How the Maroons salvaged Origin pride, as Southwell proves she’s the next great halfback

All it took was a look from Maroons veteran Ali Brigginshaw, and Chelsea Lenarduzzi knew it was on. 

With the Maroons trailing by two in the final minutes of a State of Origin series they’d already lost, Brigginshaw eyeballed Lenarduzzi from dummy half, and popped it up for the bustling forward to barge over for one of her ‘favourite plays’, and the match winner. 

Lenarduzzi didn’t play in Game I, in Game II she was added onto the bench and failed to fire, but as a late addition to the starting side in Game III, she thrived to prevent a series whitewash. 

The Broncos’ prop effectively bulldozed the Blues in her opening stint, tiring their defenders to help lay the foundation for the Maroons’ opener. 

And in a game littered with momentum swings – and handling errors – it was a defining 11 minutes, proving the Queensland pack wouldn’t be outmuscled this time around.

There was an impressive supporting cast who stepped into the spotlight throughout the game, including Tarryn Aiken who cast aside a sub-par kicking game in the first half, to orchestrate much of the Maroons’ mayhem in the second. 

Julia Robinson was an immense defensive presence — and constant nuisance for her opposing winger Jamie Chapman, who gave as good as she got.

And while Brigginshaw was well below her best this series, which seems likely to be her last, it was fitting that she set up the match-winner and took the final intercept to snuff out any hopes of a Blues comeback after the siren. 

But for all the positives the Maroons will take from securing the consolation prize in the dead rubber, it’s a series that the Blues undoubtedly deserved to win, and where new superstars were forged. 

Southwell and Church’s stars rise

Reigning Dally M medallist Olivia Kernick won the Nellie Doherty medal for the player of the series, largely off the back of a brilliant Game II, but this series was Jesse Southwell’s coming of age. 

Once again, her kicking was on point, her passing perfection, and her vision unparalleled. 

Her hand in the Blues’ second try was especially magnetic. 

At first receiver approaching the Maroons’ tryline she held the ball for barely a second, which felt like so much longer, such was the way she feigned the slightest dummy, carefully surveyed her options out wide, then delivered a pinpoint two-player cutout for Jayme Fressard to score. 

Time is something the great players have a command of, and with each game, Southwell is mastering it. 

And while it’s unfair, and premature, to compare the 20-year-old Novocastrian to Newcastle’s most famous number 7, Andrew Johns himself has heaped praise on her and predicted a bright future. 

After debuting for the Blues in 2023, Southwell wasn’t selected last year. 

The time away has likely fuelled this year’s resurrection, and not only has she set herself up as a player for the Blues to build a team around for years to come, a first Jillaroos jersey can’t be far off.  

Blues fullback Abbi Church was another who had a breakout series, and strong performance in Game III.  

Every time the Blues went to Church, they were rewarded. 

There was her heroic effort to hold Emily Bass up over the line, incisive line breaks, a clever grubber to earn a repeat set, and a perfectly weighted pass to set up what should have been a try to Isabelle Kelly, who inexplicably failed to ground the ball in the in-goal. 

The Eels number one debuted in Game I, dethroning Emma Verran, and now looks to be a mainstay. 

Time to re-think 

Overall this series won’t go down as an Origin classic, and once again questions have been raised over the timing of it. 

The Queensland competition doesn’t kick off till June, with the NSW Premiership and NRLW getting underway in July. 

It means both sides effectively come into Origin with no real match fitness, and only a six-week training block to prepare for the series opener.

And post-match, Maroons coach Tahnee Norris was blunt. 

“It’s the hardest game of football that these girls play in, and they came off the back of nothing,” she said.

“We want the best footy that’s played. These girls need to be playing NRLW so we can pick them off that. It needs to be in the middle of an NRLW season for sure.”