Latest news with #Brigginshaw
7NEWS
6 days ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
NSW State of Origin captain Isabelle Kelly chokes back tears during emotional post-match presser
NSW State of Origin captain Isabelle Kelly has choked back tears speaking to reporters after Thursday night's series-ending clash, admitting 'I let my team down'. The Blues blew a gilt-edged chance to record a historic 3-0 series whitewash, going down 18-14 to Queensland in Newcastle. Kelly couldn't help but look in the mirror after the match, ruing a walk-in try that she inexplicably failed to ground in the first half. She became emotional addressing the incident at full-time, holding back tears. 'I'm obviously someone that gets quite disappointed when I let my team down, it makes me a bit emotional, like right now,' she said before bowing her head. Jess Sergis helped Kelly save face, crashing over on the right shortly after, before Jesse Southwell gave the Blues a two-point half-time lead finding Jayme Fressard with a cut-out pass on the left. Both sides were guilty of some woeful errors in game three, with Romy Teitzel's opening kick-off going less than 10 metres for Queensland. Blues forward Kennedy Cherrington did not return after half-time, having suffered a knee injury that could impact her NRLW season with Parramatta. '(It's a) PCL or MCL, potentially, but she'll go for scans,' Strange said. 'Hopefully for her, going into NRLW now, it's not too serious.' Menatime, Ali Brigginshaw has shut down suggestions of State of Origin retirement but says Queensland selectors owe her no favours when they consider their team for the 2026 series. It comes as coach Tahnee Norris delivered an impassioned defence of the Maroons captain following critiques of her form and online attacks during the 2-1 series loss to the Blues. The oldest player on either side this Origin series, Brigginshaw struggled to spark the Maroons at halfback in two big losses to begin the series. She was benched for Origin III on Thursday night and came on as back-up hooker, throwing the last pass for Chelsea Lenarduzzi's match-winning try in an improved performance. Brigginshaw's Origin future will no doubt remain a talking point as the trailblazer turns 36 in December and does not hold a contract for 2026. The three-time NRLW premiership winner said she had no plans to retire from the representative arena just yet. 'I do want to keep playing on, I think people just look at your age and think that that's enough,' she said. 'There were still comments out there tonight about when I'm going to retire. I still love my footy and if I get picked, I get picked. 'But I'm not saying people have to pick me just because I've been here before. I want to prove that I can play in this jersey and hopefully I did that tonight. I'll do whatever it takes for this jersey.' Brigginshaw and her wife Kate were targeted with online trolling as the Queensland captain's form waned in the 2025 Origin series. The Maroons utility said the negativity had been difficult to swallow. 'I'm really proud to represent Queensland and that's probably what hurts is people, surely they see how proud I am to do that,' she said. 'I'd do anything. I play any position I've ever asked. I don't really carry on and then to see my family and know how upset they were to see the things said about me, it's probably why it hurt the most. 'But the amount of support that I've had has been unbelievable.' Her own future is likely to come under the microscope following the Maroons' series loss but Norris said she would continue to consider Brigginshaw for selection. Norris felt Brigginshaw deserved to retire on her own terms when she was ready. 'She plays herself into teams, we pick her. Simple as that. It's up to her when she makes that call (retirement),' Norris said. 'But utmost respect for what she's done, utmost respect for how she's handled herself over the last couple of weeks. It's truly been really hard.'
The Advertiser
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Under-fire Brigginshaw opens up on her Origin future
Ali Brigginshaw has shut down suggestions of State of Origin retirement but says Queensland selectors owe her no favours when they consider their team for the 2026 series. It comes as coach Tahnee Norris delivered an impassioned defence of the Maroons captain following critiques of her form and online attacks during the 2-1 series loss to NSW Blues. The oldest player on either side this Origin series, Brigginshaw struggled to spark the Maroons at halfback in two big losses to begin the series. She was benched for Origin III on Thursday night and came on as back-up hooker, throwing the last pass for Chelsea Lenarduzzi's match-winning try in an improved performance. Brigginshaw's Origin future will no doubt remain a talking point as the trailblazer turns 36 in December and does not hold a contract for 2026. The three-time NRLW premiership winner said she had no plans to retire from the representative arena just yet. "I do want to keep playing on, I think people just look at your age and think that that's enough," she said. "There were still comments out there tonight about when I'm going to retire. I still love my footy and if I get picked, I get picked. "But I'm not saying people have to pick me just because I've been here before. I want to prove that I can play in this jersey and hopefully I did that tonight. I'll do whatever it takes for this jersey." Brigginshaw and her wife Kate were targeted with online trolling as the Queensland captain's form waned in the 2025 Origin series. The Maroons utility said the negativity had been difficult to swallow. "I'm really proud to represent Queensland and that's probably what hurts is people, surely they see how proud I am to do that," she said. "I'd do anything. I play any position I've ever asked. I don't really carry on and then to see my family and know how upset they were to see the things said about me, it's probably why it hurt the most. "But the amount of support that I've had has been unbelievable." Her own future is likely to come under the microscope following the Maroons' series loss but Norris said she would continue to consider Brigginshaw for selection. Norris felt Brigginshaw deserved to retire on her own terms when she was ready. "She plays herself into teams, we pick her. Simple as that. It's up to her when she makes that call (retirement)," Norris said. "But utmost respect for what she's done, utmost respect for how she's handled herself over the last couple of weeks. It's truly been really hard." Ali Brigginshaw has shut down suggestions of State of Origin retirement but says Queensland selectors owe her no favours when they consider their team for the 2026 series. It comes as coach Tahnee Norris delivered an impassioned defence of the Maroons captain following critiques of her form and online attacks during the 2-1 series loss to NSW Blues. The oldest player on either side this Origin series, Brigginshaw struggled to spark the Maroons at halfback in two big losses to begin the series. She was benched for Origin III on Thursday night and came on as back-up hooker, throwing the last pass for Chelsea Lenarduzzi's match-winning try in an improved performance. Brigginshaw's Origin future will no doubt remain a talking point as the trailblazer turns 36 in December and does not hold a contract for 2026. The three-time NRLW premiership winner said she had no plans to retire from the representative arena just yet. "I do want to keep playing on, I think people just look at your age and think that that's enough," she said. "There were still comments out there tonight about when I'm going to retire. I still love my footy and if I get picked, I get picked. "But I'm not saying people have to pick me just because I've been here before. I want to prove that I can play in this jersey and hopefully I did that tonight. I'll do whatever it takes for this jersey." Brigginshaw and her wife Kate were targeted with online trolling as the Queensland captain's form waned in the 2025 Origin series. The Maroons utility said the negativity had been difficult to swallow. "I'm really proud to represent Queensland and that's probably what hurts is people, surely they see how proud I am to do that," she said. "I'd do anything. I play any position I've ever asked. I don't really carry on and then to see my family and know how upset they were to see the things said about me, it's probably why it hurt the most. "But the amount of support that I've had has been unbelievable." Her own future is likely to come under the microscope following the Maroons' series loss but Norris said she would continue to consider Brigginshaw for selection. Norris felt Brigginshaw deserved to retire on her own terms when she was ready. "She plays herself into teams, we pick her. Simple as that. It's up to her when she makes that call (retirement)," Norris said. "But utmost respect for what she's done, utmost respect for how she's handled herself over the last couple of weeks. It's truly been really hard." Ali Brigginshaw has shut down suggestions of State of Origin retirement but says Queensland selectors owe her no favours when they consider their team for the 2026 series. It comes as coach Tahnee Norris delivered an impassioned defence of the Maroons captain following critiques of her form and online attacks during the 2-1 series loss to NSW Blues. The oldest player on either side this Origin series, Brigginshaw struggled to spark the Maroons at halfback in two big losses to begin the series. She was benched for Origin III on Thursday night and came on as back-up hooker, throwing the last pass for Chelsea Lenarduzzi's match-winning try in an improved performance. Brigginshaw's Origin future will no doubt remain a talking point as the trailblazer turns 36 in December and does not hold a contract for 2026. The three-time NRLW premiership winner said she had no plans to retire from the representative arena just yet. "I do want to keep playing on, I think people just look at your age and think that that's enough," she said. "There were still comments out there tonight about when I'm going to retire. I still love my footy and if I get picked, I get picked. "But I'm not saying people have to pick me just because I've been here before. I want to prove that I can play in this jersey and hopefully I did that tonight. I'll do whatever it takes for this jersey." Brigginshaw and her wife Kate were targeted with online trolling as the Queensland captain's form waned in the 2025 Origin series. The Maroons utility said the negativity had been difficult to swallow. "I'm really proud to represent Queensland and that's probably what hurts is people, surely they see how proud I am to do that," she said. "I'd do anything. I play any position I've ever asked. I don't really carry on and then to see my family and know how upset they were to see the things said about me, it's probably why it hurt the most. "But the amount of support that I've had has been unbelievable." Her own future is likely to come under the microscope following the Maroons' series loss but Norris said she would continue to consider Brigginshaw for selection. Norris felt Brigginshaw deserved to retire on her own terms when she was ready. "She plays herself into teams, we pick her. Simple as that. It's up to her when she makes that call (retirement)," Norris said. "But utmost respect for what she's done, utmost respect for how she's handled herself over the last couple of weeks. It's truly been really hard."
West Australian
6 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Under-fire Brigginshaw opens up on her Origin future
Ali Brigginshaw has shut down suggestions of State of Origin retirement but says Queensland selectors owe her no favours when they consider their team for the 2026 series. It comes as coach Tahnee Norris delivered an impassioned defence of the Maroons captain following critiques of her form and online attacks during the 2-1 series loss to NSW Blues. The oldest player on either side this Origin series, Brigginshaw struggled to spark the Maroons at halfback in two big losses to begin the series. She was benched for Origin III on Thursday night and came on as back-up hooker, throwing the last pass for Chelsea Lenarduzzi's match-winning try in an improved performance. Brigginshaw's Origin future will no doubt remain a talking point as the trailblazer turns 36 in December and does not hold a contract for 2026. The three-time NRLW premiership winner said she had no plans to retire from the representative arena just yet. "I do want to keep playing on, I think people just look at your age and think that that's enough," she said. "There were still comments out there tonight about when I'm going to retire. I still love my footy and if I get picked, I get picked. "But I'm not saying people have to pick me just because I've been here before. I want to prove that I can play in this jersey and hopefully I did that tonight. I'll do whatever it takes for this jersey." Brigginshaw and her wife Kate were targeted with online trolling as the Queensland captain's form waned in the 2025 Origin series. The Maroons utility said the negativity had been difficult to swallow. "I'm really proud to represent Queensland and that's probably what hurts is people, surely they see how proud I am to do that," she said. "I'd do anything. I play any position I've ever asked. I don't really carry on and then to see my family and know how upset they were to see the things said about me, it's probably why it hurt the most. "But the amount of support that I've had has been unbelievable." Her own future is likely to come under the microscope following the Maroons' series loss but Norris said she would continue to consider Brigginshaw for selection. Norris felt Brigginshaw deserved to retire on her own terms when she was ready. "She plays herself into teams, we pick her. Simple as that. It's up to her when she makes that call (retirement)," Norris said. "But utmost respect for what she's done, utmost respect for how she's handled herself over the last couple of weeks. It's truly been really hard."
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Under-fire Brigginshaw opens up on her Origin future
Ali Brigginshaw has shut down suggestions of State of Origin retirement but says Queensland selectors owe her no favours when they consider their team for the 2026 series. It comes as coach Tahnee Norris delivered an impassioned defence of the Maroons captain following critiques of her form and online attacks during the 2-1 series loss to NSW Blues. The oldest player on either side this Origin series, Brigginshaw struggled to spark the Maroons at halfback in two big losses to begin the series. She was benched for Origin III on Thursday night and came on as back-up hooker, throwing the last pass for Chelsea Lenarduzzi's match-winning try in an improved performance. Brigginshaw's Origin future will no doubt remain a talking point as the trailblazer turns 36 in December and does not hold a contract for 2026. The three-time NRLW premiership winner said she had no plans to retire from the representative arena just yet. "I do want to keep playing on, I think people just look at your age and think that that's enough," she said. "There were still comments out there tonight about when I'm going to retire. I still love my footy and if I get picked, I get picked. "But I'm not saying people have to pick me just because I've been here before. I want to prove that I can play in this jersey and hopefully I did that tonight. I'll do whatever it takes for this jersey." Brigginshaw and her wife Kate were targeted with online trolling as the Queensland captain's form waned in the 2025 Origin series. The Maroons utility said the negativity had been difficult to swallow. "I'm really proud to represent Queensland and that's probably what hurts is people, surely they see how proud I am to do that," she said. "I'd do anything. I play any position I've ever asked. I don't really carry on and then to see my family and know how upset they were to see the things said about me, it's probably why it hurt the most. "But the amount of support that I've had has been unbelievable." Her own future is likely to come under the microscope following the Maroons' series loss but Norris said she would continue to consider Brigginshaw for selection. Norris felt Brigginshaw deserved to retire on her own terms when she was ready. "She plays herself into teams, we pick her. Simple as that. It's up to her when she makes that call (retirement)," Norris said. "But utmost respect for what she's done, utmost respect for how she's handled herself over the last couple of weeks. It's truly been really hard."
The Advertiser
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Queensland upset NSW to avoid women's Origin whitewash
Chelsea Lenarduzzi has saved Queensland the embarrassment of a women's State of Origin series whitewash, scoring the late try that confirmed an 18-14 upset defeat of NSW in Newcastle. After being dominated in two big losses, the Maroons forward pack muscled up for the sake of state pride in a dour affair sullied by some inexplicable errors from both sides. Queensland looked down for the count when Shenae Ciesiolka (knee) and Destiny Brill (rib) suffered mid-game injuries either side of half-time on Thursday night. They'd also lost star fullback Tamika Upton (hip) and centre Rory Owen (medical issue) ahead of Origin III, the latter hospitalised on game day with a jaw infection. The Maroons trailed by eight points with 20 minutes to play before second-rower Romy Teitzel pounced on a Tarryn Aiken grubber kick to score and pull her side closer to parity. After a quiet first two games that called her Origin future into question, Maroons captain Ali Brigginshaw set up the game-winning try after coming on as bench hooker. She changed direction at dummy half to put prop forward and Brisbane teammate Lenarduzzi over with a short ball. "We're best mates so to see her cross the line, that's a bit of an iconic play for her. She's had a great series," Brigginshaw said of Lenarduzzi. "I'm really proud to call her my mate." Lenarduzzi, omitted from game one, was sin-binned in the final seconds for holding Tiana Penitani Gray in the ruck as the Blues waged one last, ultimately unsuccessful, attack on the Maroons' line. "I'm disappointed for the girls to not get that (whitewash) result," said Blues coach John Strange. "But to be fair, Queensland definitely came with the desperation of a side that didn't want to go 3-0. "We were a little bit off but I'm still really proud." Lenarduzzi's fellow middle forwards Makenzie Weale and Jess Elliston were immense with 143 and 140 metres respectively. Weale scored the first try of the night and Elliston was named player of the match, while NSW lock Olivia Kernick earned the Nellie Doherty Medal as player of the series. The result may ease pressure on Tahnee Norris, whose position as Maroons coach had appeared under threat following two hefty defeats to begin the series. Questions still remain as to the Origin future of Brigginshaw, 35, following a lukewarm series that admittedly ended on a high. Both sides were guilty of some woeful errors in game three. Teitzel's opening kick-off did not go 10 metres, while Blues captain Isabelle Kelly failed to ground the ball when she slid into the in-goal for what appeared a certain four-pointer in the first half. Kelly became emotional addressing the incident at full-time, choking back tears. "I'm obviously someone that gets quite disappointed when I let my team down, it makes me a bit emotional, like right now," she said before bowing her head. Jess Sergis helped Kelly save face, crashing over on the right shortly after, before Jesse Southwell gave the Blues a two-point half-time lead finding Jayme Fressard with a cut-out pass on the left. Blues forward Kennedy Cherrington did not return after half-time, having suffered a knee injury that could impact her NRLW season with Parramatta. "(It's a) PCL or MCL, potentially, but she'll go for scans," Strange said. "Hopefully for her, going into NRLW now, it's not too serious." Chelsea Lenarduzzi has saved Queensland the embarrassment of a women's State of Origin series whitewash, scoring the late try that confirmed an 18-14 upset defeat of NSW in Newcastle. After being dominated in two big losses, the Maroons forward pack muscled up for the sake of state pride in a dour affair sullied by some inexplicable errors from both sides. Queensland looked down for the count when Shenae Ciesiolka (knee) and Destiny Brill (rib) suffered mid-game injuries either side of half-time on Thursday night. They'd also lost star fullback Tamika Upton (hip) and centre Rory Owen (medical issue) ahead of Origin III, the latter hospitalised on game day with a jaw infection. The Maroons trailed by eight points with 20 minutes to play before second-rower Romy Teitzel pounced on a Tarryn Aiken grubber kick to score and pull her side closer to parity. After a quiet first two games that called her Origin future into question, Maroons captain Ali Brigginshaw set up the game-winning try after coming on as bench hooker. She changed direction at dummy half to put prop forward and Brisbane teammate Lenarduzzi over with a short ball. "We're best mates so to see her cross the line, that's a bit of an iconic play for her. She's had a great series," Brigginshaw said of Lenarduzzi. "I'm really proud to call her my mate." Lenarduzzi, omitted from game one, was sin-binned in the final seconds for holding Tiana Penitani Gray in the ruck as the Blues waged one last, ultimately unsuccessful, attack on the Maroons' line. "I'm disappointed for the girls to not get that (whitewash) result," said Blues coach John Strange. "But to be fair, Queensland definitely came with the desperation of a side that didn't want to go 3-0. "We were a little bit off but I'm still really proud." Lenarduzzi's fellow middle forwards Makenzie Weale and Jess Elliston were immense with 143 and 140 metres respectively. Weale scored the first try of the night and Elliston was named player of the match, while NSW lock Olivia Kernick earned the Nellie Doherty Medal as player of the series. The result may ease pressure on Tahnee Norris, whose position as Maroons coach had appeared under threat following two hefty defeats to begin the series. Questions still remain as to the Origin future of Brigginshaw, 35, following a lukewarm series that admittedly ended on a high. Both sides were guilty of some woeful errors in game three. Teitzel's opening kick-off did not go 10 metres, while Blues captain Isabelle Kelly failed to ground the ball when she slid into the in-goal for what appeared a certain four-pointer in the first half. Kelly became emotional addressing the incident at full-time, choking back tears. "I'm obviously someone that gets quite disappointed when I let my team down, it makes me a bit emotional, like right now," she said before bowing her head. Jess Sergis helped Kelly save face, crashing over on the right shortly after, before Jesse Southwell gave the Blues a two-point half-time lead finding Jayme Fressard with a cut-out pass on the left. Blues forward Kennedy Cherrington did not return after half-time, having suffered a knee injury that could impact her NRLW season with Parramatta. "(It's a) PCL or MCL, potentially, but she'll go for scans," Strange said. "Hopefully for her, going into NRLW now, it's not too serious." Chelsea Lenarduzzi has saved Queensland the embarrassment of a women's State of Origin series whitewash, scoring the late try that confirmed an 18-14 upset defeat of NSW in Newcastle. After being dominated in two big losses, the Maroons forward pack muscled up for the sake of state pride in a dour affair sullied by some inexplicable errors from both sides. Queensland looked down for the count when Shenae Ciesiolka (knee) and Destiny Brill (rib) suffered mid-game injuries either side of half-time on Thursday night. They'd also lost star fullback Tamika Upton (hip) and centre Rory Owen (medical issue) ahead of Origin III, the latter hospitalised on game day with a jaw infection. The Maroons trailed by eight points with 20 minutes to play before second-rower Romy Teitzel pounced on a Tarryn Aiken grubber kick to score and pull her side closer to parity. After a quiet first two games that called her Origin future into question, Maroons captain Ali Brigginshaw set up the game-winning try after coming on as bench hooker. She changed direction at dummy half to put prop forward and Brisbane teammate Lenarduzzi over with a short ball. "We're best mates so to see her cross the line, that's a bit of an iconic play for her. She's had a great series," Brigginshaw said of Lenarduzzi. "I'm really proud to call her my mate." Lenarduzzi, omitted from game one, was sin-binned in the final seconds for holding Tiana Penitani Gray in the ruck as the Blues waged one last, ultimately unsuccessful, attack on the Maroons' line. "I'm disappointed for the girls to not get that (whitewash) result," said Blues coach John Strange. "But to be fair, Queensland definitely came with the desperation of a side that didn't want to go 3-0. "We were a little bit off but I'm still really proud." Lenarduzzi's fellow middle forwards Makenzie Weale and Jess Elliston were immense with 143 and 140 metres respectively. Weale scored the first try of the night and Elliston was named player of the match, while NSW lock Olivia Kernick earned the Nellie Doherty Medal as player of the series. The result may ease pressure on Tahnee Norris, whose position as Maroons coach had appeared under threat following two hefty defeats to begin the series. Questions still remain as to the Origin future of Brigginshaw, 35, following a lukewarm series that admittedly ended on a high. Both sides were guilty of some woeful errors in game three. Teitzel's opening kick-off did not go 10 metres, while Blues captain Isabelle Kelly failed to ground the ball when she slid into the in-goal for what appeared a certain four-pointer in the first half. Kelly became emotional addressing the incident at full-time, choking back tears. "I'm obviously someone that gets quite disappointed when I let my team down, it makes me a bit emotional, like right now," she said before bowing her head. Jess Sergis helped Kelly save face, crashing over on the right shortly after, before Jesse Southwell gave the Blues a two-point half-time lead finding Jayme Fressard with a cut-out pass on the left. Blues forward Kennedy Cherrington did not return after half-time, having suffered a knee injury that could impact her NRLW season with Parramatta. "(It's a) PCL or MCL, potentially, but she'll go for scans," Strange said. "Hopefully for her, going into NRLW now, it's not too serious."
