Latest news with #NellieDohertyMedal
The Advertiser
29-05-2025
- 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."
News.com.au
01-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Queensland great Tazmin Rapana retires from representative football
Queensland veteran and Brisbane forward Tazmin Rapana has announced her retirement from representative rugby league, saying the toll on her body after last year's State of Origin series is now too great. The 29-year-old made the announcement on her podcast Moments, and comes after her notable absence from the Maroons team to play game one at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night. Rapana, who previously went by the surname Gray, has played 10 games for the Maroons over an illustrious representative career. 'It's true, I have retired from representative footy,' she said. 'It wasn't a choice that I made lightly but it was a choice that needed to be made. 'When you've been in the arena for so long, you don't want to give it up, but it came to the point where my body wasn't responding the way the body should respond and I had to make the decision to pull out of representative footy to get myself right and to be closer to my family. 'At the same time I'm super excited for the girls who are debuting, it's an honour for them, and I'm excited to see how the series plays out.' It brings to an end one of the most successful Origin careers. Rapana has twice claimed the Nellie Doherty Medal, in 2021 and 2023, as the best player of the women's Origin series. Rapana is a part of the Broncos squad for 2025 after extending her contract with the club at the end of last season.
