[4][5] Despite women's rugby league first being played in Australia in 1921, the first official game between Queensland and New South Wales was not held until 1999.

[11] Although the majority of early Women's Interstate Challenges were one-off fixtures, the sides would occasionally play a series of games, such as in 2004 and 2008.

[17] On 22 June 2018, New South Wales won the first Women's State of Origin game, defeating Queensland 16–10 at North Sydney Oval.

[18] Blues' centre Isabelle Kelly, who scored two tries in the win, won the inaugural Nellie Doherty Medal.

[19] On 21 June 2019, New South Wales defeated Queensland for the fourth consecutive year, winning 14–4 at North Sydney Oval, with Blues halfback Maddie Studdon being awarded the Nellie Doherty Medal.

[28] Prior to 2019, the Queensland and New South Wales teams were largely selected under residency rules, meaning a number of players represented both states.

[31] Queensland lock Rona Peters, who had previously represented New Zealand, was also originally ruled ineligible.

The medal was first awarded in 2018 to New South Wales' centre Isabelle Kelly after the first official Women's State of Origin game[33] and Kelly became the first player to win the award twice winning it again in 2022[34] Accurate records were not kept in early years of the Women's Interstate Challenge by either the QRL or the NSWRL.