A Guide to the U19 Women's Origin
A Guide to the U19 Women's Origin
New South Wales are aiming for their third straight win.
New South Wales will be looking to make it three straight victories over Queensland in Under-19 Origin on July 13.
The junior Sky Blues held on for a four-point win on the Sunshine Coast in 2021 and were dominant in a 16-point victory at Leichhardt last year. New South Wales also won 2019’s Under-18 Origin, the first women’s junior Origin game, 24–4.
The 2021 sides were captained by Keilee Joseph (Queensland) and Jaime Chapman (New South Wales), who both made their senior State of Origin debuts in 2023. 18 of the players from that game have since gone on to play in the NRLW.
Queensland welcomes back four players from last year’s loss into their 19-player squad. Five-eighth Chantay Kiria-Ratu, who played fullback, hooker Lily-Rose Kolc, front rower Jacinta Carter and reserve Helen Uitualagi, who played on the wing. Lock Losana Lutu and back-rower Monalisa Soliola are the two returning players for New South Wales.
Four players from the Sydney Roosters’ Tarsha Gale Cup-winning side have been named - two for each state. Queensland’s squad includes five players who spent the early season playing in the NSWRL’s under-19 or senior competition. Their squad also features three members of Burleigh’s BMD Premiership-winning team.
Both sides will be led by new coaches with former Jillaroo Deanna Turner taking over for Queensland and Kate Mullaly for New South Wales.
Queensland U19 vs. New South Wales U19
Thursday July 13, 5:45pm (local), Kayo Stadium
The game will be shown LIVE on Nine, Gem, Foxtel and Kayo
Queensland
1 Destiny Mino-Sinapati (Wynnum Manly Seagulls)
Like several of her Queensland teammates, Mino-Sinapati began her season in the QRL Under-19s competition and finished it in the senior BMD Premiership. After scoring seven tries in five U19s games for Wynnum Manly, she became the Seagulls' starting fullback, playing seven games, including their Grand Final loss to Burleigh. After progressing through their academy, she moves into the Titans’ top 24 squad this year.
2 Sienna Laing (Burleigh Bears)
Laing finished the QRL season as a premiership winner following her call-up from the U19s competition. She started four games on the wing for Burleigh, scoring four tries, including one in their Grand Final win. Her dad Aseri played first grade for the Magpies and Storm in the 90s, while her sister Teaghan played NRLW for the Warriors in 2020.
3 Libby Surha (Mackay Cutters)
Rep Honours: Prime Minister’s XIII (2022)
Surha is one of three Cowboys’ development players in the squad, earning a contract after a breakout season for Mackay. She finished the season playing for the club’s BMD side, starting six games at centre, scoring twice. A former indoor hockey player, she represented the Prime Minister’s XIII in their win over Papua New Guinea last September.
4 Skyla Adams (Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy)
Rep Honours: Queensland City U17 (2021)
Adams moves to the centres for this game after steering the Roosters to the Tarsha Gale Cup premiership from halfback. One of several Queenslanders in that team, she scored eight tries in 10 games. The former Keebra Park student played for the Queensland Reds in the Super W when she was just 16. She joins the Broncos on a development contract this season.
5 Ebony Raftstrand-Smith (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Rep Honours: Australian Schoolgirls (2022-23), Queensland City U17 (2021-22)
An inaugural Australian Schoolgirl in 2022, Raftstrand-Smith moved to Sydney earlier this year alongside her sisters, Tiana and Skye, to play for the Bulldogs. She scored six tries in nine games for their Tarsha Gale Cup side, playing in their Grand Final loss to the Roosters. She signed a development contract with the Cowboys in May, joining Tiana at the club.
6 Chantay Kiria-Ratu (Souths Logan Magpies)
Rep Honours: Cook Islands (2022), Queensland U19 (2022)
Kiria-Ratu is one of four returning players from last year’s side. She made the move from Tweed to Souths Logan this season, where she played five games at halfback. She brings some international experience to the squad, having played one game for the Cook Islands at last year’s World Cup. She signed a three-year contract with the Titans earlier this year.
7 Sienna Lofipo (Wynnum Manly Seagulls)
Rep Honours: Australian Schoolgirls (2022), Queensland City U17 (2021-22)
Lofipo played eight games for Wynnum Manly’s BMD side in 2023, staring at halfback in their Grand Final defeat. Playing alongside her older sister Jayda, she scored a try in their prelim final win the week before. Like Kiria-Ratu, she signed a three-year contract with the Titans. In 2022, she represented the Australian Schoolgirls while at Marsden State High.
8 Shaylee Joseph (Central Coast Roosters)
Rep Honours: Australian Schoolgirls (2022), Queensland City U17 (2021)
The younger sister of Maroons and Roosters prop Keilee Joseph, Shaylee is forging a path of her own, having signed a two-year contract with North Queensland. An Australian Schoolgirl last season, Joseph played nine games for the Central Coast in the Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership (HNWP) in New South Wales earlier this year.
9 Lily-Rose Kolc (Burleigh Bears)
Rep Honours: Queensland U19 (2022), Queensland City U17 (2021)
Queensland’s hooker for the second straight year, Kolc came off the bench in Burleigh’s BMD Grand Final win. She played seven games for the side after three appearances in the Under-19s. The former Marymount College student joins the Titans this season on a development contract.
10 Jacinta Carter (Newcastle Knights)
Rep Honours: Queensland U19 (2022), Queensland City U17 (2021)
Carter joined the Knights earlier this year after playing for Wynnum Manly in the BMD Premiership last season. A Norths Devils junior, she played eight games for Newcastle’s HNWP side this season and will join their NRLW squad on a development contract. She ran for 95 metres in Queensland’s loss to New South Wales last year.
11 Rilee Jorgensen (Burleigh Bears)
Rep Honours: Queensland City U17 (2021-22)
Jorgensen is another young talent who has signed with the Titans for three years. An adept goal kicker who has played prop and halfback at times, she made her BMD Premiership debut at just 16 last season. She started at second-row in Burleigh’s Grand Final win in May, playing eight games for the side in total.
12 Malaela Su’a (Brisbane Tigers)
Rep Honours: Australian Schoolgirls (2023), Queensland City U17 (2021-22)
Another Titans development player, Su’a scored four tries in three games for the Brisbane Tigers Under-19s before getting called up. She averaged 94 running metres, predominately off the bench, in seven BMD games for the Tigers. A Mabel Park State High student, she played alongside Skyla Adams for the Queensland Reds last year.
13 Matekino Kahukoti-Gray (Burleigh Bears)
Kahukoti-Gray replaces Tavarna Papalii in the side. A relative of Maroons star Tazmin Gray, Matekino played for Tweed in the BMD before moving to Burleigh in 2023. After two Under-19s games, she moved up to Burleigh’s senior side, playing eight games. She is a member of the Titans academy.
14 Emily Bella (Mackay Cutters)
Rep Honours: Queensland Country U17
The niece of the great Marty Bella, Emily has been a star in the Under-19s competition for the past three seasons. Primarily a half, she played five games for the Gold Stars BMD side last year and two games at centre for Mackay in 2023. She has come through the Cowboys academy system.
15 Alyssa McCarthy (Wynnum Manly Seagulls)
McCarthy came off the bench for Wynnum Manly in the Grand Final, her seventh BMD game of the season. She played five games in the Under-19s, scoring three and kicking 12 goals.
16 Lily Peacock (Mackay Cutters)
Rep Honours: Queensland Country U17 (2022)
A Proserpine Brahmans junior, Peacock signed a three-year contract with the Cowboys after impressing in the Under-19s and BMD Premiership. After five Under-19 games, she finished the year in the senior Mackay team, playing three games off the bench. In 2022, she played in the inaugural Queensland Schoolgirls team.
17 Delaney Claridge (CQ Capras)
Hailing from Calliope, Claridge is the bolter of the squad and completes a strong bench for Queensland. A goal-kicking prop, she played five Under-19s games, kicking 10 goals, before four games with the Capras BMD side. She started two of those games in the front row, running for 114 metres in Round 6.
18 Helen Uitualagi (Wynnum Manly Seagulls)
Rep Honours: Queensland U19 (2022)
Wynnum Many’s Uitualagi started on the wing for Queensland in last year’s fixture. A Capalaba Warriors junior, she played six Under-19 games for the Seagulls in 2023, her third season in the competition.
19 Prue Peters (Wynnum Manly Seagulls)
Another Wynnum Manly Seagull rounds out the 19-player squad. Originally from Rockhampton, Peters joined the Seagulls in 2023, starting in the Under-19s. She spent time in the middle and the halves before playing four games off the bench for the BMD side, including the Grand Final.
New South Wales
1 Sienna Williams (North Sydney Bears)
Rep Honours: NSW City U19 (2023)
An Arncliffe junior, Williams has played two seasons in the Tarsha Gale Cup for North Sydney, scoring four tries in 14 games. She came off the bench in May’s U19 City-Country game but won the starting fullback spot after great performances at the Women’s National Championships.
2 Grace-Lee Weekes (North Sydney Bears)
Rep Honours: NSW City U19 (2023)
Weekes picks up a Sky Blue jersey after some standout performance on the wing for the Bears. She played seven Tarsha Gale Cup games before being promoted to the HNWP, where she scored three tries in four games.
3 Litia Fusi (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Rep Honours: NSW City U19 (2023), Australian Schoolgirls (2022)
An inaugural Australian Schoolgirl while attending Westfields Sports High, Fusi was dominant for the Bulldogs’ under-19s this season after joining from St George. A key member of their Grand Final side, she scored nine tries in 10 games. She was named Player of the Match in the U19 City-Country game, scoring a double.
4 Lindsay Tui (Parramatta Eels)
Rep Honours: NSW City U19 (2023)
2023 was Tui’s first season in the Tarsha Gale Cup and she finished it by winning the Eels’ Best & Fairest and Players’ Player awards. The former Mounties player then represented City U19 earlier this season before earning a New South Wales selection. In June, she signed a development contract with Parramatta.
5 Georgia Willey (Canberra Raiders)
Rep Honours: NSW Country U19 (2023), Australian Schoolgirls (2022)
The Raiders’ fullback and captain, Willey scored eight tries in nine games in her second season of the Tarsha Gale Cup. In 2022, she became Erindale College’s first-ever Australian Schoolgirl representative. She’ll join Canberra’s NRLW squad on a development contract this year.
6 Brooke Talataina (Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy)
Rep Honours: NSW City U19 (2023)
The five-eighth in the Roosters’ successful Tarsha Gale Cup side, Talataina scored the winning try in their Grand Final victory over the Bulldogs. The try was her eighth in eight games for the side. In May, she signed a multi-year contract with the Wests Tigers, starting as a development player in 2023.
7 Evie Jones (Newcastle Knights)
Rep Honours: Australian Schoolgirls (2023), NSW Country U19 (2023)
The youngest player in the side, Jones caps off her first season in the Tarsha Gale Cup with a New South Wales jersey. She played eight games at five-eighth, scoring four tries. A Muswellbrook Rams junior, Jones joins the Knights’ NRLW squad on a development contract this season.
8 Kalosipani Hopoate (North Sydney Bears)
Rep Honours: Tonga (2022)
The daughter of John Hopoate, Kalosipani is one of three Blues players with NRLW experience. She played six games for the Roosters last season after winning the Tarsha Gale Cup with the club. She also made her Test debut in 2022, coming off the bench for Tonga against New Zealand. She re-signed with the Roosters two years back in May.
9 Chelsea Makira (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Rep Honours: NSW City U19 (2023)
Makira joined the Bulldogs from Penrith in 2023 and played a big role in their run to the Tarsha Gale Cup Grand Final. A St Marys product, she captained the side and started at halfback in all 10 of their games this season.
10 Latisha Smythe (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Rep Honours: NSW City U19 (2023), Australian Schoolboys (2022)
In 2022, Smythe was selected for the Australian Schoolgirls while attending Endeavour Sports High and was a development player for the Dragons NRLW squad. She moved to the Bulldogs this season, playing 10 games for the club in the Tarsha Gale Cup.
11 Chloe Jackson (North Sydney Bears)
Rep Honours: NSW City U19 (2023)
One of several Arncliffe Scots juniors in the squad, Jackson was the 18th player for New South Wales last year. This season, she played three Tarsha Gale Cup games for North Sydney before receiving a call-up to the HNWP, where she played eight games and scored three tries.
12 Monalisa Soliola (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Rep Honours: NSW U19 (2022)
Returning from last year’s victory, Soliola made her NRLW debut for the Dragons two months after that game. In April, she joined Jillaroos Simaima Taufa and Zahara Temara as inaugural signings for Canberra’s NRLW team. A St Johns junior, she played 10 HNWP games for Canterbury in 2023.
13 Losana Lutu (Wests Tigers)
Rep Honours: NSW U19 (2022)
Lutu enjoyed a great 2022 season, winning an HNWP Grand Final with the Tigers, representing New South Wales and making her NRLW debut for Parramatta. A Campbelltown junior, she played just one HNWP game this season due to injury but returns just in time for Origin.
14 Leah Ollerton (Newcastle Knights)
Rep Honours: NSW Country U19 (2023)
Another Muswellbrook product, Ollerton has been a Knights’ Tarsha Gale squad member for the last two seasons. In 2023, she captained the side, scoring seven tries in 10 games. She started at hooker for Country U19 in May.
15 Mercydes Metcalf (Cronulla Sharks)
Rep Honours: NSW Country U19 (2023)
Metcalf made the switch from Newcastle to Cronulla in 2023 and earned a New South Wales spot in the process. A Cessnock junior, she played four Tarsha Gale Cup games this season. Last year, she started at prop in Newcastle’s Grand Final loss to the Roosters.
16 Marley Cardwell (Penrith Panthers)
Rep Honours: NSW Country U19 (2023)
Hailing from Orange in the Central West, Cardwell’s debut season in Sydney culminated in a New South Wales jersey. A front rower, she played eight Tarsha Gale Cup games for the Panthers and was named their Player of the Year.
17 Kate Fallon (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Fallon returned to the Tarsha Gale Cup this season after having her first child in 2022. Raised in Sydney and Bathurst, she played eight games for the Rabbitohs. She missed out on Country U19 selection, instead earning her spot through the Women’s National Championships, where she played for the First Nations Gems.
18 Charlotte Barwick (Newcastle Knights)
Rep Honours: NSW Country U19 (2023)
2023 was Barwick’s first season of Tarsha Gale Cup, with the Central Coast junior playing 10 games. She started at all 10 at centre, scoring six tries and kicking 11 goals.
19 Ally Bullman (Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy)
Rep Honours: NSW City U19 (2023), Australian Schoolgirls (2022)
The captain of the Roosters’ dominant Tarsha Gale Cup team, Bullman has won back-to-back Grand Finals with the club. Able to play at hooker or in the back row, she was an inaugural Australian Schoolgirl while at Narrabeen Sports High in 2022.