Dally M Medal winner Olivia Kernick showed exactly why she is considered women’s rugby league’s top player with a powerhouse performance to lead NSW to an Origin series-clinching 26-6 win over Queensland.
Kernick was a colossus for the Blues as they backed up their 32-12 triumph in Brisbane a fortnight ago with an even more impressive 20-point victory.
The Roosters forward was way too much for the Maroons to handle as the Blues kicked on from a 12-6 half-time lead to regain the shield for the first time since 2022.
Kernick, who was perplexingly not selected for the Jillaroos after her superb NRLW season last year, scored two tries and ran for a game-high 182 metres from 23 hit-ups to stand head and shoulders above everyone else on the field.
“She’s been phenomenal. She copped a really rough call early in the game but she bounced back,” said former NSW men’s coach Phil Gould on Nine commentary.
“Her work in the middle of the field has been outstanding.”
Such has been the yo-yoing nature of results between the fierce rivals, this was the first time since 2021 that a team had won back-to-back matches.
More than $800 million was spent to knock down the old Sydney Football Stadium and replace it with the supposedly state-of-the-art Allianz Stadium.
Olivia Kernick scores a try. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
But a few more dollars should have been allocated to drainage with the muddy playing arena covered in surface water after rain in Sydney.
The conditions made for an old-school contest which even included a bit of push and shove to add to the retro feel for the 16,026 fans who braved the wet weather.
NSW’s performance would have been considered a top-quality display of rugby league even if it was in dry weather conditions but the fact that they were playing in a mud bath did not dampen their ability to produce high-quality attacking raids.
There was the odd handling error due to the slippery Steeden but for the most part, the Blues adapted to the conditions well with halfback Jesse Southwell controlling proceedings with her kicking game while the Queenslanders struggled to get going and were never really in the contest.
The visitors briefly had the upper hand early after they were lucky to score the opening try when a grubber kick close to the line was fumbled by Kernick.
Maroons fullback Tamika Upton pounced in the in-goal area but Kernick was adamant she had forced the ball before the Queensland fullback touched down.
They were both surprised in equal measure when Bunker official Gerard Sutton awarded the try after ruling Kernick had been trying to pick the ball up and had not grounded it.
“That’s a try? Are you kidding? I grounded the ball,” Kernick blew up to referee Belinda Sharpe.
The Blues bounced back to dominate field position and were rewarded when prop Simaima Taufa split the defence 20 metres out and powered past Upton’s last-ditch tackle.
Her try came on the back of a momentous Blues defensive set which led to Queensland kicking from deep inside their own red zone and only making it to halfway.
The Blues extended their lead on the half-hour mark when Kernick dashed into a gap and was too strong for Upton close to the line.
Kernick’s lead-up work led to a skilful left-side raid for Jayme Fressard to slide over just inside the cornerpost for a 16-6 advantage three minutes into the second term.
NSW winger Jaime Chapman all but sealed the result in the 45th minute when her sidestep left Upton clutching at air and at a hip injury.
Kernick put the icing on the mudcake when she plunged over nine minutes from full-time in the pouring rain.
The only down note for NSW was centre Jess Sergis not coming back out for the second half due to a neck injury.
