Queensland Maroons win 18-14 over NSW in Women's State of Origin III but Blues win the series
Less than 24 hours after the Queensland men were beaten 18-6 in Origin I at Suncorp Stadium, the Maroons women gave the state something to cheer about with prop Chelsea Lenarduzzi scoring her first Origin try in the dying minutes to beat the Blues at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle.
Despite losing their second series in a row, Lenarduzzi's matchwinner was a moment of inspiration for the future of Queensland who are grappling with change moving into 2026.
Coach Tahnee Norris is now under pressure to keep her position after five years in the role, while the depth of available talent in the state will also be thoroughly examined heading into the upcoming NRLW season.
The playing future of inspirational captain Ali Brigginshaw is also under question heading into next year's series.
It could be a turning point for the Maroons.
To the delight of the 21,912-strong crowd in Newcastle they showed there's no such thing as a dead rubber when it comes to Origin.
The Blues were leading 8-6 at halftime but Queensland never let them breathe after back-to-back thrashings in Sydney and Brisbane.
However, a revived halves combination of Lauren Brown and Tarryn Aiken looked to revive the Maroons attack and could be the answer moving forward.
The pair kept the pressure on the Blues with a smart kicking game that was hard to contain.
The Maroons were missing a stack of players on Thursday night including co-captain Tamika Upton, while rookie centre Rory Owen was ruled out on game day with a medical issue, replaced on right edge with experienced winger Emily Bass.
Shenae Ciesiolka (knee) and Destiny Brill (ribs) also didn't finish the game.
Queensland scored first through prop Makenzie Weale and a try to Romy Teitzel kept them in it just after halftime.
The Blues were way below their best.
Skipper Isabelle Kelly committed the ultimate sin by not grounding a ball while untouched over the tryline, while Jocelyn Kelleher and Jess Sergis kept it close before defensive errors cruelled them with minutes to go.
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