New South Wales women's rugby league team

The New South Wales Women's rugby league team represents the Australian state of New South Wales in Women's rugby league football. Also known as the Blues due to their sky blue jerseys, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against the neighboring team, the Queensland Women's rugby league team.

History The first state of Origin match began in 1999. Since that time, a 17-year reign had been completed by the Queensland side.

New South Wales won their first interstate challenge in 2016 after coming so close to winning in 2015, drawing with Queensland 4 all. New South Wales would then win back to back title winning in 2017. In 2018 New South Wales won the first ever Women's State of Origin match which was held at North Sydney Oval in mid-2018.NSW retained the shield with a win once again at North Sydney Oval in 2019.

Coaches The current coach of the New South Wales team is John Strange. The table is incomplete, with the coach unknown for 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, and 2011. Name Span W D L W% Jason Tassell 1999 1 0 0 1 0.00% Tony Ashton 1 0 0 1 0.00% Graham Rogers 2001 ? 0 0 ? 0.00% Graham Willard 2004 ? 0 0 ? 0.00% Ray Windle 2005 ? 0 0 ? 0.00% Mel Vayro 2008 ? 0 0 ? 0.00% Karen Stuart 2010 ? 0 0 ? 0.00% Mark Riddell 2012 1 0 0 1 0.00% Mathew Head 20132015 3 0 1 2 16.67% Ben Cross 20162019 3 3 0 0 100.00% Andrew Patmore 20192020 2 1 0 1 50.00% Kylie Hilder 20212024 7 3 0 4 42.86% John Strange 20252026 6 5 0 1 83.33%

Players Current squad On 22 April 2026, the NSWRL announced the squad for the first match of the three-match series, subsequently played on 30 April 2026. On 6 May 2026, the squad for the second match, played on 14 May 2026, was announced with one change. The squad announced for game three was unchanged in personnel, with just two pairs of jersey swaps. Table last updated 29 May 2026. J# Player Age Position(s) New South Wales NRLW Tests All StarsDbtPtsClub1 28 2025 6 1 0 4 Eels 37 37 2 24 2023 11 5 0 20 Titans 22 36 5 63 28 2017 16 9 0 36 Roosters 36 46 11 4 29 2015 19 7 0 28 Roosters 53 55 17 15 28 2025 6 5 0 20 Roosters 30 37 6 26 2025 6 1 0 4 Roosters 51 51 7 21 2023 8 0 16 33 Broncos 0 40 8 28 2019 12 0 0 0 Roosters 18 38 4 9 33 2024 6 0 0 0 Knights 40 47 4 10 25 2025 6 2 0 8 Sharks 33 48 11 35 2014 20 2 0 8 Tigers 21 40 19 212 32 2020 14 1 0 4 Knights 41 52 10 13 25 2022 12 2 0 8 Roosters 47 47 7 3 214 25 2021 13 2 0 8 Roosters 33 56 7 15 27 2021 9 0 0 0 Eels 29 33 6 516 28 2026 2 0 0 0 Roosters 13 33 317 24 2026 3 0 0 0 Dragons 41 41 18 26 2020 5 0 0 0 Sharks 27 45 2 819 32 2015 10 1 0 4 Roosters 31 31 1 420 27 2018 5 0 0 0 Dragons 12 44 2 30 2019 12 4 0 16 Sharks 32 48 1 5 Notes Age is at 28 May 2026. Jesse Southwell kicked a field goal in Game 1 of the 2026 series. An injury to Tiana Penitani Gray in game one prompted three positional changes in the team initially named for game two. Hannah Southwell joined the squad on the extended bench. Rima Butler moved from the reserves to the interchange bench. Kezie Apps moved from the interchange bench into the starting line-up. For game three, Olivia Higgins who had started at dummy-half in game two in jersey 14, was assigned jersey 9, swapping with Keeley Nizza. Jersey numbers were also swapped for Quincy Dodd and Corban Baxter. Millie Elliott missed the 2025 series and 2025 NRLW season and due to pregnancy. Keeley Nizza previously played as Keeley Davis. Yasmin Meakes played as Yasmin Clydsdale between 2022 and 2025. Jesse Southwell changed clubs between the conclusion of the 2025 NRLW season and the 2026 State of Origin series. Key to icons used in the above table Tests: , and All Stars: Indigenous All Stars, Māori All Stars, All Stars

Results summary Note: New South Wales score is given first.

+Results From 1999 to presentDateOpponentScoreCompetitionVenueAttendanceRef.4 July 1999 16–181999 Interstate ChallengeANZ Stadium, Brisbane2000 Queensland – 2000 Interstate Challenge22 July 2001 Queensland14–342001 Interstate ChallengeANZ Stadium, Brisbane23 June 2002 Queensland16–26 2002 Interstate Challenge Ipswich 2003 Queensland – 2003 Interstate Challenge24 July 2004 Queensland8–402004 Interstate Challenge(QLD win series 2–0)Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane31 July 2004 Queensland8–46 EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle6 August 2005 Queensland18–202005 Interstate ChallengeHenson Park, Marrickville30 July 2006 Queensland24–402006 Interstate ChallengeSuncorp Stadium, Brisbane13 August 2007 Queensland16–382007 Interstate ChallengeCUA Stadium, Penrith8 July 2008 Queensland6–82008 Interstate Challenge(QLD win series 2–0)CUA Stadium, Penrith9 August 2008 Queensland4–46Kougari Oval, Brisbane18 July 2009 Queensland14–202009 Interstate ChallengeCUA Stadium, Penrith26 June 2010 Queensland6–362010 Interstate ChallengeAlbert Park, Gympie25 May 2011 Queensland0–262011 Interstate ChallengeSuncorp Stadium, Brisbane23 June 2012 Queensland10–342012 Interstate ChallengeCentrebet Stadium, Penrith7 April 2013 Queensland12–302013 Interstate ChallengeDavies Park, Brisbane19 July 2014 Queensland10–262014 Interstate ChallengeLeichhardt Oval, Sydney27 June 2015 Queensland4–42015 Interstate Challenge1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville23 July 2016 Queensland8–42016 Interstate ChallengeCbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast23 July 2017 Queensland22–62017 Interstate ChallengeWIN Stadium, Wollongong22 June 2018 Queensland16–102018 State of OriginNorth Sydney Oval, Sydney 6,82421 June 2019 Queensland14–42019 State of OriginNorth Sydney Oval, Sydney 10,51513 November 2020 Queensland18–242020 State of OriginSunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast 4,83325 June 2021 Queensland6–82021 State of OriginSunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast 7,18324 June 2022 Queensland20–142022 State of OriginGIO Stadium, Canberra 11,32121 June 2023 Queensland10–182023 State of Origin(1–1, QLD win on aggregate score)Commbank Stadium, Sydney 12,97222 June 2023 Queensland18–14Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville 18,27516 May 2024 Queensland22–122024 State of Origin(QLD win series 2–1) Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 25,4926 June 2024 Queensland10–11McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle 25,78227 June 2024 Queensland6–22Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville 22,8191 May 2025 Queensland32–122025 State of Origin(NSW win series 2–1) Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 26,02226 May 2025 Queensland26–6Allianz Stadium, Sydney 16,02629 May 2025 Queensland14–18McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle 21,912 30 April 2026 Queensland11–6 2026 State of Origin(NSW win series 3–0) McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle 20,179 14 May 2026 Queensland14–10 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 23,846 28 May 2026 Queensland12–4 Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast 11,816

Results detail 2006

2007

2008 The Woman's Interstate Challenge was played as a two-game series in 2008.

Game 1

Game 2

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Notes: This was the first time New South Wales won the trophy in all women's interstate challenge history.

2017

2018 Notes:

First official Women's State of Origin match.

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023 The two-match series was decided as the teams won one match each on aggregate, with Queensland winning 3228. Game 1

Game 2

2024 Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

2025 Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

2026 Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Records Margins and streaks Biggest winning margins

Margin Score Opponent Venue Date 20 3212 Queensland Suncorp Stadium 1 May 2025 20 266 Queensland Allianz Stadium 15 May 2025 16 226 Queensland WIN Stadium 23 Jul 2017 10 144 Queensland North Sydney Oval 21 Jun 2019 10 2212 Queensland Suncorp Stadium 16 May 2024

Biggest losing margins

Margin Score Opponent Venue Date 42 446 Queensland Kougari Oval, Wynnum 9 Aug 2008 38 846 Queensland Energy Australia Stadium 31 Jul 2004 32 840 Queensland Suncorp Stadium 24 Jul 2004 30 636 Queensland Albert Park, Gympie 26 Jun 2010

Player awards The following table displays The player of the match (to 2022) or player of the series (since 2023) awards, open to players from both New South Wales and Queensland teams. This award is presented at the conclusion of the series. Awards presented by the New South Wales Rugby League at their Brad Fittler Medal Awards night, typically held towards the end of the club competition seasons. Only New South Wales players are eligible for these awards.

Year Both Teams New South Wales Player of the Match (20142022) Player of the Series (20232026) Player of the Year Women's Origin Award Daily Telegraph People's Choice Player Club Player Club Player Club Player Club 2014 Kezie Apps Helensburgh Tigers Not awarded Not awarded 2015 Simaima Taufa PCYC Mount Druitt 2016 Kezie Apps Helensburgh Tigers Kezie Apps Helensburgh Tigers 2017 Kezie Apps Helensburgh Tigers Simaima Taufa Mounties 2018 Isabelle Kelly CRL Newcastle Isabelle Kelly CRL Newcastle 2019 Maddie Studdon Cronulla Sharks Simaima Taufa Mounties 2020 Tarryn Aiken Tweed Heads Seagulls Hannah Southwell Central Coast Roosters 2021 Tazmin Gray Burleigh Bears Isabelle Kelly Central Coast Roosters 2022 Isabelle Kelly Sydney Roosters Isabelle Kelly Sydney Roosters Caitlan Johnston Newcastle Knights 2023 Tazmin Gray Burleigh Bears Emma Tonegato Cronulla Sharks Kezie Apps Wests Tigers 2024 Shannon Mato Mackay Cutters Jaime Chapman Gold Coast Titans Yasmin Clydsdale Newcastle Knights 2025 Olivia Kernick Sydney Roosters Olivia Kernick Sydney Roosters Abbi Church Parramatta Eels Olivia Kernick Sydney Roosters 2026 Yasmin Meakes Newcastle Knights Yasmin Meakes Newcastle Knights Ellie Johnston Cronulla Sharks Jesse Southwell Brisbane Broncos

See also

New South Wales State team New South Wales Residents team New South Wales Under-20 team New South Wales Under-18 team New South Wales Under-16 team Holden Women's Premiership Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership New South Wales Women's Rugby League List of Women's Interstate Challenge results

References

External links