NSW 11, Queensland 6
Halfback Jesse Southwell enjoyed a triumphant homecoming as NSW opened the 2026 women’s State of Origin series with an 11-6 victory against Queensland at McDonald Jones Stadium on Thursday night.
Southwell, the home-grown Novocastrian who steered the Knights to back-to-back NRLW premierships in 2022-23, signed a two-year deal with premiers Brisbane at the end of last season.
The Jillaroos playmaker returned to her former stomping ground in style by slotting a late field goal to break a 6-all deadlock and excelled in general play.
“It’s a testament to who she is. She’s got a really strong, positive mindset as a young half, which you obviously need,” NSW coach John Strange said.
“She backs herself, and for me as a coach I want all these players to back themselves.
“All 17 players that played tonight, they’re exceptional athletes and very good footy players.”
NSW iced the win in the dying seconds when they kept the ball alive and centre Jessica Sergis weaved her way through desperate defence to score.
It was NSW’s first win in Newcastle, after losses by 18-14 last year and 11-10 in 2024.
A brave fightback was needed after the Maroons grabbed an early lead. Queensland recovered from a disastrous start to open the scoring in only the second minute.
From the kick-off, Maroons prop Makenzie Weale was rag-dolled in a gang tackle that culminated in her head slamming into the turf. She was helped from the field for a head-injury assessment and, after a category-one diagnosis, her night was over.
The Maroons took that setback in their stride and earned a scrum feed at the end of that first set when NSW fullback Abbi Church fumbled a towering bomb. Seconds later, Weale’s replacement, debutant Otesa Pule, crashed through a wall of defenders from close range and wrestled the ball down to score. Queensland halfback Lauren Brown converted to give the visitors a 6-0 lead.
NSW’s night went from bad to worse in the ninth minute when inspirational forward Millie Elliott, making her comeback after missing last season because of the birth of her first baby, was dazed in a head clash. After an on-field assessment, Elliott was cleared to play on, but she was eventually replaced in the 20th minute by experienced Kezie Apps.
Both teams made a host of handling errors in the first half, which was understandable given the lack of lead-up games. Scoring chances were few and far between, but NSW’s most dangerous weapon was winger Jaime Chapman, who worried the Maroons every time she touched the ball.
A crunching Jocelyn Kelleher tackle 10 minutes into the second half, which forced centre Rory Owen to lose possession, turned the match in the home team’s favour.
Within seconds, Blues prop Ellie Johnston powered over to score, in almost a carbon copy of Pule’s first-half try .Southwell converted to lock scores up at 6-all.
There was major drama 22 minutes into the second half when NSW skipper Isabelle Kelly suffered an ankle injury and protested about what she believed was a hip-drop tackle, then Queensland lock Keilee Joseph lost the ball in a Church tackle just as she appeared set to score.
A minute later, Joseph was knocked cold attempting a front-on tackle and had to be carried from the field on a medicab.
Southwell had a shot at field goal to break the deadlock nine minutes from full-time but took too long to launch it, allowing Queensland to block it.
Seconds later, Brown attempted her own one-pointer but hooked it to the left of the posts. Southwell made no mistake a minute later, nudging NSW into the lead with a drop shot from right in front.
Then, just as the siren was sounding, Sergis scored to cap a hard-fought Blues win.
“I’m extremely proud of the girls,” Maroons coach Nathan Cross said. “They tried so hard. But it’s a loss, and they came down here to win. We didn’t get that, and that’s hurting us. A lot to take away, but extremely disappointed.”
The crowd of 20,179 continued Newcastle’s record of bumper attendances for women’s Origin, after turnouts of 21,912 last year and 25,782 in 2024.
