It can be hard to get New South Wales and Queensland to agree on anything to do with Origin, but the two camps are united when it comes to the NRL's calls on the expansion of the women's series.
NSW and Queensland captains and coaches have questioned the NRL's decision to move to a two-game Women's State of Origin series from 2023.Players and coaches from both sides of the border have questioned why the NRL hasn't pushed to three gamesWhile the league fast-tracked its NRLW expansion on Wednesday in moving straight from six teams to 10 from next year, it hasn't followed suit when it comes to Origin, with the series to be two games — one up from this year.
Should a series be tied, the reigning champion will retain the shield — in effect, meaning this year's clash in Canberra doubles as game one of next year's series."I would have preferred to jump straight to three — it can be 1-1 and then how do you decide?" Apps said. "It's just bizarre having two games and it doesn't really make sense to me, but hopefully it only lasts for one year and maybe the year after we can push that to three Origins just like the men."
NSW coach Kylie Hilder echoed that sentiment, adding a 1-1 tie would create a "deflating" feeling for both sides.Players and coaches from both sides of the Tweed have questioned the decision."It'll be interesting next year if it happens to be 1-1, it's very deflating for the girls to walk away from an Origin series where there's no winner, or the winner is going to be determined by the previous year's winner.""I was hoping for next year ," she said.