THE women’s State of Origin was a monumental moment for rugby league.

More than a million eyes took in what was a true spectacle for the sport. A match that went down to the final moment and had all the hits, highs and lows that anyone would want from a match as the Blues ran out 16-10 winners.

New South Wales centre Isabelle Kelly, who scored two of the Blues’ three tries and took out the first ever player of the match for women’s State of Origin, said it was a pinnacle moment for the players after years of hard work.

“We’ve all worked so hard to get here,” she said.

“There are a lot of people who don’t agree with women’s rugby league but I just think that that game goes to show that we can do it just as tough as the men’s.”

It was Kelly who touched down for the deciding try late in the second half.

Playing out on the Blues’ left edge, she and wing partner Nakia Davis-Welsh were lethal for New South Wales, their three four-pointers coming through that corridor.

Not that it was walk-through defence from the Maroons. Kelly had to put on plenty of footwork both times to find her way to the tryline.

It was reflective of how tough the entire match was.

“It’s quite intense, to be honest, especially when we just came out from halftime and it was a draw, it was kind of make or break for both sides,” Kelly said.

“It was really intense, but at the same time, I loved every minute of it and I took every second in with the crowd cheering.”

Nearly 7,000 people turned out to watch at North Sydney Oval and more than a million tuned in on Channel 9 and Fox combined.

The stage for the upcoming women’s NRL could not have been set better.

Anticipation is now ramping up for the four-week season that will run during the NRL finals series.

The bulk of players on show during Origin last week are already signed to contracts with either the Broncos, Dragons or Roosters, while the Warriors signings are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Come early August, the women will be pulling on their NRL club colours for the first time and people couldn’t be more ready for the inaugural season to kick off.