An Isabelle Kelly double has fired New South Wales to a 16-10 win over Queensland in the inaugural women's State of Origin at North Sydney Oval. While Friday night was the first time the game was branded an Origin match, it was the Blues' third straight win over the Maroons. The Blues were resilient after losing centre Corban McGregor (shoulder) and hooker Rebecca Riley (foot) in the first half. Loading The Maroons looked like they were starting to get on top when winger Karina Brown got the first of her two tries to make it 6-6 at the break. But the Blues were the better side in the second half, crossing for two tries to one. The Blues' left side was crucial in the victory, racking up all three of their four-pointers including Kelly's opener. After Queensland looked to be getting on top, Nakia Davis-Welsh took advantage of a massive overlap to give the Blues a 10-6 advantage seven minutes after the resumption. Simiana Taufa-Kautai of the Blues meets the Maroons defence. ( AAP: Craig Golding Queensland levelled things up when five-eighth Ali Brigginshaw, who had looked ominous all night, took it to the line and sent Brown over for her second. But it was the Blues who found something extra in front of a healthy crowd of 6,824. After Brigginshaw charged down the ball in her own end, the Blues regained possession and Kelly found space on the left edge for the match-winner. Loading AAP<doc-sep>The "Baby Blues" have secured New South Wales its first State of Origin series victory in four years with a pulsating 18-14 triumph over a gallant Queensland in Game II at Sydney's Olympic stadium. Rookie Origin coach Brad Fittler had thrown caution to the wind in the eyes of some observers when he placed his faith in an inexperienced Blues squad, but they ended the Maroons' run of three-straight series win in emotional fashion. A sell-out crowd of 82,223, watching Origin as it made a rare appearance on a Sunday night, witnessed the Blues fight their way back from 10-0 down midway through the first half to claim victory and establish an unassailable 2-0 series lead ahead of next month's dead rubber in Brisbane. The Blues forced themselves to do it the hard way, however, as they lost James Roberts to the sin-bin for a professional foul with less than 12 minutes until full-time, leaving the home side one player down as the contest edged towards its climax. "They are just a great bunch of kids," Fittler told Grandstand. "They loved every bit of it. I thought the crowd really helped them out with 10 minutes to go ... [we're] just trying to build something, not just about the team here, but build New South Wales, make them strong." Blues coach Brad Fittler (R) celebrates with James Roberts after winning State of Origin II. ( AAP: Dan Himbrechts It was announced it would be a new era under Fittler when 11 debutants were included in the Blues squad for Game One, which they won in Melbourne earlier this month. One of those fresh faces, Latrell Mitchell, scored for the Blues in their Origin II win and he described the victorious moment as "the best feeling". "You couldn't ask for a better team to play with," Mitchell said. "The boys, we knew straight away as soon as we walked in we felt the connection ... it just felt right. To get that out of the way. I'm so grateful." The Blues' win seemed unlikely, however, in the opening stages on Sunday night. The Maroons enjoyed more of the attacking opportunities early in the first half with Billy Slater prominent, as he showed no ill effects of the hamstring injury that ruled him out of Origin I. Dane Gagai crossed in the right-hand corner for what appeared to be the opening try in the ninth minute, only for the NRL bunker to overrule the on-field refereeing decision, but it did not take the Maroons long to post the first try of the match. Valentine Holmes and the Maroons show their delight after opening the scoring in State of Origin II. ( AAP: Dan Himbrechts The Maroons' earlier pressure on the Blues' right-edge defence paid off when Valentine Holmes dotted down after being on the end of an overlap, the Blues being found short when the visitors quickly transferred the ball through the hands to their prolific try scorer. Holmes could not convert his own try but the 4-0 lead was soon doubled when Gagai streaked down the right flank midway through the first term. Again, the Maroons created space out wide, with Slater and Storm teammate Will Chambers finishing off the movement that sent Gagai on his way before Holmes added the extras for a 10-0 scoreline. Gagai made light work of an attempted Josh Addo-Carr tackle en route to scoring, however the Blues flyer responded when he opened the Blues scoring in the 24th minute by crossing the stripe. New South Wales celebrates Josh Addo-Carr's try in the opening half against Queensland. ( AAP: Dan Himbrechts Penalty try gives Blues the edge over Maroons The momentum of the first half then turned in favour of the Blues after they were awarded a penalty try, the first in Origin since 1981. James Maloney had stabbed a perfectly weighted grubber kick into the in-goal area with Boyd Cordner steaming through in pursuit, but the Blues captain was impeded by Ben Hunt as he chased through. Referee Gerard Sutton (L) awards a penalty try to the Blues, as Boyd Cordner looks on. ( AAP: Dan Himbrechts A penalty try was awarded by the bunker after referee Gerard Sutton had initially ruled no try and when Maloney slotted the conversion from in front of the posts the Blues all of sudden found themselves leading 12-10 eight minutes out from half-time. The Blues held their advantage through to the break and only nine minutes after the resumption of play they moved further ahead through Mitchell. They had enjoyed a sustained period of attack and found themselves five metres out from the Maroons line when James Tedesco chanced his arm out of dummy half on the final tackle. The Blues full-back fired a flat pass to his rampaging Roosters teammate Mitchell, who used his impressive strength to barge his way through the attempted tackle of Chambers to touch down for the try. Latrell Mitchell scores for New South Wales against Queensland early in the second half. ( AAP: David Moir Maloney's conversion handed the Blues an 18-10 lead but the Maroons illustrated the resilience that had laid the foundations for 11 series victories in the past 13 years when Chambers scored in the right-hand corner in the 62nd minute to cut the lead to 18-14. The Maroons seemed likely to at least level scores when boom debutant Kalyn Ponga burst through the Blues defensive line to put his side deep inside opposition territory seven minutes later. They were denied the chance to score when Roberts held back Gavin Cooper as he chased through on a grubber kick into the in-goal area, with the Blues centre earning 10 minutes in the sin-bin for his indiscretion. But despite the lack of experience at Origin level, the Blues held firm while they were down to 12 men and eventually closed out the victory to clinch their first series win since 2014.<doc-sep>
The New South Wales women will be out to win their third consecutive game against the Queensland women from North Sydney Oval. Join The Roar for live scores and blog from 7:40pm AEST. These states have played once annually since 1999. The Maroons have held the upper hand until recently – winning the first 16 encounters – but the Blues held them to a draw in 2015, and have won both games since then. It will be the first time that the State of Origin brand will be used for the women, as previously this game was known as the Interstate Challenge. Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Reddit Email Share This game will not only serve as a groundbreaking Women’s Rugby League exhibition, but also as an opportunity for some of the women who aren’t contracted to NRL Women’s sides, to show their abilities. The last three clashes have averaged 16 points per game, so don’t look for a flurry of scoring, but instead expect close, tough rugby league. The Queenslanders have named five debutants; Meg Ward, Maitua Feterika, Tallisha Harden, Mariah Storch and Rhiannon Revell-Blair. Katrina Brown will have captain’s duties, while Brittany Breayley will be second in command for the Maroons. For NSW, Jillaroo and skipper Ruan Sims has been ruled out with a broken hand, making Rabbitoh Maddison Studdon, the captain, while Eliana Walton will take the role of vice-captain as she runs out for her 10th Blues appearance. There’s no doubt the Blues will miss the ball-carrying of Sims, but they will nonetheless head in as firm favourites, with the likes of Kezie Apps, Talesha Quinn, Sam Bremner and Corban McGregor all running out. Keep an eye on the forwards from both sides, with a great few matchups happening there. Blues to pull away and win 18-10.