Game One hit no fluke according to Blues No.6

Trailing 6-0 going into the second half in the opening game of the 2026 Ampol Women’s State of Origin series, NSW were looking for a spark to get back into the contest.

Enter Westpac NSW Blues Women’s five-eighth Jocelyn Kelleher, who flew infield as Queensland were coming out of their own end and dislodged the ball with a huge hit. But according to the No.6, defensive efforts like that might soon become more frequent for Kelleher.

“It’s something I’m definitely trying to work on,” she said.

“Obviously my kicking game is one of my strengths, but I’m trying to get my defence up there as well.

“I’m working on it a lot behind the scenes, so hopefully that’ll come out more.”

Kelleher’s tackle gave NSW the quality field position they needed and effectively changed the context of the match with Ellie Johnston crashing over to score shortly after - and the rest was history.

“I feel like we had a couple of missed opportunities in the first half, so going into half-time, I think as a group we felt pretty confident we could get the job done in the end,” Kelleher explained.

“The first half was a massive grind, and we knew that if we could get it over them, we could put the points on the back of it.

“It was a good win.”

Game One was also a reacquaintance of sorts for the 26-year-old and former Central Coast OzTag halves partner Jesse Southwell, who had a big moment of her own with a 62nd minute field goal to edge her side in front.

The pair combined for 417 kick metres with Kelleher recording two forced drop-outs.

“We used to play OzTag together a couple of years ago in State Cup for the Central Coast,” Kelleher said.

“She (Jesse) is just a character, she’s a massive talent, especially at such a young age.

“I was very excited to finally get to play with her in the halves in Rugby League.”

Moving ahead from the series-opening win at Newcastle, Kelleher and the Blues now head to Suncorp Stadium on Thursday with a chance to retain the Origin Shield, a venue where NSW boast a 2-0 record.

“Suncorp’s a huge stadium, It’s very historic as well,” she said.

“The crowd’s massive and the atmosphere’s crazy.

“It’s pretty special there but it’s even better when we get to beat Queensland in their own state, so hopefully we get to do that next week.”