As soon as Isabelle Kelly ran onto the field for New South Wales, she felt her nerves disappear as she felt "at home” in the jersey.
While Kelly had recovered in time physically from a serious throat injury sustained in Game One via an accidental elbow from Queensland winger and Jillaroos teammate Julia Robinson; mentally, it was still a challenge leading into the game.
“I wasn't sure whether I was going to be here because it affected me quite a lot mentally, but I knew that my prep for the last week was on par with how I normally am and that was because of everyone backing me,” Kelly told NRL.com after Game Two.
“I'm very lucky that I had such a great support network behind me with the Blues.
“Obviously, I have got a lot of friends in the Queensland squad too, but just in general, everyone, including fans, were behind me and that gave me so much confidence to be coming in.
“I felt back at home (out on the field for the Blues). I love these games; these games are probably what I thrive off the most, the big games.
“I love the feeling of competing and that's what Origin's all about.”
The Sky Blues co-captain was enormous for her side as they fought to the end to claim a tight 18-14 win in the second game of the series. While it wasn’t quite enough to retain the shield on aggregate, Kelly said she was proud of her side’s effort, but admitted it was a strange feeling to have won the game but to lose the series. Like most of the other players and coaches involved in this year's games, Kelly said she would have loved to crown a definitive winner with a decider.
“It's very weird and even just talking to the Queensland girls, they said the same thing, but for the greater good of the game, both of us teams want a three-game series,” Kelly said.
“We're ready for that and showcased it tonight – we had one-all (result); how amazing would a third game be to just showcase that atmosphere that we can bring as well.
“It's a bit of a shame, (but) the girls are still celebrating as obviously, we still got the win and it was basically one-all, but hopefully next year is three.”
Match: Maroons v Sky Blues
Game 2 -
home Team
Maroons
away Team
Sky Blues
Venue: Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
However, Kelly was also proud to be part of history as one of the players to feature in the first ever official series against Queensland under the State of Origin banner and to do so in front of a record crowd.
“Playing in a series is really unique, this was actually my 10th game, including the Interstate Challenge, so it hasn't really hit home yet, but I think it will tomorrow,” Kelly said.
“But everyone in the rooms, whether it's New South Wales or Queensland are all pioneers for our game and we all work together to make sure that we're putting this game in a better place for the younger ones.
“The crowd was very intense (and) obviously, there was a ‘Queenslander’ chant going around the ground, but at the same time, l just walked around (after the match) and everyone is just there for the greater good of the women's game and that's what we want.
“There's a bigger picture to all of this, with why we do this, and it's to make sure that when we move on from playing at this level, the young girls have the whole pathways to go all the way through.”
Kelly creates for her Sky Blues
With a tough game now over, the Roosters captain said she was looking forward to a short break to soak in the campaign, but was keen to get back into the swing of things with the NRLW season kicking off in just under a month.
“We get the weekend off, and then back into it, but I'm pumped, I can't wait to get back to clubland,” Kelly said.
“For the myself, the team we have and being at the Roosters is where I feel at home.
“I'm just really excited to get back to clubland and focus on that to make me a better player as well.
“It's going to be a lot different this year, we have more games, so the standard’s going to be a lot better, people are going to be really stepping up.
“There will be new girls coming in, which is what I'm really excited about – seeing all these new young girls coming through that are going to make their landmark on the women's game.
“We have a lot in my club, but there's a lot in the other teams as well that are going to do really well.”
