The six weeks from hell that whipped the Sky Blues into Origin shape
The New South Wales and Queensland women's rugby league teams are entering the 2026 Women's State of Origin series without having played a competitive match in six months. To prepare, the Blues undertook an intense six-week training block featuring internal trials, multiple weekly field and weight sessions, and individual conditioning. Both teams face similar challenges due to the restructured calendar pushing domestic competitions later in the year.
- ▪Both New South Wales and Queensland are entering the Women's State of Origin opener without a competitive match in 2026 aside from a February All Star game.
- ▪The Blues conducted a six-week pre-season-style camp with high-intensity internal matches to replicate Origin-level intensity.
- ▪Players like Millie Boyle and Tiana Penitani Gray are returning from childbirth and positional changes, relying on the training block for readiness.
- ▪The shift in NSW and Queensland Cup schedules has eliminated warm-up games, making training camps the sole preparation for Origin.
- ▪Prop Kennedy Cherrington described the training block as one of the hardest things she's ever done, aimed at achieving a series whitewash after a 2–1 win last year.
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Thu, 2 July19:45--→Sat, 4 July12:45--→Sat, 4 July15:15--→Sat, 4 July17:15--→Sun, 5 July11:50--→Sun, 5 July15:45--→ NRLW Score Centre The six weeks from hell that whipped New South Wales into State of Origin shape By Nick CamptonTopic:State of OriginWed 29 Apr 2026 at 3:16pmWed 29 Apr 2026 at 3:16pmWed 29 Apr 2026 at 3:16pmThe Blues and Maroons once again head into the Origin series opener with little football under their belts. (Getty Images: Mark Metcalfe)In short:Both New South Wales and Queensland will enter Thursday night's Women's State of Origin series opener without having played a game in six months.Both sides will rely on a six week, pre-season-style training block to acclimatise for the interstate showdown in Newcastle.What's next?ABC Sport will be blogging Game I on Thursday…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at ABC News (Australia).