Last week, New South Wales lost the opening Women’s State of Origin match 18-10 at CommBank Stadium – and hat intrigued me was one of the Sky Blues on-field generals from their Canberra win a year ago, Kirra Dibb.
She was not considered good enough even for the 20-player squad selected two weeks out before the Origin match.
As a former Sky Blues player, I attended the NSW True Blues dinner 10 days before the match and the talk among influential former Sky Blues players is that Dibb is unpopular among the current playing group, which is why she wasn’t selected.
I couldn’t help thinking to myself: ‘Imagine the uproar if Ali Brigginshaw wasn’t selected for Queensland?’
I know many people will think Dibb is not quite on Brigginshaw’s level, but if one looks at Dibb’s playing stats, she’s two from two in the Origin clashes, having won in 2019 and 2022.
What’s even more intriguing, is the years between Dibb appearing for NSW, they lost, as they did again last week in Parramatta.
Dibb’s also a proven winner away from the State of Origin arena, having been a crucial member of Newcastle’s 2022 NRLW Premiership winning team and was voted as the 2022 Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership Player of the Year as well.
I see her moulding her new club, the North Queensland Cowboys, into a group who can match it with the NRLW competition heavyweights in their first year in the competition. She’s a player I would have loved to play with when I was playing in the centres for NSW.
She’s big-bodied, tall and gangly, like her Queensland adversary in Brigginshaw, which isi why I was astounded when the Sky Blues coach Kylie Hilder couldn’t find a place for her in her 17.
I understand Jesse Southwell, her halves partner from that Knights NRLW premiership team, is the next generation coming through, so she needs to be accommodated – but why not move Dibb to lock where she could keep Brigginshaw quieter during the match.
Southwell didn’t have the best kicking game on the night and Dibb could’ve help settle her down and stepped in when Southwell’s kicking game wasn’t quite working. Plus, Dibb gives the Sky Blues another ball-playing option up front.
I was also staggered to see Ellie Johnston named as 18th player for the Sky Blues and not actually play, as her size definitely would’ve helped NSW’s cause during the match.
Unfortunately, last year’s Sky Blue wrecking ball, Caitlan Johnston, was unavailable due to injury and while the middles who did play in Millie Boyle, Kezie Apps and Olivia Kernick did a stellar job as usual, we needed an extra mobile big body in a Johnston, ie Ellie or Caitlin.
Alternatively, someone from left field like Rima Butler, who was instrumental, along with injured NSW stalwart Simaima Taufa, in getting the Parramatta Eels on the front foot, all the way to last year’s NRLW Grand Final.
Queensland did eventually have the upper hand in the game, but, geez, they were helped up the field by the officials.
They have all this technology, but it’s hard to fathom why they don’t use it and scroll back when a try is scored on the back of potential foul play.
There may have been no intent from Julia Robinson towards Isabelle Kelly, but her leading with her forearm while running with the ball was careless at best and her punishment of missing the second game of the series is appropriate.
But to not go back and award NSW a penalty was a huge turning point of this match, which puts Queensland in the box seat to take the series when both teams head up to Townsville for a Thursday evening match in two week’s time.
Perhaps Kelly’s centre partner, Jess Sergis, said it best of all.
“I’m a little disappointed, actually,” she told reporters after the game. “Izzy got a forearm to the throat and is off to hospital, and then it’s football so we’ve got to keep going. But a few girls go down with cramps for Queensland and he (referee Adam Gee) stops the game. That was shit.”
The star centre said if play had been stopped and NSW could’ve reset their line with Kelly safely off the field, then Tazmin Gray wouldn’t have scored and it could’ve been a totally different outcome for the match.
NRL Head of Elite Football Operations – a former NRL referee himself – Graham Annesley said the referee had done the right thing during the match as soon after Kelly’s injury occurred, as she was behind the play, so there was no risk to her safety.
If this is the case then why not get the bunker operator (Kasey Badger) to go back and look at the tackle when Gray scored?
We all would’ve seen a different outcome, as NSW would have been awarded a penalty fifty metres upfield with NSW attacking QLD’s line.
Despite all of the above NSW are still a chance to retain the shield if they play well in Game 2 of the series and win by eight points or more.
I feel they won’t do it if Kirra Dibb is not selected in the 17, as well as a big mobile body such as Ellie Johnston or Rima Butler to give them more dominance upfront in getting across the advantage line.
This is especially the case with experienced campaigners such as Taufa, Caitlan Johnston, Hannah Southwell, Holli Wheeler and winger Tiana Penitani out injured.
But the same old strategy won’t work for Hilder and her offsider Ruan Sims. They need to change their team up and rather quickly to have any hope of beating Queensland up in enemy territory of Townsville in two weeks’ time.
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