The Queensland Rugby League has today announced the Harvey Norman Queensland Women’s team to take on New South Wales.
The match will take place on Friday, June 22 at North Sydney Oval and will mark the first occasion that the game will be played under the State of Origin brand (previously named the Interstate Challenge).
Queensland will be coached by former Origin hooker Jason Hetherington with former Jillaroos Nat Dwyer and Karyn Murphy his assistant coaches.
The team features a number of experienced players including 2017 Rugby League World Cup winning Jillaroos Chelsea Baker, Heather Ballinger, Annette Brander, Karina Brown, Steph Hancock, Zahara Temara and player of the final Ali Brigginshaw.
Some of the new faces include rising star of the game Meg Ward who also played in that Word Cup win and was a key participant for the Australian Defence Force team at the recent Harvey Norman Women’s National Championships.
The tournament held last weekend on the Gold Coast was a true trial, with some players selected directly from their performances across the three-day tournament, including forward Frieda Faulato Seu from the Harvey Norman Queensland City team.
The Harvey Norman Queensland Women’s team will assemble in camp next week to prepare for the game being played as part of the NRL representative weekend.
Harvey Norman Queensland Women’s State of Origin team (in alphabetical order):
Chelsea BAKER – Queensland Country (Gladstone Wallabys)
Heather BALLINGER – Queensland Country (West Brisbane Panthers)
Annette BRANDER – Queensland Country (Brisbane Souths)
Brittany BREAYLEY – Queensland Country (Ipswich Brothers)
Ali BRIGGINSHAW – Queensland City (Ipswich Brothers)
Karina BROWN – Queensland City (Easts Tigers)
Frieda FAULATO SEU – Queensland City (Brisbane Souths) *
Maitua FETERIKA – Queensland City (Ipswich Brothers) *
Tazmin GRAY – Queensland City (Burleigh Bears)
Stephanie HANCOCK – Queensland Country (Brisbane Souths)
Tallisha HARDEN – Queensland City (Burleigh Bears) *
Kody HOUSE – Queensland Country (Ipswich Brothers)
Amelia KUK – Queensland City (Ipswich Brothers)
Rona PETERS – Queensland City (Burleigh Bears)
Rhiannon REVELL- BLAIR – Queensland Country (Emu Park) *
Mariah STORCH – Queensland Country (Blackwater Crushettes) *
Zahara TEMARA – Queensland City (Burleigh Bears)
Meg WARD – Australian Defence Force (Brisbane Souths) *
Coach: Jason Hetherington
Assistant Coach: Karyn Murphy
Assistant Coach: Nat Dwyer
