Blue wash glory as NSW secure historic clean sweep

The Westpac NSW Blues Women have etched their names into the history books, becoming the first team in Ampol Women’s State of Origin history to complete a 3-0 series sweep.

A relentless opening half produced enormous defensive displays from both sides, with neither team willing to give an inch in a tense 35 minutes that resulted in a 4-4 deadlock at half-time.

The second half saw NSW control key moments through disciplined defence and smart field positioning, holding firm to shut Queensland out and secure a hard-fought 12-4 victory in Game Three at Cbus Super Stadium.

“We set a goal at the start of this year, obviously last year we didn’t get that last win, but we really came here with a goal, and we had some things to work on,” Jayme Fressard said post-game. 

“Credit to Strangey (John Strange) and what he does for these girls because we are so connected because of him.

“We reached our goal.”

NSW enjoyed a wave of early possession and repeat attacking sets. Just as the Blues looked set to turn their territorial dominance into first points through Jayme Fressard, the Bunker intervened to rule no try after detecting a slight knock-on in the grounding.

The Blues’ early pressure finally translated into points soon after when NSW again threatened the Queensland line off the back of a Maroons error. 

A well-worked set play caught the defence short on the left edge as Jesse Southwell dug into the line before the ball found captain Isabelle Kelly, who capitalised on the overlap to score the opening try and hand NSW a 4-0 lead after the conversion attempt was waved away.

Right before half-time, the Maroons were rewarded for their determined defensive efforts throughout the opening. 

Debutant fullback Destiny Mino-Sinapati sparked the momentum shift with a run that drew in the NSW defence before spreading the ball wide to Jasmine Peters, who crossed in the corner to level the scores at 4-4 heading into the break.

NSW were gifted an early opportunity in the second half after a backfield collision between resulted in an offside penalty against the Maroons, with the Blues electing to take the two points as Southwell calmly slotted the penalty goal to hand NSW a 6-4 lead.

The two-point lead was quickly extended as Fressard made amends for her earlier disallowed effort. 

The movement started with a shift left from the Blues halves, finding Fressard in space as she ran a strong, direct line through the defence to score. Jesse Southwell added the extras to push NSW out to a 12-4 lead, which remained the final score and sealed their historic 3-0 series sweep.

“I saw a few Queenslanders and a bit of space and thought, you know what, just back yourself,” Fressard said of her match-sealing try. 

"I’ve got the speed, I wasn’t bombing that one.

“The girls got the job done today, and I am so proud of both sides for putting on a show for women’s Rugby League.”