SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 01: Kennedy Cherrington of the Blues is tackled by Shenae Ciesiolka of the Maroons during game one of the Women’s State of Origin series between New South Wales and Queensland at CommBank Stadium on June 01, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
The NRL are set to consider making the Women’s Origin a three-game series after receiving backlash from coaches and players with the current format.
In what was previously a one-game encounter between New South Wales and Queensland, the NRL decided for the first time this year to make the series determined by points aggregate over two games.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo has admitted that the format would be reviewed ahead of next year, as well as where the games will be played and if the game time will be increased from 70 to 80 minutes.
“We wouldn’t rule out [expanding] next year and, of course, we’ll look at it,” Abdo said via the Sydney Morning Herald.
“We want to expand the series, and we will definitely be moving to three games, it’s just a question of the [ARL] commission making that decision when the time is right.
“That may be next year, or may be the year after, but we need to think about it carefully, look at the data, consult, make sure that the players are comfortable, make sure that we’re getting the balance right, and then obviously it’s exciting thinking about moving from two matches to three.”
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 01: Jesse Southwell of the Blues looks on during the warm-up before game one of the Women’s State of Origin series between New South Wales and Queensland at CommBank Stadium on June 01, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
After walking away with the win in the second game but not the title, Sky Blues coach Kylie Hilder criticised the two-game format. Hilder has been one of the more vocal individuals aiming to turn the series from two games to three.
“We’ve just won a game of Origin in Queensland, which is massive, and it was such a battle and such a great game, but you still feel so defeated because we’ve lost a two-game Origin series by four points,” Hilder said.
The length of the series has been questioned ever since the NRL decided to introduce it in April.
Source:: ZeroTackle
