DANIEL Lacey and his NSW under 18s side made history on Friday by winning in the inaugural women's State of Origin clash against Queensland 24-4 at North Sydney Oval.
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Despite early pressure by the visitors, it was the Blues who scored first when Stingrays of Shellharbour's Teagan Berry snapped up an errand pass and sprinted 90 metres, down the lefthand touchline, to score.
NSW made it back-to-back tries when Olivia Kernick latched onto a cross-field kick from Tiana Graham.
And with Emily Curtain second straight conversion, the Blues, which also featured Stingrays' Rhiannon Tungai, led 12-nil at the break.
The second half followed on from the first half, as Berry scored her second try for the match when she found open space in the left-hand corner.
Curtain made no mistake with the sideline conversion and the lead stretched to 18-nil with 20 minutes to play
The Maroons kept themselves in it with their first four-pointer with 15 minutes to play, through Courtney Tamati, before a barnstorming run by player of the match Caitlin Johnston in the dying stages sealed the 20-point win for the Blues.
"Before the match, I spoke to the girls about the opportunity they had been presented and to make the most of it," Lacey said.
"I knew how much talent and hard work they'd all put in to get to this point, it was up to them to show everyone else what they are capable of.
"Although it took us a little while to settle in to the match, as we were playing too sideways and not as direct as we would have liked, the girls gradually worked their way into the game.
"The most pleasing thing about the win was our defence - with us only conceding one try, which came off the back of one of our turnovers.
"I'm really proud of the girls' performance and for them all to be a part of history and the continued growth of women's rugby league - as I said to them all, they've all now become idols for young aspiring players."
It's been a massive couple of months for Lacey, who first steered the Illawarra Steelers to Tarsha Gale glory before helping the NSW City team win the national championship.
"All three trophies are special in their own way," Lacey said.
"The Steelers was more personal, as I worked with that group for so long, while the City experience was great for me to work with the best talents in this sport.
"Then this Origin win saw me work with a number of players I've coached against and try and work them into my system alongside some of my own Steelers' girls, which I thoroughly enjoyed - all are these have been priceless moments I'll never forget."