Wounded Maroons desperate to prevent Origin whitewash

A desire to avoid a historic whitewash is driving the Queensland Maroons as they look to regroup ahead of Game Three of the Women's State of Origin series.

Queensland were outplayed in Game Two at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night, suffering a 26-6 defeat as the Blues wrapped up their first victory in an Origin series. 

The loss sees Women's State of Origin head into uncharted waters, with Game Three in Newcastle the first dead rubber since the contest expanded to a series in 2023. 

The Shield may be lost but the Maroons are desperate to ensure they don't become the first side to suffer a whitewash.

"There's no way that we're going to allow a whitewash," hooker Lauren Brown told NRL.com. "We're playing for the girls that wore this jersey before us and the ones that are going to wear it in the future. 

"We want to leave the jersey in a better place and that means absolutely giving it to the Blues on their home turf in Game Three."

Thursday night's match played out in a similar manner to Game One, with NSW dominating through the middle to steamroll their opponents. 

While experienced prop Chelsea Lenarduzzi made an impact off the bench in the first half, the Maroons had no answer for the Blues' dominant pack as the contest wore on. 

The hosts finished the match with 1648 run metres to Queensland's 1060m, and made 46 tackle breaks as they ran in five tries to one.

Olivia Kernick starred for NSW, putting hesitancy in the minds of the opposition defenders by putting Simaima Taufa through for an early try before making the most of the additional time and space to charge through on her own for a double.

 The Maroons have felt the retirement of Tazmin Rapana and the absence of the pregnant Shannon Mato, with a young pack struggling to contain the Blues forwards. 

With the series now lost, Queensland coach Tahnee Norris must decide whether to mix things up or stick with the same side that fell in the opening two games. 

Destiny Brill was in the 20-player squad for both matches but didn't play, while emerging forward Tiana Rafstrand-Smith has previously featured in the Origin arena. 

Fellow Cowboy Lily Peacock is another promising talent, and Gold Coast duo Laikha Clarke and Sienna Lofipo are also options if Norris opts to make changes. 

While Game Three could be an opportunity to blood the next generation, the coach said her primary focus is on preventing a whitewash in Newcastle.

"You've got a Queensland Maroons [logo] on your chest," Norris said. "It's easy, we're playing for pride now. 

"We've got to be stronger defensively. That was something we talked about after the first game and you can't win an Origin game with 50 missed tackles. That's just reality, you can't do it. It's something we'll have to look at again for Game Three and make sure in Newcastle we're better defensively. 

"We're playing for pride. This Maroons jersey means so much to us. The girls have got to have a real good look at it and fix our defence up."