Queensland’s greatest player has been jettisoned and backup has been called in from across the ditch. The side has a new-look halves pairing, as many as five State of Origin debutants, and a new coach.
Against New South Wales – the holders of the Women’s Origin shield after their comprehensive victory in 2025 – the Maroons have undergone a radical reset. Back to the drawing board? Try again. New coach Nathan Cross is on his way to Officeworks, imagining a whole new fit-out.
Halfback and vice captain Lauren Brown accepts the northerners are outsiders for Thursday’s clash in Newcastle.
“The Blues, they’ve got strike all over the park, they’re a very classy team and they’ve had the liberty of playing together for a while, so they’ve got those combos from previous campaigns and from club land as well,” she said.
“But we’re just really focusing on what we do and making sure what we do is right, cancelling out all the outside noise and just kind of focusing on our Maroon ‘little bubble’, and go from there.”
The bubble looks different this year. Ali Brigginshaw, co-captain in 2025 alongside the now-promoted Tamika Upton, has retired from Origin after she was benched in the game three dead-rubber. Though Brigginshaw will no longer take the field, the 36-year-old has stayed connected with the squad in the final year of her playing career.
“We are missing her, but it’s also a new campaign,” Brown said. “She’s always messaging me, so I know she’s always a phone call away if there’s anything I need.”
In some ways, that third match last year in Newcastle, won by the Maroons 18-14, provided the starting point for this year’s assault on the shield. The skilful Brown was redeployed as the No 7, and will again be responsible for the Maroons’ attack on Thursday.
Unfortunately, her halves partner last year, the electric Tarryn Aiken, is out with a serious knee injury, opening the door for debutant Chantay Kiria-Ratu. The Sharks player was a rookie at the Titans in 2023 alongside Brown, and they have quickly rekindled their connection. “She just brings this really calm, cool composure on the field and obviously she’s got an incredible kicking game which will be a huge asset for our team,” Brown said.
State of Origin eligibility changes have paved the way for New Zealand forwards Brianna Clark and Otesa Pule to be part of the Maroons squad. Clark was involved in Origin before committing to the Kiwi Ferns, but Pule is in line for a debut alongside winger Phoenix-Raine Hippi. Ivana Lolesio and Destiny Mino-Sinapati are the other Queenslanders yet to play in Origin, but they have been named outside the top 17.
Brown said the trio of Hippi, Lolesio and Mino-Sinapati have been “incredible assets” in training: “I feel like they came into our pre-series camp and they set the bar and then they just kept raising it.”
Cross, who is the Dragons NRLW coach and a former Maroons assistant, replaced Tahnee Norris ahead of this series. He has brought the players in for weekend mini-camps, while his NSW counterpart John Strange has had the luxury of six-week blocks with his players, most of who are based in Sydney.
The Blues captain, Isabelle Kelly, leads a more settled side, though one not without changes. Despite her success as a powerful five-eighth in last year’s series, Tiana Penitani Gray has been shifted to second row. “I’ll have to give Tiana a shout-out, learning a new position and absolutely dominating in training,” Kelly said.
The versatile Jocelyn Kelleher will line up at No 6, but Strange played down the change. “I know people see numbers on the back and think that they’ve got to fit into a certain slot, but that’s not how I coach,” he said.
“I moved her from the wing to five-eighth last year, she did a great job. This year she’s going to be wearing the No 11 on her back, but she’ll be doing a similar role to last year, so for me it’s about looking at the characteristics of the player, you know, and getting their strengths out on the field.”
Both Kelly and Strange took the opportunity on Wednesday to highlight the promise of Teagen Berry, the Dragons fullback who is in line to make her debut off the bench. “We’ve got ‘Flash’, Teagen Berry, who’s also come in who I’m just so excited for her to debut,” Kelly said.
With the NRLW season more than two months away, the Women’s Origin series still occupies an unusual place in the calendar. Players must rely on training to reach the peaks expected by a demanding audience whose appetite for women’s rugby league continues to grow.
Kelly, who has played for the Blues for a decade, said the players will be up for it, and the rush of Origin never goes away. “It never changes, you’re always nervous, you’ve always got that feeling of adrenaline.”
