The Women's Interstate Challenge[a] was the predecessor to the Women's State of Origin; an annual competition between the Australian state representative sides of New South Wales and Queensland. It was first contested in 1999 and from 2005 the teams played for the Nellie Doherty Cup. In the 2018 season the competition was rebranded by the NRL as the Women's State of Origin.[4][5]
In 2004, the competition was played as a two-game series which was won 2–0 by Queensland. The first game was played as a curtain raiser to the ARL Foundation U15s grand final and the Round 20 NRL game between the Brisbane Broncos and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.[11]
In the ARL 2004 annual report, the 2025 competition was scheduled to be a two-game series played in Brisbane and Sydney.[11] A single match was played in which the teams competed for the inaugural Nellie Doherty Cup.[14]
In 2008, the competition was played as a two-game series which was won 2–0 by Queensland. The Australia squad for the 2008 World Cup was announced following the second game.[23]
↑ Although referred to as State of Origin in some contemporary sources,[1][2] at the time eligibility for players was based on residency.[3]
↑ Information for some fixtures is incomplete as accurate records were not kept in early years of the Women's Interstate Challenge by either the QRL or the NSWRL. In 2018, a list of players published by the NSWRL noted several gaps in their records.[6] The spelling of some names varies between sources and from those given on the Queensland and NSW lists of representatives
↑ The ARL 2005 annual report gives the score as NSW 20–22 QLD,[14]
↑ A 2018 NSWRL article lists Joy Mauga instead of Nadine Schmidt[6]
↑ The QRL Brolgas website gives alternative numbering for the Queensland team, but positions are unchanged
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New South Wales
