2 mins: The Maroons get first use of the football and there’s plenty of intensity from both teams from the outset. Queensland put in an early kick, aiming for a 40/30 through Brigginshaw, but she kicks it out on the full, handing NSW great field position for their first set. And we’re off! The Blues have kicked off and the game is underway… The teams are on the field now for the pre-match ceremonies, with Aaron Ruska delivering the Welcome to Country tonight and Emma Tomlinson performing the national anthem. One of the key sticking points of this series has been the timing – the players who aren’t part of the Jillaroos set up haven’t had serious match play since last year’s NRLW season. Unlike the men’s series, which takes place in the middle of the NRL season, the pre-season timing means the players are often not at their peak. Could a change in timing provide an even better showcase for women’s rugby league? Getting close to kick off now – the players are in the house and settling in for a big night. If you want to get even more up to speed before tonight’s game, check out Jack Snape’s excellent preview, including Jessika Elliston’s description of how the crowd in Newcastle last year made her chest rattle with their sheer volume. So both teams have named four debutants in their line ups for tonight! For the Maroons, centre Rory Owen and winger Jasmine Peters will both make their debuts, as well as Tavarna Papali’i and Jada Ferguson on the interchange bench. For the Blues it will be prop Ellie Johnston, fullback Abbi Church, winger Jayme Fressard and Jocelyn Kelleher from the bench who will enter the Origin arena for the first time. Tiana Penitani is better known for playing in the centres, but she will be in five-eighth in this reshuffled line up. While the Maroons have 10 players from their winning 2024 squad in tonight’s line up, it’s also worth noting that the Blues have seven members of the NRLW premiership-winning Roosters team among their numbers. It should be a fascinating battle between these two powerhouse teams – the changes have added an extra element of intrigue. 1 Abbi Church 2 Jaime Chapman 3 Jessica Sergis 4 Isabelle Kelly 5 Jayme Fressard 6 Tiana Penitani 7 Jesse Southwell 8 Simaima Taufa 9 Keeley Davis 10 Ellie Johnston 11 Kezie Apps 12 Yasmin Clydsdale 13 Olivia Kernick Interchange: 14 Jocelyn Kelleher 15 Kennedy Cherrington 16 Sarah Togatuki 17 Emma Verran Reserve: 18 Shaylee Bent 1 Tamika Upton 2 Julia Robinson 3 Shenae Ciesiolka 4 Rory Owen 5 Jasmine Peters 6 Tarryn Aiken 7 Ali Brigginshaw 8 Keilee Joseph 9 Lauren Brown 10 Jessika Elliston 11 Sienna Lofipo 12 Romy Teitzel 13 Destiny Brill Interchange: 14 Jada Ferguson 15 Sophie Holyman 16 Makenzie Weale 17 Tavarna Papalii Reserve: 18 Georgia Hannaway Hello and welcome to the second ever three-match women’s Origin series! Last year’s series proved the value of the three-match format, with the series locked at 1-1 going into the final match after a nail-biting one-point win by the Maroons in the pouring rain at Newcastle in Game 2. It was the Queenslanders who were good enough to finish it off and come away with the series win, after a dominant victory in Townsville in Game 3. This year it is NSW who have the two home games, meaning that if they pull off a win at Suncorp Stadium tonight – as they did in Game 1 last year – they will have the psychological advantage of knowing they go into the next two games with the crowd behind them at Allianz in Sydney and McDonald Jones in Newcastle. While there has been an injury cloud hanging over star Maroons five-eighth Tarryn Aiken, she has confirmed she is fit to play tonight, which will be a great relief to Queenslanders everywhere – Aiken last year won not only the Origin series, but the NRLW premiership, the Karyn Murphy Medal for player of the NRLW grand final and the International Rugby League Golden Boot award. She is pivotal to the success of the Maroons tonight. There have been plenty of shake ups to the squads, which we will delve into very soon, but expect a few new faces and some rejigged line ups when the teams take the field tonight. John Strange makes his Origin head coaching debut for the Blues tonight, following a premiership win with the Roosters in 2024. He will be keen to make his mark on the series and kicking off with a win in the cauldron of Suncorp Stadium would be the very definition of a perfect start. There is plenty to discuss and not long until the game gets underway at 7.45pm AEST, so let’s get into it!
Author: Megan Maurice