From a hair pull to an eye gauge, the women’s State of Origin series opener was full of memorable and controversial moments. In the end though, Queensland had no answers for the rampant NSW Blues.
Eye-gouge allegation, accidental hair pulls, big hits and HIAs across the field – the Blues tamed the madness and the Maroons to win State of Origin I. WE RATE EVERY PLAYER
Tazmin Rapana was a notable absence from the Queensland women’s team for Origin I, and she’s now announced her retirement from representative football.
Reece Walsh has dropped an injury-report bombshell all but ruling himself out of Origin I, but the Brisbane maestro did find a silver lining to his injury woes.
Ahead of Thursday night’s women’s Origin opener, the NSW team’s moniker ‘Sky Blues’ has been dropped after threats of legal action were made by the A-League’s most successful club, who go by the same nickname.
Laurie Daley is back in the hot seat as NSW Origin coach and is already confronting a huge dilemma – whether to drop a winning captain.
The women’s State of Origin series kicks off next week, but scheduling remains a hot topic with the players forced into tight turnarounds with no proper footy under their belts.
NSW women’s coach John Strange has named four debutantes in a new look Blues squad ahead of the State of Origin series opener against the Maroons on May 1.
Broncos fullback Reece Walsh has all-but been ruled out of State of Origin Game 1 with the Broncos announcing big news on Sunday.
Reece Walsh has been criticised by some over his underwhelming start to the NRL season for Brisbane. Queensland coach Billy Slater points out what he’s seen from the Broncos star.
An interesting subplot to the Spencer Leniu-Johnathan Thurston saga has emerged after Payne Haas, whose Broncos teammate Ezra Mam was racially abused by the Roosters prop, endorsed a post from the Roosters enforcer.
Queensland Rugby League boss Ben Ikin has called for the NRL to ban players from switching between tier-one and tier-two nations as the QRL locks in the venue for its 2025 Origin fan day.
It will be a new look Queensland side to the one that lifted the women’s State of Origin shield in 2024, with a number of series regulars omitted and six potential debutantes. See the full squad.
Laurie Daley has made is clear he’ll be picking players for his NSW side who can walk into camp with confidence in their game. It’s why an Easter showdown is set to intensify NSW’s fullback battle, writes DAVID RICCIO.
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