Blues star speaks from hospital after 'scary 12 hours'

10 months ago 96

By Chris De Silva and Emily Patterson

UPDATE: State of Origin prima Isabelle Kelly has been cleared of superior wounded aft being elbowed successful the pharynx connected Thursday night.

"Tests person shown Kelly does not person a fracture to her larynx oregon windpipe damage," the NSWRL said successful a statement.

"She is breathing much freely but inactive has swelling to the pharynx truthful she volition stay successful Westmead Hospital arsenic a precautionary measure."

New South Wales manager Kylie Hilder questioned wherefore a precocious elbow which near Blues prima Kelly successful infirmary went unpunished during the women's State of Origin opener.

The Maroons ran retired 18-10 victors implicit the Blues at CommBank Stadium successful crippled 1 of the first-ever two-game women's Origin series, with Kelly's lack leaving a gaping spread successful the NSW defence successful the 2nd half.

Isabelle Kelly updated fans from her infirmary bed. (Instagram)

The Blues' prima centre was near successful the hands of trainers successful the last fewer minutes of the archetypal fractional aft copping an elbow from Queensland's Julia Robinson to her throat, leaving NSW 1 subordinate abbreviated connected defence.

The referees waved disconnected the incidental and the Maroons capitalised soon afterwards with a effort to Tazmin Gray.

After being assessed astatine half-time, Kelly was rushed to a adjacent hospital.

Isabelle Kelly of the Blues is assisted from the tract aft sustaining a pharynx injury. (Matt King via Getty Images)

"She was coughing up humor and truly struggling to breathe, truthful she's really been taken to infirmary arsenic a precaution," Nine's Emma Lawrence revealed connected the coverage.

Lawrence said Kelly had been admitted into infirmary soon aft the last whistle.

Speaking post-match, Robinson responded to the quality of her elbow connected Kelly.

"We're not retired determination to wounded people," she told ABC Sport.

"I emotion Izzy (Kelly), truthful evidently I felt unspeakable that she went down ... I anticipation she's good now."

However, Blues manager Hilder was near puzzled arsenic to wherefore her broadside did not person a punishment for Robinson's errant elbow.

Maroons spell extremity to extremity to score

"It's a large interest for maine erstwhile we've got a subordinate connected the crushed and really successful discomfort and not successful a large way, and she was struggling to breathe, truthful it's a precise large concern," she said successful her post-match property conference.

"I inactive don't recognize wherefore determination wasn't adjacent a punishment for that, she was deed successful the throat."

Watch the 2023 State of Origin bid LIVE and exclusive connected Channel 9 and 9Now.

Hilder admitted that the incidental near her squad rattled.

"They were. Especially due to the fact that a batch was going connected successful the sheds - the ambulance came successful for Izzy [and] she was successful a batch of discomfort truthful determination was a just spot of sound arsenic well," she said.

"We had to rally the girls and conscionable fto them cognize that we had a fractional to get retired determination and get connected with it."

Queensland executed a beardown 2nd half, capitalising connected a lapse successful the Blues' attraction soon aft half-time to people 2 tries successful the abstraction of 5 minutes that blew the crippled wide open.

Blues skipper Kezie Apps yet enactment the nonaccomplishment down to New South Wales' database of errors.

Kezie Apps looks dejected arsenic the Maroons decision the Blues successful crippled 1 of the Women's State of Origin series. (Matt King via Getty Images)

"Yeah, 100 per cent (down to the errors). I consciousness similar if we held the shot a spot much ... each those errors and the disciplinary broadside of things truly wounded america tonight," she told Nine.

"It's the breathtaking portion of having different game, we tin play successful a mates of weeks, and this is the archetypal clip we tin ticker the crippled backmost and hole up a batch of our effort and subject areas."

The Blues volition person the accidental to gully the bid astatine Townsville's Queensland Country Bank Stadium connected June 22.

If they triumph crippled two, the victor of the bid volition beryllium decided by the points aggregate.

Game one's eight-point borderline Queensland's mode means the Blues volition person to triumph by astatine slightest 9 points successful Townsville to clasp the State of Origin shield.

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