NSW will kick off. Here we go…! A healthy crowd is trickling in despite the weather. Most have retreated to the covered areas but a few hardy souls are huddled under tarps. Here come the Queenslanders to the tune of Burwood boys AC/DC with Thunderstruck. The jeers ring out! Now the Blues to Erskineville’s Grammy award-winners Wolfmother with The Joker and the Thief. Hearty cheers for the home side whose sky blue jerseys have turned a much darker blue in the downpour. The preliminaries have begun at Allianz with a children’s choir led out in their ponchos. Poor little buggers. That heavy rain has now eased to a light mix infused with fireworks smoke. Huge puddles already forming on the field. A mudbath looks certain. Will it be a bloodbath too? For those who came in late, here’s how Jack Snape saw Game 1… Here are the final teams for tonight’s Game 2 showdown… NSW: 1. Abbi Church 2. Jaime Chapman 3. Jess Sergis 4. Isabelle Kelly 5. Jayme Fressard 6. Tiana Penitani Gray 7. Jesse Southwell 8. Simaima Taufa 9. Keely Davis 10. Ellie Johnston 11. Kezie Apps 12. Yasmin Clydsdale 13. Olivia Kernick 14. Jocelyn Kelleher 15. Kennedy Cherrington 16. Sarah Togatuki 17. Emma Verran. 18th player: Shaylee Bent Queensland: 1. Tamika Upton 2. Julia Robinson 3. Shenae Ciesiolka 4. Rory Owen 5. Jasmine Peter 6. Tarryn Aiken 7. Ali Brigginshaw 8. Makenzie Weale 9. Lauren Brown 10. Jessika Elliston 11. Sienna Lofipo 12. Romy Teitzel 13. Keilee Joseph 14. Jada Ferguson 15. Sophie Holyman 16. Chelsea Lenarduzzi 17. Tavarna Papalii. 18th player: Hayley Maddick NSW coach John Strange has shown faith in the 17 Blues that bullied Queensland in Game 1, while Maroons coach Tahne Norris has brought in veteran forward Chelsea Lenarduzzi and dropped Destiny Brill to the reserves. Greetings sports fans! Welcome to Game 2 of the Women’s State of Origin from the land of the Gadigal in Sydney where heavy rain is falling at Allianz Stadium for NSW’s quest to clinch a first Origin shield since 2022 and Queensland’s bid to save the series. The Blues’ 1-0 lead is richly deserved. Despite neither side playing any NRLW in months, John Strange’s team looked fitter, fresher and full of running as they notched a magnificent 32-12 victory at Suncorp Stadium. That six-tries-to-two triumph was led by the guile of young NSW half Jesse Southwell whose kicking and passing game was superb in her return to the Origin cauldron after being controversially omitted last year. The 20-year-old’s sparkle was only possible due to the sweat of her forward pack where returning veteran Simaima Taufa was the wrecking ball in a fearsome return from the shoulder injury that ruled her out last year. Queensland went toe-toe with NSW in the first half of Game 1 but the Blues totally blew them away in the second. That will worry Maroons coach Tahnee Norris. However, her team will draw confidence from their incredible comeback last year. Beaten at home in Game 1, the Queenslanders roared back in Game 2, overturning a six-point halftime deficit before a Lauren Brown field goal snatched a boilover win. They then delivered a 22-6 coup de grace in Townsville to retain the Shield. Can they turn the tables on NSW again? Or have the Blues learned their lesson? We’ll soon find out with kickoff slated for 7.45pm.
Author: Angus Fontaine