How the Maroons salvaged Origin pride, as Southwell proves she's the next great halfback
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.
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.
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."
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In the medium term, it recommends fast-tracking housing completions, scaling up social and affordable housing using the state's investment fund, and targeting new developments at first-home buyers and key workers, such as childcare educators, retail and hospitality workers, health support workers, and general administrative services. It also calls for incentives for build-to-rent developments and enforceable standards for rental properties. Among its long-term recommendations, the report urges the WA government to commit to delivering 24,000 new homes each year — including a minimum of 1,200 new or repurposed social dwellings — and to replace stamp duty with a more efficient system to support household mobility. Small steps, but a long way to go In 2024, the WA government updated its Residential Tenancies Act, with the first tranche of changes allowing pets and minor modifications in most rentals and limiting rent increases to once every 12 months. The reforms were introduced in addition to the ban on rent bidding and retaliatory actions from landlords brought in earlier that year. However, there's still no cap on rental increases. In a statement to SBS News, a state government spokesperson declined to say whether it would abolish "no grounds" evictions entirely. "Recommendations for a second phase of reforms are expected to be finalised for consideration later this year," the spokesperson said. "Stage two will consider a range of further measures to protect renters, including setting minimum standards, the collection of bonds, rents and other charges, and clear definitions of boarding and lodging. "Consultation with stakeholders will guide the second phase of these reforms." Seen through her office window, tenancy lawyer Alice Pennycott works to support renters navigating an increasingly hostile housing market. She says more and more people are reaching out with nowhere else to turn. Source: SBS News / Christopher Tan But advocates say these measures barely scratch the surface. "It doesn't address the heart of the problem: renters being protected from being thrown out into the street into homelessness," Pennycott says. WA court data shows more than 1,500 eviction applications have been filed annually in the last four years, not including informal or unchallenged cases. BCEC figures also reveal that nearly two-thirds of single women renters in WA aged 55 and over are living in poverty, with half in the "severe poverty" category. "There's a growing awareness now. Everyone knows someone who's been impacted — whether it's rent hikes, eviction, or just the stress of trying to find a place to live," Pennycott says. "[But] we've been lobbying for change since 2019." Sitting beneath the trees by the Swan River, Elizabeth Wright reflects on the emotional toll of housing insecurity. With support systems stretched and options running out, she says no-one should be forced to raise a child from the back of a car in a country as wealthy as Australia. Source: SBS News / Christopher Tan For Wright, the crisis isn't just about statistics — it's about recognising the humanity of renters. We treat housing as a commodity, but it's a basic human right. Wright's wish is singular: All she wants, she says, is a place to call home again. "I just want to give my daughter a secure place to grow up. "Not a car, not someone else's couch. A home."