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ABC News
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Women's State of Origin III quick hits: Brigginshaw not retiring, Kelly emotional over try blunder
Ali Brigginshaw has no plans to retire, Isabelle Kelly gets emotional about her first-half blunder, and NSW unearths an Origin heel. Here are five quick hits from the conclusion to the Women's State of Origin series. Ali Brigginshaw became the target of some justified criticism after struggling as Queensland lost the first two games of this year's State of Origin series. Unfortunately, along with that came horrible, inexcusable vitriol on social media, with her wife revealing this week they had been told to "kill themselves". It came as coach Tahnee Norris made a shrewd reshuffle in an attempt to spark the Maroons and save some state pride. Lauren Brown and Tarryn Aiken formed a more dynamic attacking halves pairing in Game III, while Brigginshaw came on after the 15-minute mark and stayed for the duration, orchestrating from the middle of the field as a dummy half and link option at lock. After the game ended a "really tough" week, 35-year-old Brigginshaw was adamant she had no plans to retire. "Tonight I remembered why I play footy. I love it and I got to do that again tonight," she said. "I do want to keep playing on. I think people just look at your age and think that's enough. I still love my footy. "I'm not saying people have to pick me just because I've been here before. I'm really proud to represent Queensland. I do anything, I play any position I'm asked." Do you have a story idea about women in sport? Email us abcsport5050@ Win or lose, the Newcastle fans would get to see their team lift the shield on Thursday night, so the vibes were high in the lead-up to kick-off. But immediately the fans, many of whom were still yet to find their seats, were left rubbing their eyes as the Maroons offered up one of the worst kick-offs you'll ever see. Trying to be unorthodox to unsettle the rampant Blues, they tried to go short (and did) but barely kicked the ball 5 metres forward before it skidded over the sideline. Then, with NSW trying to recover after Chelsea Lenarduzzi's 65th-minute crashball try, Jesse Southwell tried a similar kick and actually nailed it. Right winger Jaime Chapman appeared to wait just long enough before grabbing the ball just after it crossed the red 40m line. But everyone, including the Blues, stopped in their tracks, forgetting the golden rule: Play to the whistle. Eventually, the whistle came from Belinda Sharpe and the penalty was blown, even if it didn't seem right. Isabelle Kelly's botched try in the 21st minute felt like a bit of a funny sideshow. She dove in untouched after a lovely left-side shift and the try was awarded, but before Southwell could take the conversion, referee Sharpe blew the whistle for a bunker review. It did look very easy? Was there an obstruction in the lead-up? Had a Queenslander hit her as she scored and we were looking at an eight-point try? No. As it turned out, she had been held up. By herself. The ball had never managed to make contact with the ground through her own right forearm. A pedantic, if technically correct, implementation of the rule we could all share a derisive chuckle about in a dead rubber, but not Kelly. With the margin ultimately only four points, the NSW captain couldn't get through her explanation of the event even after lifting the shield. "I'm obviously someone that gets quite disappointed when I let my team down, it makes me a bit emotional, like right now. Sorry," Kelly told reporters before choking back tears and taking a minute to compose herself as coach John Strange hailed his skipper as "an inspiration" to her teammates, the next generation and Strange himself. It was a reminder of how much this series and this game means to Kelly and her ilk. ABC Sport is live blogging every round of the AFL and NRL seasons in 2025. Origin loves its villains, and the Blues might just have one in Jayme Fressard. The Roosters winger was given the nod on the left flank of this formidable Blues backline this season and didn't disappoint, with four tries in her first series. But the fiery 27-year-old also added a bit of mongrel in Game III, getting in the face of every Maroons player who dared to challenge her, including but not limited to Sienna Lofipo, Shenae Ciesiolka and Lauren Brown. As she left the field at half-time, like the best heels, she acted like she was an innocent victim in all this and it was the Queenslanders who started it all. "I feel like that's all they've got, just try to get us angry, so keep going," Fressard told Nine. As NSW searched desperately for a fissure in Queensland's 12-woman defensive line after the siren, it was fitting that it was the veteran Brigginshaw who perfectly read and pinched Yasmin Clydsdale's pass. She could go to ground and her teammates would swarm her in joy. Instead, she kept running for 20 metres. OK, sure, you can't pass up a shot at a runaway try. But she was mowed down and then … she offloaded. Peculiar. Emily Bass caught the ball on the right wing. Surely she would just hoof it over the sideline, right? Nope. She jinked in-field and, perhaps reading from her skipper's songbook, she passed too. Debutant Georgia Hannaway had the misfortune of being the support player in position and was suitably stunned to receive the pass under pressure and couldn't handle, giving the ball back to the Blues right on halfway. "They're in front, what are they doing?" Phil Gould cried from the Nine commentary box. Fortunately for the Maroons, Tarryn Aiken and Julia Robinson arrived on the scene to tackle NSW fullback Abbi Church and officially end the match. It was like the Maroons had somehow pulled off the Great Escape, but hung around to do some sick wheelies just in front of the guard tower, and it almost cost them dearly.
News.com.au
29-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
'NEED to be playing NRLW!'
State of Origin: Tahnee Norris and Ali Brigginshaw addresses their concerns about the current NRLW & Women's State of Origin schedule.
The Guardian
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Late try helps Maroons save face in Game 3 of women's Origin series
Queensland salvaged pride in the Women's State of Origin series by claiming the third contest 18-14 thanks to a second-half comeback in Newcastle that prevented the Blues from securing a first clean sweep in the three-match series. Powerful Maroons prop Chelsea Lenarduzzi crashed over from an Ali Brigginshaw pass with four minutes to go, taking three Blues defenders with her, to put Queensland into the lead and spoil the Blues' party. 'Ali actually gave me a bit of a look, and I knew what she meant,' Lenarduzzi said. 'It's one of my favourite plays, and worked at the right time.' The pair combined for the deciding try, but their impact was also central from the start of Thursday's improved Queensland performance. Maroons coach Tahnee Norris sent shock waves through the sport before kick-off when she named Brigginshaw – captain and Jillaroos great – on the bench and promoted Lenarduzzi to the starting lineup. The burly prop played the first ten minutes and helped set the tone after the Maroons suffered 32-12 and 26-6 defeats earlier in the series. Aided by the physicality of Lenarduzzi – who was not selected for the first game and played off the bench in the second – Queensland offered early punch, and were rewarded with a seventh minute try to Makenzie Weale. 'An Origin is still an Origin,' Lenarduzzi said afterwards. 'You represent yourself, your state, and this group is really cool, we've had a really good time in camp, and we've obviously been really disappointed the last couple of games, so we needed a show we were capable of.' Although NSW had already secured the shield, another strong crowd of 21,912 turned out in Newcastle, consolidating the city's status as the home of women's rugby league. They came despite a forecast of rain that turned into a downpour at the final whistle. And they were treated to a mix of the brilliant and the bizarre in a tight contest. The game's strangest moment came midway through the first half, when Blues captain Isabelle Kelly crossed untouched for what seemed to be a try to put her side on the board. Kelly slid into the in-goal, but skidded across the turf on her ball-carrying arm without completing the grounding. The mistake was an embarrassment for one of the game's most accomplished players, who shook her head as she watched the replay and the bunker disallowed the try. It was the standout in a series of wild sequences in the first half, which also included two more disallowed tries – both would-be try-scorers adjudged out of play by millimetres – a fiery tussle between Queensland winger Julia Robinson and her opposite number Jaime Chapman, and one of the season's best try-saving tackles. Maroons centre Emily Bass grabbed a bouncing ball a metre out from the Blues try line with no one in front of her, but NSW fullback Abbi Church managed to race in and twist her opponent to prevent the grounding. It was a piece of skill befitting the Origin stage, as was the 20m cut-out pass by Jesse Southwell to set up the Blues' second try. The Blues had all the momentum in the second half when they raced to a 14-6 lead with 20 minutes to go. Interchange hooker Jocelyn Kelleher leaped out from dummy half and away from the clutches of Brigginshaw to score what appeared to be the decisive four-pointer. Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion But 35-year-old Brigginshaw would have the last laugh. Five minutes later five-eighth Tarryn Aiken grubbered for Romy Teitzel to score, and then the captain sent Lenarduzzi over to curb celebrations in the Hunter. 'A bit of a disappointing end to the game three, but we've still got to keep our spirits high,' Church said. 'We're still going to get to lift the shield, we would have liked to get that clean sweep, but it wasn't meant to be today.' Maroons forward Jess Elliston ran for 143m was named player of the match, and Blues' lock Olivia Kernick claimed the award for player of the series.
News.com.au
29-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Queensland Maroons win 18-14 over NSW in Women's State of Origin III but Blues win the series
Queensland have been left contemplating serious change for 2026 despite saving face with a 18-14 win over NSW on Thursday night. Less than 24 hours after the Queensland men were beaten 18-6 in Origin I at Suncorp Stadium, the Maroons women gave the state something to cheer about with prop Chelsea Lenarduzzi scoring her first Origin try in the dying minutes to beat the Blues at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle. Despite losing their second series in a row, Lenarduzzi's matchwinner was a moment of inspiration for the future of Queensland who are grappling with change moving into 2026. Coach Tahnee Norris is now under pressure to keep her position after five years in the role, while the depth of available talent in the state will also be thoroughly examined heading into the upcoming NRLW season. The playing future of inspirational captain Ali Brigginshaw is also under question heading into next year's series. It could be a turning point for the Maroons. To the delight of the 21,912-strong crowd in Newcastle they showed there's no such thing as a dead rubber when it comes to Origin. The Blues were leading 8-6 at halftime but Queensland never let them breathe after back-to-back thrashings in Sydney and Brisbane. However, a revived halves combination of Lauren Brown and Tarryn Aiken looked to revive the Maroons attack and could be the answer moving forward. The pair kept the pressure on the Blues with a smart kicking game that was hard to contain. The Maroons were missing a stack of players on Thursday night including co-captain Tamika Upton, while rookie centre Rory Owen was ruled out on game day with a medical issue, replaced on right edge with experienced winger Emily Bass. Shenae Ciesiolka (knee) and Destiny Brill (ribs) also didn't finish the game. Queensland scored first through prop Makenzie Weale and a try to Romy Teitzel kept them in it just after halftime. The Blues were way below their best. Skipper Isabelle Kelly committed the ultimate sin by not grounding a ball while untouched over the tryline, while Jocelyn Kelleher and Jess Sergis kept it close before defensive errors cruelled them with minutes to go.
News.com.au
15-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Brigginshaw emotional after series loss
State of Origin: Tahnee Norris and Ali Brigginshaw spoke to the media after losing the 2025 State of Origin series.
