- Queensland women win State of Origin
- The Maroons achieved a resounding victory in Townsville
- They showed the men’s team how to defeat their archrivals.
Queensland won the first three-game State of Origin women’s series thanks to a commanding 22-6 victory over NSW in Townsville.
Maroons five-eighth Tarryn Aiken tormented the Sky Blues with his kicking game on a slippery Queensland Country Bank Stadium to clinch the decider in front of a sold-out crowd.
NSW were their own worst enemy on Thursday night, and their poor ball handling blocked any attacking opportunities they created.
They couldn’t adapt to the rainy conditions, made 17 errors and only completed a diabolical 59 percent of their sets.
Queensland were not without their flaws, but their 74 per cent completion rate put them comfortably ahead of their opposition.
The wet conditions worked in the Maroons’ favor, preventing NSW from playing their preferred expansive brand of football, but failed to deter the 22,000 fans, mostly from Queensland, who watched their team make history.
“It doesn’t seem real at the moment,” Aiken told Channel Nine.
“The atmosphere was unreal, the crowd was so good.”
Queensland women’s team win State of Origin after big win in Townsville
The Maroons defeated their arch-rivals, the NSW Blues, on Thursday night.
The difference in intensity and line speed between the sides was stark.
The Maroons’ extra effort in front of their home crowd was clear in the statistics, with 320 metres post-contact compared to the Sky Blues’ 229.
“That was the hardest game I’ve ever played,” Aiken said.
“That second half, I was just trying to hold on.
“During the week we emphasized our areas of effort and that our defense was going to give us the victory in the game.”
NSW got off to the worst possible start, with fullback Emma Tonegato striking the ball in her team’s first use of football.
Straight from the scrum, Aiken sent Evania Pelite through the Sky Blues defense with a cleverly disguised short pass for the first try of the game.
Pelite was the standout for the home side. The Gold Coast centre ran 112 metres, made four tackles and out-muscled the NSW right wing in defence.
At one point, she threw Sky Blues center Jessica Sergis into touch to regain possession.
Queensland continued to pile on the pressure, with Aiken’s test kicks repeatedly finding Tonegato and his outside teammates out of position.
It was a tough loss for the NSW Blues women after the men crushed the Maroons.
Aiken picked up his second assist later in the first half with a kick that caused some Keystone Cops to defend from NSW.
Tonegato entertained herself by collecting the loose ball and kneeing teammate Tiana Penitani, while Queensland winger Julia Robinson pounced on the rebound to score the easiest try.
Aiken’s halves partner Ali Brigginshaw also had an impressive game with the boot, the highlight being a 40-20 to get her team out of trouble in the second half.
New South Wales was not without its promising moments. Queensland gave the visitors plenty of opportunities to counter-attack, conceding nine penalties to get the Blues into scoring positions.
But every time NSW looked like they had a chance to find some points, they managed to hit the ball.
Jaime Chapman’s attempted interception from 90 meters with 10 minutes left added a bit of danger to the final minutes, but it was too little, too late from the wasteful Sky Blues.
Defender Tazmin Rapana sealed the game three minutes before the final whistle, crashing in and sparking jubilant Queensland celebrations.
The win completed an unlikely turnaround for Tahnee Norris’ side after NSW outclassed them in Origin I and required a late comeback to save the series in the second game.
