With the women’s State of Origin trophy already secured, New South Wales (NSW) Blues head coach John Strange faced a pivotal decision: hand valuable debut opportunities to rising young talents, or stick with the group that delivered the series win to chase an unprecedented milestone. In a call shaped by hard lessons from last year’s campaign, Strange has opted to keep his entire 20-player matchday squad intact for next week’s decisive third clash, as the Blues chase the first 3-0 clean sweep for a NSW side in 26 years.
NSW locked in the series title earlier this month with a heart-stopping 14-10 come-from-behind win over Queensland at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, wrapping up the overall trophy with one match still left to play. Instead of shaking up his lineup to give fringe prospects a taste of senior representative football, Strange said the painful memory of last year’s dead rubber defeat was the driving force behind his loyalty to the group that got the Blues across the line in Brisbane.
Strange publicly confirmed the unchanged squad during a YouTube livestream on Wednesday morning, confirming the third game, scheduled for next Thursday, will be held on Queensland’s home turf on the Gold Coast. “The reason for that is that I feel like the girls that were selected for both games have done an awesome job,” Strange told reporters and fans during the stream. “We want to make sure they have the opportunity to go up there and win the third game. So it’s about respecting the players that have worn the jersey and deserve to wear the jersey, so there was no thought of changing the team this year. It was a case of going with the girls that need to be there.”
The upcoming fixture will mark a personal milestone for veteran Blues forward Kezie Apps, who will earn her 20th state cap for NSW when she runs out next week.
Strange’s decision is rooted in a humbling experience 12 months prior. In 2023, the Blues also claimed the first two matches of the series to secure the Origin trophy early, only to drop a tight third-match dead rubber in Newcastle to Queensland. That defeat, which came despite the Blues winning the first two contests by a combined 20 points, left a lasting impression on the entire program, and Strange is determined to avoid a repeat of that outcome this year.
“We were in a similar situation last year after two games, and we went up to game three in Newcastle and didn’t get the job done,” he said. “Queensland were outstanding in that game and very desperate and wanted to make sure they got a win, so we fully understand that’s the attitude that they’re going to bring this time around.”
Reflecting on last year’s misstep, Strange said the squad entered the third game with a celebratory mindset rather than the competitive intensity that carried them to the first two wins. That shift in focus ultimately cost them. “I felt like going into camp for game three last year that there was a lot of excitement from all the players, and so they should have been excited because they’d wrapped the series up,” he explained. “But we probably didn’t go in with the same intensity in game three that we did in games one and two, so that was a really good learning experience for all of us involved. If we were in the same position again that we would go in with a different mindset because we know Queensland don’t want to get beaten 3-0. We know the desperation they’re going to have, and we’re going to make sure we match that desperation and play good footy.”
The full NSW squad will enter camp this Thursday before travelling to Kingscliff on Saturday to ramp up their final preparations for the history-making clash. The full unchanged 20-player squad is as follows: Abbi Church, Jaime Chapman, Jess Sergis, Isabelle Kelly, Jayme Fressard, Jocelyn Kelleher, Jesse Southwell, Millie Elliott, Olivia Higgins, Ellie Johnston, Kezie Apps, Yasmin Meakes, Olivia Kernick, Keeley Nizza, Kennedy Cherrington, Rima Butler, Teagan Berry, Quincy Dodd, Corban Baxter, and Hannah Southwell.