Women’s State of Origin II: Five quick hits as New South Wales win the battle but lose the war following Queensland’s triumph

The Women’s State of Origin series was split at one win each but Queensland have claimed overall victory by the slimmest of margins after going down 18-14 to New South Wales in Townsville.

It’s not often you see the winners of a game crying while the losers are dancing, but with New South Wales needing to win by more than eight points to retain the shield, the Maroons did just enough to claim the prize.

• Read the full match report and relive the game with the live blog of Origin II

In was a match of far greater quality than the series opener and one with the typical Origin twists, turns and controversies.

If you missed any of it, here are the five biggest moments from a record-breaking night in Townsville.

1. Penitani gets it started

The record crowd set at Origin I in Sydney didn’t last long, with over 18,000 fans welcoming Queensland to their first match on home soil in two years.

In such an environment, the Blues had to start fast to have any hope of winning the game by enough points to claim the series and, thanks to hooker Keeley Davis and winger Tiana Penitani, they certainly did.

Davis put in a clever, curling grubber which steadfastly refused to sit up for Penitani but it made no difference for the veteran winger, who pulled off an acrobatic put-down to open the scoring.

2. Gray takes charge

Tazmin Gray was a deserving winner of player of the match and the series, and the game began to turn in Queensland’s favour as soon as the strapping back rower put her stamp on proceedings.

First she cantered into space off a Tarryn Aiken pass before finding Tamika Upton to score the Maroons’ first, and then she hit Evania Pelite with a killer round-the-corner offload that led to Emily Bass’s touchdown in the corner.

In the space of a few minutes, Gray put Queensland in control of the match and even if they went on to lose, it gave them pole position to win the series.

3. Present beats the future

One day, New South Wales halfback Jesse Southwell is probably going to be the best player in women’s rugby league.

The 18-year-old Newcastle sensation has a natural playmaking skill that only comes from being born and raised playing football and it’s helped her get off to an incredibly fast start in her NRLW career.

But even for a child prodigy there are lessons to be learned and Southwell’s got a few of them in her first foray into Origin football.

Experienced Queensland pivot Aiken showed Southwell she’s still finding her way when she sold the Sky Blues half a dummy and raced 40-odd metres to score an incredible individual try.

Southwell is a player of tomorrow, but Aiken’s try was proof tomorrow is not today.

4. Chasing points

The archaic two-game structure of this year’s series meant a win wasn’t enough for New South Wales – they had to get up by at least nine points to retain the shield.

There was no doubt this hung over the Sky Blues’ heads and altered their tactics, and for the best proof look no further than Southwell’s penalty goal just after the break.

With New South Wales trailing by four, on the attack and looking dangerous after Penitani’s second try, they earned a fresh set on Queensland’s line shortly thereafter through a penalty.

Curiously, Southwell kicked a goal to narrow the gap to 14-12. It wasn’t bad in theory – points are points, after all, but when you need plenty of them, penalties aren’t going to do the job.

5. The victors are defeated as the vanquished win it all

Queensland defended their line with marvellous intensity through the second half as they repelled wave after wave of New South Wales attack in the second half.