NSW star Kezie Apps says Women’s State of Origin timing ‘not ideal’ after six-month lay-off for players

Veteran NSW forward Kezie Apps admits the Women’s State of Origin timing is “not ideal” for athletes coming to play the toughest games of the year without any footy for six months.

The current system has the women starting their season with the three-match Origin series before rolling into an NRLW campaign from July.

Each year, the NRL schedules the Brisbane Women’s Origin match as a Magic Round curtain-raiser to ensure large crowds and maximise interest in the series.

Playing on Thursday nights in place of men’s NRL games also ensures prime-time eyeballs before men’s Origin and finals dominate the calendar.

The trade-off is the sport’s best athletes coming cold into the Origin arena: Apps’s last competitive game before next Thursday’s Origin I was with the Jillaroos on November 9 last year.

“Obviously it’s not ideal,” Apps told AAP.

“To play Origin any time is amazing but the structure of it isn’t great.

“Ideally we want NRLW to have a good pre-season with your club, play a couple of rounds and then go into an Origin campaign.

“I feel like that’s really fair on the talent pool as well and it’s fair on us players that we don’t have to sacrifice a lot to be a part of this six-week block and get yourself as physically prepared as possible coming into an Origin series.”

Jocelyn Kelleher and Jayme Fressard both played their most recent game in the 2025 NRLW Grand Final with the Sydney Roosters, while Teagan Berry last played competitive footy in mid-September during St George Illawarra’s finals campaign.

Millie Elliott hasn’t played in almost 18 months due to her pregnancy.

Elliott agreed there were challenges with timing but enjoyed playing in close proximity to the men’s series.

“I like the fact that it’s at Origin time because everyone’s talking about Origin,” Elliott said.

“It has got its own Thursday night slot which is really cool.

“It’s not ideal, the fact we haven’t played beforehand, but Queensland are in the same boat as well.

“One day down the track we’ll play footy beforehand and go into it.”

Normally a back-rower, Apps has been given a new role coming off John Strange’s bench and expected to be used as a middle forward.

The 35-year-old is no stranger to the middle, having played there at club level and for NSW and Australia across her illustrious career.

“Coming off the bench, I obviously want to bring that impact, bring some energy but also a calm presence in that controlled sort of environment when being in the middle can get quite hectic and quite wishy-washy in there,” Apps said.

AAP