{"id":670536,"date":"2026-05-14T14:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/670536\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:20:12","slug":"blues-hold-out-maroons-in-epic-finish-to-secure-origin-series-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/670536\/","title":{"rendered":"Blues hold out Maroons in epic finish to secure Origin series victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maroons 10, Blues 14<\/p>\n

A try-saving tackle from Teagan Berry in the final minute has sealed a 2026 Women\u2019s State of Origin series victory for NSW who have claimed their first back-to-back Origin titles since 2019.<\/p>\n

The 14-10 victory for NSW at Suncorp Stadium means the Blues now have the chance to claim the first series whitewash since the three-match format was introduced to the women\u2019s game in 2024, when they head to the Gold Coast for game three on May 28.<\/p>\n

Suncorp Stadium was roaring as referee Belinda Sharpe awarded Maroons winger Jasmine Peters a try in the corner of the field to level the scores in the final minute. But, on second inspection, Berry had done enough, as the NSW speedster dragged Peters\u2019 foot into touch before she managed to put the ball down.<\/p>\n

Blues captain Isabelle Kelly said she never doubted Berry could save the match when all was on the line. <\/p>\n

\u201cI actually had full confidence in Flash [Berry]. I think she\u2019s one of those players that will go right to the last minute, or she always pulls out these freaky things that she can do,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she\u2019s known a lot for her attack, but defensively, I love having her next to me. I think she\u2019s someone that will really aim up when she needs to.\u201d<\/p>\n

These one-on-one moments are what sealed victory for NSW in the end, with a try-saving tackle by Jesse Southwell keeping Queensland out of the match earlier in the second half, with Peters once again the victim of a desperate and determined NSW defence in that instance.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesse just picked her up and threw her over the sideline, and then right at the death there, they passed the ball out and, and Teagan Berry threw her body on the line and did everything possible to stop them getting the try that was going to level the game,\u201d Blues coach John Strange said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Maroons halfback] Lauren Brown\u2019s such a great competitor, and she would have loved that moment as a goalkicker to win the game for a state. But fortunate enough, Teagan did everything she could.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TeaganTeagan Berry makes a try-saving tackle on Jasmine Peters in the final minute of Origin II.Getty Images<\/p>\n

It was a phenomenal effort from Southwell, who looked to be in serious trouble just moments earlier after getting her head stuck in the turf following a tackle from Queensland\u2019s Romy Teitzel and Rory Owen.<\/p>\n

The NSW No.7 was awarded player of the match on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Tensions were running high after that as Queensland tried to get back in the match, with Maroons playmaker Brown and Blues front-rower Kezie Apps exchanging words and shoves as the Blues tried to secure the win.<\/p>\n

But as the desperation ran high for Queensland, NSW continued to suffocate their attack. And, in the end, it was the Blues who walked away with victory after reclaiming the lead with a Jess Sergis try in the 46th minute.<\/p>\n

Sergis had been powerful all night, and it was her effort from a scrum feed that put NSW on the board first as she teamed up with winger Jaime Chapman to open the tally for the Blues from a scrum feed.<\/p>\n

With NSW stacked on the left, Southwell opted to throw the ball right, backing Sergis to draw in the Queensland defenders before Chapman finished it off in the corner.<\/p>\n

\"BluesBlues winger Jaime Chapman opens the scoring.Getty Images<\/p>\n

That was before Keeley Nizza burrowed across from dummy-half to score and send NSW to the sheds at half-time with an 8-6 lead after Rory Owen kept the Maroons in the match.<\/p>\n

The Maroons then scored first in the second half, with Jada Ferguson burrowing across between Abbi Church and Southwell to give Queensland the lead for the first time.<\/p>\n

But Sergis had other ideas, as the Blues centre dragged Owen across to score what would be the eventual match winner and final try to hand victory to NSW.<\/p>\n

For most of the match, Queensland beat themselves, with a poor completion rate \u2013 especially in the first half \u2013 coming back to bite them in the end. <\/p>\n

\u201cErrors killed us tonight. I think we were five or six errors and 57 per cent completion [in the first half], and you just can\u2019t win footy games like that,\u201d coach Nathan Cross said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think everyone could see the footy team that we are when we hold the ball and complete, and start giving Meekes [Tamika Upton] a bit of space, and Chantay Kiria-Ratu some time to shine. <\/p>\n

\u201cI could see the style of footy that we trained so well for. I could start to see it coming out and showing in glimpses, but then that leads to another error, and then we\u2019re sort of back in the washing machine again.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Maroons will have the chance to salvage a match in this series in a fortnight, which captain Upton said was crucial for such a young team. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it would be really crucial for this group,\u201d Upton said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been two tight matches, which we haven\u2019t been able to seal, and to be honest, that\u2019s my job as a leader. None of them should have their head down in that room over there because they were outstanding on this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maroons 10, Blues 14 A try-saving tackle from Teagan Berry in the final minute has sealed a 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":670537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-670536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}