2 days Ago By Scott Bailey
Jamie Soward has put his hand up to take over as NSW women's State of Origin coach if the position becomes vacant, as pressure mounts on Kylie Hilder to keep her job. NSW slumped to a third series loss in four years under Hilder on Thursday night, letting a 1-0 series lead and 10-4 advantage late in game two slip away. The Sky Blues were then particularly poor on Thursday night in Townsville, beaten 22-6 as they only got to their kick six times in the 70-minute match.
NSW looked nothing like the side that dominated the series opener in Brisbane last month, with several key players now under pressure to keep their spots. Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion. Rachael Pearson had a poor night at No.
7 and fullback Emma Tonegato made two errors leading to tries, with Jesse Southwell and Teagan Berry options to come in. But Hilder could face the most heat. The former NSW dummy-half is employed as coach on a year-by-year basis, and as is protocol will be asked to present to the board after the representative period.
The NSWRL board will then also review the series and decide whether to extend Hilder's contract, look elsewhere, or ask the coach to meet again and fight for her job. Soward has already confirmed his interest in the job, if it becomes available. The St George Illawarra coach was previously an assistant to Hilder in the lead-up to their victory in 2022, before COVID-19 meant he missed the one-off game.
He has not been employ.
