As the Women's State of Origin opener approaches on Thursday night in Newcastle, both New South Wales and Queensland find themselves in a difficult situation.
With only February's All Star game as a prior match, many players will step onto the field in 2026 without any recent game experience.
With the Origin match serving as the unofficial kickoff for women's rugby league, the challenge remains: how to be fully prepared for one of the most significant games in their careers without prior warm-up matches?
The solution for the Blues was straightforward: they engaged in intense physical training until John Strange's optimal team emerged in peak condition.
During a six-week training period leading to Game I, the Sky Blues participated in two internal matches, ramped up to maximum intensity, aiming to replicate last year's series success.
"They were ridiculous. The girls were so fired up, absolutely bashing each other. You could feel everyone was playing for a jersey," remarked back rower Tiana Penitani Gray.
"They wanted to replicate, if not add layers, to the intensity we played in Origin last year."
"We did that in the trial games and that six-week block is about preparing us to go further than we've ever done in the game at this level and be physically and mentally prepared, whatever that takes."
When discussing their training regimen, the players reference the typical vocabulary associated with pre-seasons, which is effectively what they underwent.