Darren Reynoldson (over 40s), Rhiannon Podmore (under 20s), Rachael Addison and Nicole Absolum (both over 30s) were among the standout NSW players during a scintillating weekend of action in Redcliffe with Reynoldson being named best player in his division.

Reynoldson’s gong capped another strong showing from the mens over 40s side, whom have enjoyed plenty of success over their Queensland counterparts in recent years.

“We’ve had some pretty strong players come through this division in the past few seasons,” Reynoldson said.

“That’s probably helped our cause a fair bit.”

Reynoldson’s presence was certainly felt in this year’s campaign as the Advanced Communication Cobras veteran set about steering the Blues.

His double in Game One set the tone for NSW’s 12-5 victory and while he didn’t score in Game Two’s 6-3 thriller, Reynoldson found the chalk in Game Three as the Blues swept the series with a classy 8-4 result.

Podmore was another with plenty to celebrate after skippering the NSW under 20s side to a 2-1 series win.

The Australian mixed under 20s representative scored a try in the Blues’ Game Two loss and was among her side’s best.

Meanwhile, Addison and Absolum fell agonisingly short of an Origin crown with the womens over 30s squad after the Blues went down 6-2 in Game Three.

Having won Game One 8-5, NSW lost a nail-biting Game Two 11-10 before stumbling in the decider.

Former Wagga Vipers duo Joel Willoughby and Andrew Wise were also involved as NSW assistant coaches while Mitchell Brown was a key figure for the NSW mens opens team that won their series 2-1 and David Baggio was a referee.

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