NSW Blues coach John Strange has named four debutants and a new captain in his 20-player squad to face Queensland for next week's opening women's State of Origin match. Isabelle Kelly will lead the new-look Blues team, which includes eight players who didn't feature in last year's series defeat, including Eels winger Abbi Church, Sharks prop Ellie Johnston and Roosters pair Jayme Fressard and Jocelyn Kelleher. The quartet of Origin rookies are joined Parramatta captain Kennedy Cherrington (Parramatta Eels), Titans forward Shaylee Bent, Knights halfback Jesse Southwell and Cowboys playmaker Kirra Dibb as the new faces in the squad. Cherrington, Bent and Southwell played in 2023, while Dibb's last appearance was in 2022 when she helped NSW win the Origin Shield. The team will be led at Suncorp Stadium on May 1 by Kelly, who is Strange's captain at Sydney Roosters and is likely to succeed Blues great Kezie Apps and evergreen Maroons playmaker Ali Brigginshaw as the next Jillaroos skipper. Apps remains in the squad and is likely to start at prop in the absence of Millie Elliott and Caitlin Johnston-Green, who will both miss the series due to pregnancy. Cronulla captain Tiana Penitani-Gray takes over from Kelly as vice-captain. The squad includes 11 players from the 2024 team, which lost the series 2-1 to the Maroons, and nine members of Jillaroos side which beat England 90-4 in Las Vegas in February. The squad was announced by NSWRL Chair Carolyn Campbell at a special function for the players and their families at the Sydney Opera House. The Blues will begin their week-long Game One camp on Thursday at Sydney Olympic Park. Strange said: “Having the six-week training block was a great opportunity to get to know all the players and see how they combined and worked together. “All 30 players were outstanding over this period making it a very difficult decision to cut the squad down to 20. “The players who are selected for Game One certainly have earned their position and I can’t wait for them to take the field on 1 May.” All three women’s games will be played in May, a fortnight apart, with Game Two to be played at Sydney's Allianz Stadium on Thursday 15 May and Game Three in Newcastle at McDonald Jones Stadium on Thursday 29 May. The Maroons currently hold the honours 4-3 since the Interstate Challenge was given Origin status in 2018, winning the Shield in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024, while the Blues won in 2018, 2019 and 2022. One of the features of today’s event was a fly-over from a Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service aircraft as the valuable community service will again benefit from this year’s Men’s and Women’s State of Origin series. Last year Westpac donated $5,000 for every try scored by the NSW Blues in both the men’s and women’s series. A total of 17 tries were scored and $85,000 was raised. Jeff Hurdis, Westpac’s State General Manager Commercial Banking, NSW, said: “Bringing our partnerships with NSW Rugby League and the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service together in this manner is something all of us at Westpac are incredibly proud of. “Rugby League is a central part of so many households and communities across NSW, and I know Blues fans will be cheering extra loudly now they know that every try scored helps keep the iconic chopper in the air. “Good luck to the Westpac NSW Blues and Westpac NSW Blues Women for the series ahead!” 2025 WESTPAC NSW BLUES WOMEN’S SQUAD (alphabetical): Kezie Apps (Wests Tigers) Shaylee Bent (Gold Coast Titans) Jaime Chapman (Gold Coast Titans) Kennedy Cherrington (Parramatta Eels) Abbi Church (Parramatta Eels) Yasmin Clydsdale (Newcastle Knights) Keeley Davis (Sydney Roosters) Kirra Dibb (North Queensland Cowboys) Jayme Fressard (Sydney Roosters) Olivia Higgins (Newcastle Knights) Ellie Johnston (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks) Jocelyn Kelleher (Sydney Roosters) Isabelle Kelly (Sydney Roosters) Olivia Kernick (Sydney Roosters) Tiana Penitani Gray (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks) Jessica Sergis (Sydney Roosters) Jesse Southwell (Newcastle Knights) Simaima Taufa (Canberra Raiders) Sarah Togatuki (Wests Tigers) Emma Verran (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks) Coach: John Strange