'Whenever Joey speaks, you listen': Johns' protege steers Blues to glory

Three decades to the day Andrew Johns made his State of Origin debut, his protege Jesse Southwell channelled the eighth Immortal to steer NSW to a series victory.

The similarities between Joey's debut and Jesse's dazzling Game Two display at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night are uncanny - same age, same ground, same level of control - with the one major difference being the result.

Remarkably, Johns and Southwell are both two-time premiership winners with the Newcastle Knights and both Origin series winners with the Blues, although Joey did lose his debut game 2-0.

“It is an honour to have Joey even say my name and even know who I am, and kind of like be my mentor,” Southwell told NRL.com in the jubilant NSW dressing rooms.

“I think he probably had a better look into the weather than I did, so I knew that the rain was on the way, and his advice was to look to kick early, and kick well, especially in the conditions. 

“Whenever Joey Johns speaks, you listen."

At just 20, Southwell has already achieved so much in the game, and she stands on the verge of an Origin clean sweep with the Blues, emulating Johns' feat in 1996.

On the back of her astute kicking display in Game Two, which netted 350 kick metres and had the Maroons coming off their own line for most of the second half, Southwell will enter Game Three full of confidence.

“Just to be picked in this team I was just so happy with and then I knew we had a job to do and the team that could do it," she said.

"I knew we could do that job. I feel stoked. It is just a whirlwind.

“It was pretty tough conditions. But we warmed into the game, and we knew, like Strangey [coach John Strange] said to us, 'don’t stop playing our game, no matter what the conditions are'.

"The game plan that he had was amazing. So, we knew if we stuck to that and stuck to working hard for each other and staying connected in defence, we knew we could get the job done.

"I am just enjoying my footy and having some fun with my mates.”

Southwell's composure across the first two games even earned the praise of rival playmaker and Maroons captain Ali Brigginshaw, who led her state to series victories in 2023 and 2024.

“I love watching Jesse play," Brigginshaw said during an emotional post-match media conference.

"I know people will try to get this rivalry between us and get us to hate each other. But you see how she controls the field, and her team just let her do that.

"They back her and she just guides them around and it's really good to see a young half just take so much control.

"I’m really proud to see how she is playing."

Also full of pride after Southwell's starring role and Olivia Kernick's player of the match performance were the brave Blues fans who were singing in the rain for the entire 70 minutes at Allianz Stadium.

On top of the record attendance of 26,022 at Game One, another 16,026 fans were on hand at Allianz Stadium, again highlighting how far the game has come since the first women's Origin game at North Sydney Oval in 2018.

More than 1 million fans tuned in to watch Origin II on Nine, making it the most watched rugby league match on free-to-air so far this season. 

“I have been there, I’ve been those girls [in the crowd]. I’ve been those fans at the game you know watching the girls absolutely star struck," Southwell said.

"It is hard to put into words. I’m just so honoured to be able to play the game that I love and be around a great bunch of girls.

"I was stoked to be part of this Origin team. To win in two games is, I am just so happy, and I can’t wait to get to my hometown in Newcastle and hopefully wrap it up there.

"It is kind of like a once in a lifetime opportunity to play Origin at home."