She’s spent 16 years playing for the maroons and when she spoke to The Women’s Game yesterday, she rated it as the highest honour of all.

“You think playing for your country is the greatest of all, but nothing compares to playing for Queensland and that will stick with me for the rest of my life," she said.

Ahead of the 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup, Hancock was set to hang up the boots but with the announcement of the NRL Women's Premiership, she decided to continue playing into 2018.

When asked about her comeback to the game representing Queensland, Hancock said she had never left.

“I made the call last year thinking that was it and won the World Cup and thought you beauty, definitely done and then I got asked do I want to play club footy with a couple of the younger girls and couldn’t say no," she said.

“Suddenly I got picked in the Queensland Country team, but I was in black all the weekend of the trials, so I didn’t think that was going to happen.

"But when they asked you if you wanted to play for Queensland one more time and you’re in the side.

“I can’t say no, I love this game too much, I love my teammates too much, so here I am," she said.

Hancock was asked by the 47th Battalion to go play for Toowoomba and to give back to the game in the city where she originally hails from.

Once again she couldn't say no.

The selfless Queensland stalwart said she’s always happy to be included in the Queensland footballing family.

Besides, she feels it gives her another opportunity to square the ledger, given she took the 2015 draw and those two losses in 2016 and 2017 in the Interstate Challenge personally.

Being a tough marker on herself; the former centre turned front rower feels personally responsible, as she feels it happened on her watch after she took over the captaincy reigns from Queensland legend Karen Murphy.

“To win 17 years in a row in a Queensland jumper and getting to play with some of the greats in the women’s game and then being handed the captaincy after the equivalent of King Wally in Karen Murphy, we drew in Townsville and I just thought, oh my god I’ve nearly let the whole state down," Hancock said.

“Then losing to NSW the following year, it’s haunting me, I hate it.

“So just on we’ve lost the last two years, is enough to keep wanting to play this bloody game, that’s for sure," the Maroons legend said.

Credit: Steph Hancock Facebook page

On closer inspection, NSW had closed the gap in regards to professionalism and in many ways had surpassed professional trailblazers Queensland, especially with the Blues setting up their own highly successful pathways programme.

Hancock, as skipper, also had to cope with the loss of talented players who had been there since the beginning of that 17 year winning streak, so essentially Queensland were going through a rebuilding phase of their own, while NSW have been at the peak of their powers; with a new brigade of predominantly young players who were not scarred by all those previous losses.

“We had that core group of players; you had your Ali Brigginshaw, your Erin Elliot, your Natie (Natalie) Dwyer, Murph, Renee (Kunst), Tahnee Norris and we had Greenie - Teresa Anderson out the back," she said.

“We’d been playing together for a decade.

“We all know each other, you know how each other works I suppose.

“We all stuck together and somehow, I don’t know how, but the Queenslanders all just showed up defensively and you just think - wow - how does this work, but yeah I think that all changed when all those girls retired and we had to rebuild and then obviously the NSW pathways - NSW started giving a shit about women’s footy and you can see now that it’s worked, so it’s great that it’s finally like you’re (NSW) not going out they’re getting flogged.

“It’s a close game, last year wasn’t that flash (from a Qld perspective), but you know Friday night’s going to be a blockbuster," Hancock said.

 

@annettebrander @ali_brigg 🙈🙉🙊

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Queensland may be underdogs for this match, but Hancock feels with former Origin greats in Jason Hetherington, as the new coach, and the “Axe” Trevor Gilmeister, recruited as defensive coach, along with his running of the water with his old origin buddy Alfie Langer will help the Queensland women’s cause and even the ledger.

Some of the women’s legends in Murphy and Norris are also on the coaching staff and Jo Barrett is the team manager and in this area, Queensland are still at the forefront in welcoming retired players back into the fold.

Imagine the scenario in this new era of women’s rugby league - the first true women’s state of origin ever - there may yet be a fairytale legend born in the 1980 Arthur Beetson mould in two sleeps time?

Who and which team will it be? It’s there for the taking and we’ll find out on Friday night.