Sport
18 June, 2025
Gulf product selected for Queensland Origin team
Mackenzie Stephens will run out for the Maroons U19 side on Thursday evening.
Normanton product Mackenzie Stephens will don the Maroons jersey for the first time tonight as she prepares to represent the Queensland under-19 side in State of Origin.
The 18-year-old, who celebrates her birthday later in this month, has been picked as a prop for the Maroons in the one-off game, to be played at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
Stephens, the daughter of Paul, a former Normanton Stingers coach, will also don the 4890 postcode on her jersey when she walks out onto the field.
“I’m really excited,” the teenager told North West Weekly just prior to heading into her first Origin camp.
The former Gulf Christian College student, who left Normanton at the end of her primary school years, developed most of her rugby league at Atherton, but said she still has close ties to her former home town.
“I’m glad the footy is developing out there,” she said of the rise of the Gulf Cluster competition.
“Definitely when I’m older, I’d love to go back and play for my hometown.”
Stephens and the Maroons will be out to avenge last year’s under-19 State of Origin result, which saw NSW beat Queensland by 42 points.
The under-19 women’s match will be broadcast live on Channel 9’s Gem channel at 5.45pm this evening.