The match that ran as a curtain-raiser to last weeks clash between North Queensland and Cronulla ended in a disheartening 4-4 draw. 

Bega league star Kezie Apps said the pressure was on Queensland in the lead-up to the fixture. 

“I think there's more pressure on them to hold on to that streak,” Apps said. 

For Apps it was her second time in the fixture, while newcomers to the NSW jersey were not part of previous teams. 

“There's a few girls who have lost a few years in a row now, but for a lot of them it’s their first game, so it's not a factor for them.”

Officials said it was a gritty first half that was marred by handling errors and poor kicks. 

The first points of the game came almost 30 minutes into play. 

The Maroons made a sweeping left side run and drew the NSW winger out wide for Chelsea Baker to find space near the corner. 

However, despite having eight rookies and an apparent mismatch in experience, the NSW squad fought back valiantly. 

“There's eight girls who are in their first year, so I feel like a bit of an old girl even though it's only my second year,” Apps said with a laugh. 

NSW rallied in the second half and began rolling through the ruck, but missed some scoring opportunities. 

“They had a lot of speed behind them. They were just rolling down the field, but we stuck it out until the last tackle. We did really well in defence,” Maroons five-eighth Jenni Sue Hoepper said after the game.

Unforunately, Queensland put up some staunch defence and kept NSW from the try line. 

Isabelle Kelly found the line down the right side in a similar sweeping play to Queensland’s points. 

The 4-4 draw gave the series win to the Maroons.