Queensland won the women’s State of Origin decider 22-6 in Townsville to secure their fourth shield in five years thanks to a controlled performance in difficult conditions and a masterful display from five-eighth Tarryn Aiken.
The 24-year-old created two first half tries to give the Maroons a crucial 14-0 half-time lead in wet conditions, and her team’s defence held out the Sky Blues’ late rally in steady rain in North Queensland.
This year’s series was the first to be played across three games, in a milestone acknowledged by Maroons captain Ali Brigginshaw after the match. “We’ve wanted this for so many years, and finally, for both teams, we’ve been able to achieve it,” she said.
In a series that New South Wales appeared to have in control during the second half of the clash in Newcastle, the Sky Blues only have themselves to blame for failing to provide more of a contest in the decider. The Maroons handled the tricky conditions far better than the southerners, whose repeated errors left them bereft of any momentum.
The Maroons had not scored in the first half in either of the first two games of the series but ran in two tries to nil in the opening stanza on Thursday. Hooker Lauren Brown said her side was determined not to start slow again. “We were all riled up,” she said. “We were seeing red when we were coming out for kick off, and I’m glad the girls held it for the whole game.”
The first half was a nightmare for fullback Emma Tonegato. At the start of New South Wales’ very first set, the veteran almost fumbled the kick then lost the ball when she met the line as Brown – the field goal hero from game two – met her low in the tackle.
The Maroons capitalised on the mistake seconds later, when Aiken – drifting across the red zone – put player of the match Evania Pelite through the Sky Blues line. The play was a marvel of misdirection from Aiken, whose eyes were on her teammates further wide as she popped the short ball to Pelite sailing into the gap.
Tonegato was unfortunately central again for the Maroons’ second try, five minutes before half-time. Again it was Aiken the creator, dribbling a kick toward the in-goal. In slippery conditions, Tonegato accidentally met the ball with her foot while attempting to gather, and the ball skewed wide to Queensland’s Julia Robinson. The winger was far from convincing with the grounding, but referee Belinda Sharpe awarded the try to put the Sky Blues in a hole.
As New South Wales wandered off at the break, the contrast between the women’s team and the men’s in Melbourne a night before was impossible to ignore. At half-time, coach Kylie Hilder was blunt. “We can’t play any worst than we have,” she told Channel Nine. Her side had committed 11 errors. Their completion rate was just 50%. In slippery conditions, they had barely accumulated 50 metres with the boot.
In the drizzle, Brown’s two conversions in the first half and one penalty goal all but counted for double. And when Romy Teitzel put her team 16-0 up from a penalty goal, New South Wales’ hopes were waning. The visitors had started the second half well, but a 40/30 kicked by Brigginshaw turned them around and led to the penalty.
Indiscipline crept into the Sky Blues’ game as well. The talented Grace Kemp became frustrated as her handling errors mounted, as was penalised for needlessly driving the face of Keilee Joseph into the turf.
The Maroons appeared to have the result sewn up with 20 minutes to play when prop Chelsea Lenarduzzi – playing her first Origin since 2022 – crashed over, but replays show she lost control of the ball.
As the minutes ticked on, the Sky Blues became more desperate. Winger Jaime Chapman – the star of New South Wales’ victory in game one – looked certain to score on a shift right with the Maroons pinned on their line. But Emmanita Paki held her up and with teammate Pelite inside guided her into touch.
Mintues later, more heroic defence from Queensland – first on Jess Sergis, then by Tamika Upton diving at Corbin Baxter – kept New South Wales at bay.
The Sky Blues eventually got on the scoreboard with a Chapman intercept and 80-metre dash. With 10 minutes to go, that brought the margin to just 10. But the Maroons held on, and there was enough time for Tazmin Rapana to celebrate a late try that sealed the result, and the shield. Maroons prop Shannon Mato was named player of the series.
The players now look forward to the start of the NRLW season on 25 July.
