Johnston shines on debut for Blues

The four Blues to debut in the series opener of this year’s Women’s State of Origin series grabbed their opportunity with both hands, proving instrumental securing the win at Suncorp Stadium.

Praised as “brilliant” by coach John Strange, the foursome did not miss a beat in front of the record 26,022 in the crowd.

Fullback Abbi Church scored one try, registered 139 run metres and had the most tackle breaks for her side with five, while winger Jayme Fressard bagged an impressive try double.

Prop Ellie Johnston did plenty of damage during her 40 minutes on the field with one try, four tackle breaks and 16 tackles, and utility Jocelyn Kelleher made 14 tackles, missing none.

Player of the match and captain Isabelle Kelly said “they all stood up and they just shone in this arena”.

A visibly excited Church said post-match getting to don blue and win at Suncorp Stadium was “absolutely unreal”.

“It’s a dream come true,” Church said.

“Everything they say about Origin is true. It’s the pinnacle of our game. I knew it was going to be tough, but it really was.”

Maroons weapon Julia Robinson got one up on the Parramatta Eel early, jumping over her to set up Sienna Lofipo’s try, but that did not deter Church – if anything, it spurred her on.

“It was always going to be tough... Queensland have some really good outside backs and obviously Robbo is an aerial specialist, so I probably should’ve been a bit more prepared for that, but I brushed it off and just had to get back into the game,” Church said.

“Origin, try on debut… it was amazing. I never thought I’d put on a Blues jersey, so get across the line on my debut is something I’ll never forget.

“I think Queensland are going to come out hard obviously the next two games.

“We’ve still got lots of improvement in us as well… we’ve just got to go back to our game plan and fine tune those little areas that we were lacking tonight and we’ll get the job done.”

No-one could wipe the smile off the face of pocket rocket Sydney Roosters flyer Fressard.

“That was pretty special… obviously I was very honoured to get my debut today, but to get a double makes it even more special,” Fressard said.

“You obviously love to win in front of your own home crowd, but to do it in front of the opposition’s makes it even better.

“It’s everything I’ve ever dreamt of. This has been a massive dream and a massive goal of mine for so many years now so to finally get the opportunity to do that is something I’ll hold closely.

“The intensity was definitely up there. I’m very fortunate that I’ve played with a lot of these girls before and I’ve played under Strangey before, so I was very confident going into the game. I can’t wait to do it all again.

“The first try, that just got me straight into the game, and then I was just pumped and I was like ‘give me the ball again’ and I was keen just to get my hands on the ball and have a bit of a runaround.

“Obviously, we’ve got a few things we’ve got to work on. We got the win, but as a whole, we definitely have some room for improvement.

“I think we go back, we analyse what we need to work on and we go again.”

Johnston – echoing the sentiments of her fellow debutants – said she was “pretty speechless” that her hard work had paid off.

“I’ve been in the reserves the last two years, and I’ve been hanging around for the opportunity, and I’ve kept working hard and I’ve grown so much as an athlete and so much as a person,” Johnston said.

“I got the opportunity this year and I took it with two hands.