Rain no hurdle as Origin history made

Wow, what a week! Despite abysmal conditions on Thursday night, Newcastle still turned out in force for an historic women's State of Origin game two. It was a record crowd and the enormity of the occasion was not lost on the players.

Queensland took the spoils with a typical, never-say-die Maroons fightback to send the first-ever, three-match series for the women into a blockbuster decider in Townsville in three weeks' time. But, Newcastle can't have done much more to ensure the series returns to our city next year and beyond.

While Origin fever certainly swept through town, rain continued to be a topic of conversation throughout all of the football codes. Northern NSW Football has extended its premier league seasons by one week due to a backlog of "hundreds and hundreds" of fixtures.

There was plenty of mud, sweat and tears at Marcellin Park in a Hunter Rugby Union exchange that had Merewether coach Tony Munro questioning the safety of letting the game go ahead. But Hunter Rugby defended the decision to play on a water-logged pitch.

On a drier night in front of another full house in Sydney, what a moment for Adamstown Rosebud junior Clare Wheeler to come off the bench and produce a stunning back-post header to set up the Matildas' win over China and book her ticket to the Paris Olympics.

Renee Valentine, sports journliast