‘Cheeky grin’ exposes women’s State of Origin ‘milking’ drama

The women’s State of Origin match has delivered yet again, although the match was decided in the most rugby league of ways.

The "cheeky grin" that betrayed Chelsea Lenarduzzi.

The fourth annual women’s State of Origin match has once again delivered in spades as the best of the best kicked off the weekend with a cracker of a match.

Wet conditions on the Sunshine Coast made the match a bitter grind to the end.

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The game threatened to boil over throughout the 70 minutes as strong defence and desperate efforts made sure neither side could get away.

Queensland retained the Origin Shield with an 8-6 win, which was decided with a penalty kick in the final two minutes.

But it wouldn’t be rugby league without a controversy over the tackle that led to the deciding score.

In the final 10 minutes, it looked like Queensland had snatched the lead when Maroons fullback Tamika Upton slid over the line from an overlap to the left.

However, the play was called back after it was deemed an obstruction play with Upton running from the inside shoulder, despite the lead runner making minimal contact.

Honestly I give up on the sport of #rugbyleague at times. No common sense! Queensland denied a perfectly legitimate try! 🤦🏼‍♂️ #Origin

— Tulsen Tollett (@TulsenTollett) June 25, 2021

This was the obstruction that cost Queensland.

It was the first piece of controversy but wouldn’t be the last.

With less than two minutes remaining, Maroons forward Chelsea Lenarduzzi was left sprawled on the turf after an apparent leg pull.

Referee Belinda Sharpe had no choice but to call the penalty.

But upon closer inspection, the commentators changed their tune.

Fox League’s Tarsha Gale said it was “a rush of blood” but upon second look said “I don’t know if there was that much in it”.

“Chelsea’s a good one for milking it,” she added.

“I really don’t see how Hannah Southwell deserved that penalty then. Look at that grin, that cheeky grin on Chelsea Lenarduzzi.”

Wouldn’t be a Friday night without a refereeing stuff up. That was NOT a penalty. #origin

— BUZZ ROTHFIELD (@BuzzRothfield) June 25, 2021

She did. Milked it very, very well. By same token, why was the hand on the leg at that point? NSW allowed her to milk it

— Scott Bailey (@ScottBaileyAAP) June 25, 2021

Whether you think the decision is right or not probably depends on which side of the Tweed you live on but it proved to be the moment of the match.

The leg pull that handed the Maroons victory.

The "cheeky grin" that betrayed Chelsea Lenarduzzi.

Queensland’s Lauren Brown kicked the penalty and wrapped up the game as the Maroons went back-to-back, after winning last year’s Origin contest as well.

Despite the controversial finish, fans couldn’t get enough of the solo outing, again calling for the one-off match to become a three-match series.

Petition to make women’s #origin a 3 game series.

— Mike Christian (@mrmikechristian) June 25, 2021

Give them 3 games!! #origin

— Alyssa Healy (@ahealy77) June 25, 2021

Time for a women’s origin series I think......

— Peter Psaltis (@peterp79) June 25, 2021

Post-match, former Jillaroos star Sam Bremner said the expansion of the NRLW has opened the door for the State of Origin series to expand and evolve.

“I think a two-game series would be horrible if it was a draw, what do you do in that instance?” she said. “Three games would be great but then you have to have a think about how much time you would need off work.”

Kirra Dib added: “You definitely can’t have two games but expanding to three, with the expansion of the NRLW and the full-time work — most girls work full-time or are mothers or study full-time — it’s a lot of time to take off for the women. It would be a balancing act in order to expand.”

Originally published as ‘Cheeky grin’ exposes women’s State of Origin ‘milking’ drama