Source : ABC NEWS
With stalwart halves Ali Brigginshaw and Tarryn Aiken unavailable for selection, the Maroons have named a new-look Queensland side for the first Women’s State of Origin game in Newcastle.
Brigginshaw retired from the Origin scene earlier this year, while Aiken is recovering from a torn ACL suffered at the end of last NRLW season.
This year marks the first time since the 2015 Interstate Challenge that Queensland will line up without Brigginshaw, and the first time since 2019 without Aiken in the side.
Sharks playmaker Chantay Kiria-Ratu is set to make her Origin debut at five-eighth, partnering long-time utility Lauren Brown, who retains her halfback spot.
Brown’s Titans teammate, Phoenix-Raine Hippi, has been named for her first Origin on the wing.
Otesa Pule and Ivana Lolesio could both make their first appearances after being named on the six-player bench, while uncapped Destiny Mino-Sinapati is also in the line-up in jersey number 20.
Superstar fullback and last year’s co-captain, Tamika Upton, returns after missing Queensland’s face-saving win in the 2025 dead rubber with a hip injury.
New coach Nathan Cross, taking over from long-time mentor Tahnee Norris, has left out Sophie Holyman and the versatile Tavarna Papalii, who both played all three games last year.
2024 player of the series Shannon Mato had spoken about her desire to get back in maroon after missing last year’s Origin due to pregnancy, but the newly minted Broncos prop has not been named for Origin I.
The series starts at Hunter Stadium in Newcastle on April 30, before game two at Brisbane’s Lang Park on May 14, and the final clash at Robina Stadium on the Gold Coast on May 28, a day after the men’s series opener in Sydney.
The New South Wales team for the series opener will be named this afternoon in Sydney.
