’s a good sign that they’re still completing their sets. The Jillaroos get a penalty with a minute left in the first half to have one final chance to score in this half.

33 mins: Another opportunity in attack for Samoa after a poor fifth tackle option from Australia, just running out of time to set something up. Masaga makes a great run down the sideline and there’s a good kick at the end of the set, but Upton soars above the crowd to take it safely.

31 mins: A good run from Rimoni caps off a nice set from Samoa, but they can’t put up a good enough kick to deceive the Australians. The Jillaroos dash down field courtesy of a few great line breaks.

29 mins: Johnston starts the set with another strong run, she’s really taking on that ‘post-contact metres’ stat. Kelleher puts up a huge bomb and there’s competition for it, but Mino-Sinapati picks it up and makes a good run.

25 mins: Kelleher misses the conversion and Australia make no mistake in receiving the kick off this time. Johnston makes two great runs up through the middle to put some good metres on. It’s another solid set, pinning Samoa down deep in their own half.

21 mins: Samoa lose the ball early in their set, but put on some strong defence – they are determined to keep Australia down in their own half. Kelleher finishes with a great kick and Mino-Sinapati can’t hold on to it.

19 mins: Miscommunication for the Jillaroos from the kick off and Samoa get a scrum 30m out.

16 mins: Kelleher misses with her kick and it doesn’t find touch. Mino-Sinapati picks it up for Samoa just inside the sideline and they get an opportunity to attack. It’s a solid set and they’re holding their own so far in this game.

14 mins: The Jillaroos have a bit of a shocker from the kick off, but clean things up and put together a good set. Samoa give away a penalty with a late hit on Kelleher on the kick.

10 mins: First real chance for the Jillaroos, as they get within 10m of Samoa’s tryline, but Aiken makes an error with the kick, she just kind of misses it with her foot? Samoa are immediately on the charge downfield and put up a great kick that Upton tries to shepherd into touch, but it stubbornly sits up in goal and she has to pick it up an run. But run she does and makes great ground. The Jillaroos put on some quick play the balls to catch Samoa off guard and get another penalty.

8 mins: Despite the field position, Samoa can’t hold on to the ball and make a handling error, to give Australia a scrum deep in their own half. Now it’s the Jillaroos who get a penalty – this is quite a lot of penalties already in less than 10 minutes of football.

6 mins: The Jillaroos then give up a penalty for interference in the ruck – they are giving up a lot of field position early in this match. That’s followed by another penalty on the third tackle of the next set and referee Kasey Badger has some stern words for the Jillaroos.

4 mins: A decent set by the Jillaroos, but they didn’t make as much territory as they would have liked. Samoa are attacking strongly and manage a couple of half line breaks and get into good field position, but the kick goes into touch over the sideline. Kelly makes an error early in the next set and Samoa get the ball 30m out.

2 mins: A minor mix up on the kick off from Samoa, but they pick it up on the bounce and Samoa immediately pick up a penalty – though I’m not sure anyone on the field is clear what it’s for. A good first set for Samoa, finished with a good kick, but it’s well taken by Chapman.

Australia has kicked off and we’re underway!

A number of the Samoan players are tearing up during the anthem – what a special moment for them to be able to represent their country on the world stage.

The players have completed their final warm ups in the change rooms and are now entering the field, ready for the pre-match ceremony.

I was reading earlier about Jess Sergis playing in a ‘milestone match’ today and discovered that milestone was… 15 Tests for the Jillaroos. It really shows how little international rugby league there is – especially for women – that this is considered a milestone.

I don’t know about you, but I’m very excited to see Jocelyn Kelleher’s debut for the Jillaroos tonight. Her kicking game in the NRLW grand final was sensational and she really put Brisbane on the back foot with the pinpoint accurate bombs she was putting up. I’m looking forward to seeing what she does tonight.

And if you want to catch up on the action from last night’s opening game on the men’s side of the draw, have a read of Angus Fontaine’s match report.

If you’re coming into this game pretty fresh, here’s something I prepared earlier on the women’s tournament and the rapidly closing gap between nations.