The Origin mantra ‘state against state, mate against mate’ rings especially true for Maroons star Lauren Brown, who his hoping to face off against best friend and Blues backrower Yasmin Meakes later this month.
With the pair forging their friendship playing rugby union together, both made the code switch to rugby league and debuted in the Origin arena against each other in the 2020 contest, won 24-18 by Queensland.
Back then, Brown played centre while current Knights captain Meakes came off the bench, with both now becoming mainstays for their state.
In another parallel, the pair will keen to play in a ‘home’ game, with Newcastle hosting the opening match at McDonald Jones Stadium on April 30, while the Gold Coast’s Cbus Super Stadium – where Brown stars for the Titans – will close out the series.
“We always joke around and it's funny because I'm like ‘oh, I'm going to smash Yasmin, blah blah blah’, but obviously she could smash me whenever she wanted, and she did last year,” Brown said with a laugh.
“It's always there, that rivalry.
“It makes it even better and makes it more fun.
“Just because we're best mates, we know as soon as we cross that line, nothing else matters.
“You're wearing blue, I'm wearing maroon and you're my enemy for 70 minutes.”
While Newcastle is a stronghold for rugby league and have showed up in numbers to support the past matches played at their stadium, they have never seen a Blues victory – with Brown one of the reasons for Queensland’s success there.
Stepping up in torrid conditions, Brown booted a momentum-turning field goal in Game Two of the 2024 series for an unlikely 11-10 win, while last year, playing halfback, she had a perfect 3/3 conversion rate, helping the Maroons claim their 18-14 victory in Game Three.
With Tarryn Aiken still recovering from an ACL injury and the retirement of Ali Brigginshaw, the Maroons will not only field a new-look spine, but will also be relying on an injection of youth to try and wrest back the shield.
The winning moment: Brown
Like the Blues, under new coach Nathan Cross, Queensland have been taking part in pre-campaign training camps for the past five weeks in preparation for the series, with Brown happy to see the new combinations taking shape.
“Definitely, it's going to be a guaranteed new spine, new combos,” Brown said.
“Game Three last year I played halfback with Taz, so it was nice to have that and get a win there at seven to then build into this year, get a little taste of what we're in for this year.
“Not having Tazzie there is a huge loss because we all know what an incredible player she is and what she brings and what she has brought for Queensland in the past.
“With that being said, we do have the likes of Georgia Hannaway and Chantay Kiria-Ratu that are in those halves positions and they play that for NRLW and they play those roles very well, so it's been really exciting to see them step in and step up to those roles in training and over these camps.
“You see them building with confidence every week, and then we've got so many amazing nines as well with Jada [Ferguson], Em Manzelmann and Destiny Brill, so that's going to be a battle there.
“Obviously, we've got the incredible Meeks [Tamika Upton] at the back who's our anchor for our team, so there's a lot of new combos and new possibilities out there.
“But I think the best thing is these camps have given us the ability to train next to different people and see what really is the best fit moving forward.
“The new staff and some new girls being brought into the squad, it's just got a really nice fresh revamp and a lot of good youthful energy around.”
Match: Blues Women v Maroons
Game 1 -
home Team
Blues Women
away Team
Maroons
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
*There’s nothing like experiencing Australia’s greatest sporting rivalry live as Ampol Women’s State of Origin returns for 2026. Get your tickets HERE!
