Women’s State of Origin 2025 Game 3: NSW Blues v Qld Maroons v – live updates

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29 mins: Aiken looks to put a great tackle on Southwell, but the youngster stands up to it and manages to get away an offload before Aiken can get her on the ground. Church finishes the set with a deft kick and the Blues back it up by forcing Bass in goal to get the line drop out.

27 mins: A solid set for the Blues finishes with a pinpoint accurate kick from Southwell to trap the Maroons in the corner, but Maddick does well to avoid being stuck in goal. Aiken’s kick at the end of their set is disappointing, going out on the full.

25 mins: Just as I say they’re energised, the Blues lose the ball and Queensland look for a quick pick up and run, but they can’t hold it either, so they have to make do with the scrum feed. A great tackle from Penitani Gray slows the momentum down for the Maroons and then NSW force a changeover on tackle six.

23 mins: A tricky kick from the right edge is missed by Southwell, so the Maroons keep their noses in front. The Blues look energised after finally getting those points on the board and they push on towards Maroons’ territory.

TRY! NSW 4-6 QLD (Sergis 20')

Sergis makes no mistake and that ball is as grounded as you could imagine a ball being and finally the Blues are on the board!

21 mins: There’s some confusion about how to proceed because nothing really happened to rule on – Kelly never lost the ball or left the field or was held up. In the end, they play it as if it was held up, the Blues put up a kick and the Maroons field it, but make an error early in the set to give the Blues another chance.

The NSW chant goes up around the stadium as the Blues get very close to the line. The Maroons defence is outstanding for a long time, but they can’t hold them out forever and after moving the ball all the way across the field, Kelly sees a gap in the defence and steps neatly into it to score. Or does she? Once again the bunker step in and say she never grounded the ball and the try is taken away.

18 mins: Weale is ruled to have knocked on, but the Maroons successfully challenge the decision and can continue on with their set. Aiken’s kick isn’t a brilliant one to finish the set however, it goes straight down Church’s throat and the Blues start their set with momentum. We get the first biff of the night between Chapman and Robinson and NSW get a penalty out of it.

16 mins: Southwell finishes the set with a great kick and Clydsdale gets the ball with space at the line, but the Maroons close ranks in defence and hold her out. They back it up by getting a penalty early in the next set and marching back down field.

14 mins: A solid set from Queensland and Church takes the high kick strongly at the end of it – they won’t make the mistake of letting the ball bounce again. They will be looking to complete their set after a few mistakes through the start of this game. The Blues pick up a penalty, which gets them up past the Maroons’ 40m line with six tackles in hand. Sergis makes a searching run up a field, which adds some spark to the attack.

12 mins: The Blues get a penalty early in the set and will be hoping to continue this momentum swing their way. Penitani Gray pulls out a forward-like hit up, but Kelly drops the ball on the next play to hand the ball back to Queensland.

10 mins: The Maroons charge back down field and the Blues have to keep their defence strong, as it continues to be tested. They nearly make an error on the fourth tackle, but Aiken hangs on and then Brown puts up a sensational kick, that the Blues let bounce. Bass looks certain to score, but Church holds her up over the line and it’s a changeover with NSW to get the ball at last.

GOAL! NSW 0-6 QLD (Brown, 8')

An easy shot for Brown and the Maroons are flying.

TRY! NSW 0-4 QLD (Weale, 7')

The Maroons are really testing the NSW defence, moving the ball wide, from edge to edge and finally they’re rewarded, with Weale crashing over in the centre after the defence was stretched.

6 mins: Some great ball playing from the Maroons inside the Blues’ 20m nearly leads to a try – in fact, referee Sharpe awards it. But the Bunker sticks their nose in and rules that Lofipo puts her hand on the dead ball line as she scores and overrules the decision. The Blues get the ball back, but immediately make an error with the slippery ball and give the Maroons another shot to open their account. The Blues defend their line very hard and the ball goes dead in goal, but it’s ruled to come off the Blues, so there’ll be a line drop out.

4 mins: Chapman nearly scores at the end of that set, but another try saving tackle from Robinson pulls her off the field as she attempts to score in the corner. Queensland get their first use of the ball and almost immediately, the Blues give away a penalty and they get some good field position after their horror start.

2 mins: Well there couldn’t have been a worse start from the Maroons, who attempt a short kick off for some reason – the element of surprise maybe? It doesn’t make the 10 metres and NSW get the ball in great field position. Quick as flash the Blues are deep in Maroons territory, Sergis makes a break and Robinson pulls off a try saving tackle, knocking the ball on in the process and the Blues get another set.

And we’re off! Queensland has kicked off and the game is underway.

The teams are out on the field now, with the Welcome to Country being delivered by Kumarah Kelly and the national anthem performed by Leigh Archer.

For the Maroons, Lauren Brown with her first start in halfback in Origin is determined that her team is pumped to win this game, despite the fact that the series win is out of the question.

“You never know with this rain what’s going to happen, but we’re a very pumped Queensland team ready to win this game,” she says.

Kicking off the broadcast coverage with a classic Gus Gould monologue, talking up the possibility of the Blues’ first whitewash – men’s or women’s – since 2000. Blues’ five-eighth Tiana Penitani Gray is excited by the prospect, but emphasises the team isn’t getting ahead of itself.

“It would mean the world, there’s such a rich history in this series,” she says. “But just to hold up the shield for the first time in a three match series will be amazing.”

A late change for Queensland, with Emily Bass coming from the reserves into the starting line, playing in the centres for Rory Owen, who has been ruled out of the match. Georgia Hannaway will make her debut for the Maroons tonight from the interchange bench.

Team list: NSW

1. Abbi Church

2. Jaime Chapman

3. Jessica Sergis

4. Isabelle Kelly

5. Jayme Fressard

6. Tiana Penitani Gray

7. Jesse Southwell

8. Simaima Taufa

9. Keeley Davis

10. Ellie Johnston

11. Kezie Apps

12. Yasmin Clydsdale

13. Olivia Kernick

Interchange:

14. Jocelyn Kelleher

15. Kennedy Cherrington

16. Sarah Togatuki

17. Emma Verran

Reserves:

18. Olivia Higgins

Team list: Queensland

1. Hayley Maddick

2. Julia Robinson

3. Shenae Ciesiolka

19. Emily Bass

5. Jasmine Peters

6. Tarryn Aiken

7. Lauren Brown

8. Makenzie Weale

9. Destiny Brill

10. Jessika Elliston

11. Sienna Lofipo

12. Romy Teitzel

16. Chelsea Lenarduzzi

Interchange:

13. Ali Brigginshaw

14. Georgia Hannaway

15. Sophie Holyman

17. Tavarna Papalii

Reserves:

18. Jada Ferguson

Preamble

Hello everyone and welcome to Origin III! I missed live blogging the last one with you all due to being at the game, live and in person, which was very exciting – fortunately I was safely undercover, unlike the players.

It looks like things will be mostly dry in Newcastle tonight, which I’m sure will be a welcome change from the swimming pool the players waded through in Sydney two weeks ago.

Now of course the elephant in the room is that this is a dead rubber – NSW took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series after winning in Sydney, so it is only pride on the line for Queensland tonight, while NSW will be motivated by securing the whitewash (bluewash?)

For the Blues, John Strange has made no changes going into the final game of the series, meaning the same 17 players will line up in all three games. Meanwhile, it’s quite a different story for the Maroons, with injuries to star fullback Tamika Upton and lock Keilee Joseph.

Despite the match being a dead rubber, there’s hope the crowd will still turn up in numbers tonight. Game I of the series set a new crowd record, while over 16,000 braved the rain in Sydney. Newcastle represented hard last year in torrential rain, so let’s see if they can do the same this year!

Kick off is at 7.45pm AEST, which isn’t too far away, so let’s get into it and count down to this final match of the series!