Maroons murder: Blues go 0-3 in nightmare Origin 24 hours

Wednesday night in Melbourne was bad enough.

But things have gotten even worse for NSW with Queensland defeating the Blues in both U19 State of Origin matches at North Sydney Oval on Thursday night.

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In the first match the Queensland U19 Women’s team overcame an eight-point deficit with 12 minutes to play. 

Storming home with two late tries, the Maroons defeated their NSW counterparts 22-18 and were led by exciting young Gold Coast Titans halfback Lilianah Lewis who scored the match-winning try and received the Nat Dwyer Medal as player of the match.

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Capping a triumphant 24 hours for the maroon and white, Queensland’s U19 Men then put the highly fancied Blues U19 side to sword in a strong 28-14 win, running in five tries to two.

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Coached by Darius Boyd, standouts for the young Maroons included Melbourne Storm duo Alize Clarke and man-of-the-match Hayden Watson, imposing Warriors second rower Bishop Neal and young Broncos forward Tupou Francis who is expected to be major part of succession plans following the Rabbitohs departure of Payne Haas in 2027.

The U19 Origin concept was first introduced in 2022 with several players already progressing to senior Origin level including Ethan Strange, Casey McLean and Robert Toia.

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