Eye-gouge and hair-pull controversies overshadow NSW’s Origin win

A shock eye-gouging allegation has overshadowed New South Wales’ record 32-12 victory over Queensland in the opening game of the 2025 Women’s State of Origin series at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday.  

The incident occurred just before Blues captain Isabelle Kelly’s first-half try, when NSW hooker Keeley Davis was brought down in a group tackle of Queensland defenders.

Referee Belinda Sharpe placed the incident on report following an official complaint from the Blues captain.

Although no player was formally named during the match, it’s understood Queensland second-rower Romy Teitzel may be at the centre of the investigation.

NSW coach John Strange confirmed an incident had been alleged.

“Keeley said she got eye-gouged in the game, wasn’t sure who – there were a couple in the tackle,” he said.

“They put it on report and they’ll take a look at it.”

Captain Isabelle Kelly backed her teammate: “If you know Keels, you know that’s not going to rattle her… She’s a professional.”

The drama didn’t stop there.

Blues five-eighth Tiana Penitani-Gray was penalised for a hair-pull on Queensland fullback Tamika Upton, who was threatening to break the NSW defensive line.  

Reaching at Upton in desperation, Penitani-Gray grabbed a handful of the Queensland fullbacks hair to stop what could’ve been a Maroons try – a move that, while illegal, may have stopped the Maroons putting points on the board.

The chaos added to an already electric atmosphere before 26,022 fans – the largest crowd in Women’s Origin history.

Day out for débutantes

It was the Blues’ rookies who ultimately stole the show on Thursday night.

NSW featured a raft of debutants who wasted no time making their mark.

Winger Jayme Fressard bagged a double, with one try on either side of the break. Fullback Abbi Church nabbed one, as did prop Ellie Johnston who dominated the middle late, crashing over in a miss match with Queensland five-eight Tarryn Aiken.

“I’m speechless,” Johnston said in a post-match interview with Fox Sports.

“I just saw they were short on that side, so I went for it,” she said.

The Blues led narrowly 14-12 at halftime after backward and forwards first half, but returned to the field as a different beast.

NSW posted 18 unanswered points in the second half, dominating both possession and territory.

Until the final moments, Queensland failed to play a single tackle inside the NSW half after the break.

“We came out a different team in the second half,” said Blues centre Jessica Sergis.

“Queensland scored off all our errors in the first half. The second half was about cleaning that up – and we did.”

Coach Strange credited his team’s turnaround to discipline and control.

“We made it hard for ourselves in the first half, piggybacking them downfield,” Strange admitted.

“At halftime we talked about winning the field position battle, and once we did that, the opportunities came.”

Queensland looked fatigued across the park and were left to rue a lack of attacking punch.

Fullback Tamika Upton admitted as much: “We gave them too much ball and paid the price”

“It was a tough slog in the middle and we’ve got to do more attacking and get off our defensive line,” she said.

Veteran Maroons playmaker Ali Brigginshaw said in the post-match press conference that she was disappointed with the efforts in front of such a strong home crowd.

“Would’ve been nice to get one at home, especially at Suncorp,” she said.

“We probably didn’t show up again in front of our fans, and that hurts.”

Queensland coach Tahnee Norris said the performance was eerily familiar.

“Reminds me of last year, really,” she said.

“We scrapped hard in the first half, but defensively we let ourselves down in key moments.”

When asked about the eye-gouging allegation, Norris responded: “I honestly have no idea what happened there or who was involved.”

The win gives NSW a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series, with game two set for May 15 at Allianz Stadium in Sydney followed by a possible decided in Newcastle.

“It’s only one nil, it’s not the series, is it,” said the Queensland coach in her final comment to the press.