Tazmin Gray wins Nellie Doherty Medal

A pair of powerhouse displays from Tazmin Gray has seen the Maroons back-rower take home the 2023 Nellie Doherty Medal as Player of the Ampol Women's State of Origin series.

It is the second time Gray has been awarded the medal, following on from her star showing for the Maroons in 2021, and came after she played a crucial hand in two of her side's three first-half tries in Game Two in Townsville. 

Earlier in Game One the 27-year-old was among Queensland's try-scorers in a 18-10 victory in Sydney. 

Across the two-game series Gray racked up 180 run metres, while in the second clash in particular she had a number of crucial defensive interventions, including a try-saver in the shadows of half-time which proved crucial to her side winning the series on points aggregate. 

After a tough year overcoming injuries in 2022, the new Broncos NRLW recruit said she set out to prove herself in the Origin arena and paid tributes to her Queensland teammates after being awarded the dual medal.

"I set some pretty high goals with the coaching staff this year and I think it just goes to show where I'm at," Gray told pan66.com following the match.

"I'm happy, I'm playing quality footy but those medals don't come around very often.

"I just run my lines and do my job and everyone else just does that around me.

"That made my job a lot easier so those medals are off the back of a team effort and I wouldn't have received them without my team."

"I am just super grateful to be a Queenslander and grateful that we can bring the trophy home."

Sky Blues co-captain Isabelle Kelly is the only other player to win the Nellie Doherty Medal on two separate occasions, with the other previous winners being Aiken and New South Wales' Maddie Studdon. 

It goes to show if you have a great team and quality players around you then you can sometimes be lucky enough to get those medals.