Women's rugby league at a tipping point

Women's rugby league at a tipping point
http://www.nrl.com/

The May 6 double-header, featuring Test matches between the Jillaroos and Kiwi Ferns ahead of one between the Kangaroos and Kiwis, is another big moment in women's rugby league with the whole event to be shown on Channel Nine.

Experience the Trans-Tasman double-header live

The Jillaroos have also picked up their first sleeve sponsor in Jetstar, joining jersey sponsor Harvey Norman, as the women's game continues to hit new heights.

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga, who also oversees elite rugby league pathways through junior levels and among female players, said the progression was "fantastic news for everybody involved in the game," and hoped a time when women players got financially rewarded equivalent to the commitment they put in would be the next step.

"I think it's what they deserve and hopefully we can take it to another level not too far down the track and they get rewarded for all their commitment they put into the game," he said.

It is also important for the Jillaroos and Kangaroos to mix and share ideas and experiences when the two squads come together in camp in Newcastle in a fortnight.

"We'll be mixing, we'll attend a session, they'll come to our session, we've got a dinner organised where the girls will be fairly prominent. It's important they mix and we're all on the same page, we all love the game of rugby league, it doesn't matter what gender or where you're from," Meninga said.

"We want to see a successful Jillaroos. We've got a full time sports science guy coming into the unit at the moment, he's going to work closely with the girls around their training and their recovery and all that sort of stuff and give them some more professional advice around their preparation. That's an important part of trying to make them more successful."

Five-eighth Allana Ferguson told NRL.com she is ecstatic with the progress the sport has seen over recent times.

"I grew up playing when I was five to 12 and then I had nothing to go to so the fact that there's a pathway now and it's filtering through the school system and we're getting those numbers and the player pool's getting so much larger – It's exciting," she said.

"For us in terms of getting free-to-air coverage, getting new sponsorships, getting our face in the paper or on the telly – it's lifting our profiles and it's drawing connections from our local community.

"Seeing us in the Daily Telegraph or on NRL.com or on Channel Nine or on Foxtel and kids are going 'hey, this is great' – they're getting involved and it's the only way that our game's going to progress and grow so it's really exciting."

Ferguson said the feedback after the Auckland Nines had been fantastic to the point players would get recognised when they headed back to their local communities – and in her case, the school where she teaches.

"[The Nines] was shown on air so you come home and you'd go to your local coffee shop and they'd say 'we saw you, it was great, it was amazing' and someone you don't know waiting for their coffee talks about it.

"I'm a school teacher so just for my school alone it was huge, the kids loved it and now that that pathway is there, there are girls that have signed up that have never played before which is what we want."

Ferguson hoped the women's game would soon get to a point where the equivalent of a Paul Gallen, a Greg Inglis or Johnathan Thurston in the women's team would have that type of profile that girls can aspire towards and gets them involved.

Jillaroos playmaker Maddie Studdon joked that while the male players may get weary of dealing with the media, the women's players are still embracing it.

"We never used to get much media so what we get we take it on because we don't get too much of it. We love the media – the boys are probably sick of it but we love it!" she laughed.

"Since 2014 [the profile] keeps increasing every year and to be on Channel Nine now, we didn't get that three years ago so it's moving up every year.

"This year to have the Auckland Nines be televised and have this Test match on Channel Nine before the men's Test match as a double header is a great opportunity and we can't wait, we're so excited."

The Jillaroos and Kiwi Ferns kick-off at Hunter Stadium on May 6 at 5.25pm ahead of the Kangaroos and Kiwis at 7.50pm.

Why Sharks and Rabbitohs aren't guaranteed places in women's comp
http://www.nrl.com

"Back in 1908, JJ Giltinan was in the same shoes that I'm in today and he had to let down a few people in the first iteration of how many clubs came into a competition. We're exactly at that point today."

That was NRL CEO Todd Greenberg's response to criticism from the Cronulla Sharks and South Sydney Rabbitohs over their omission from the inaugural four-team NRL Holden Women's Premiership announced last week.

What Greenberg didn't say was that if Giltinan, who founded the game in Australia 110 years ago, was starting the NRL competition today he wouldn't select the current 16 Telstra Premiership clubs.

And, while no decision has yet been made on expansion of the women's competition, adding teams from western Sydney, Newcastle and North Queensland ahead of the Sharks and Rabbitohs appears the next logical step.

For decades it has been argued that there are too many NRL teams in Sydney, with almost universal agreement that a second Brisbane side is needed, and possibly another based in Perth.

Rationalisation in 2000 saw the North Sydney Bears fall by the wayside and the formation of the St George Illawarra Dragons and Wests Tigers joint ventures, but nine Sydney clubs remain.

Which teams should stay and which should go is a matter of debate and new funding grants for clubs, which exceed the salary cap by $3 million per year, mean they should all be financially viable.

However, it is unlikely that any administrator starting a competition today would want two inner-city clubs in the Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters, or the Sharks and Dragons based side-by-side in southern Sydney.

When Giltinan was elected secretary of the NSWRL at an historic meeting at Bateman's Crystal Hotel on August 7, 1907, Balmain and Glebe were considered the western suburbs.

The Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers are now all based further west, while the Rabbitohs play home games at ANZ Stadium to be closer to where many of their fans live.

NRL officials were disappointed that none of the western Sydney clubs bid for licences but with more time to prepare they are expected to do so next year.

All four clubs have teams in this season's under 18s Tarsha Gale Cup, while the Bulldogs have established a side in the Harvey Norman NSWRL Women's Premiership.

If the NRL women's competition is to expand, another team in Queensland is a must as 19 of the 40 players selected for NRL contracts reside in the state, ensuring the Brisbane Broncos will field a virtual Origin squad.

With the Warriors able to draw on players from the Kiwi Ferns as well as others from the Cook Islands World Cup squad who live in New Zealand, they will have a Test-strength line-up.

In comparison, the Dragons and Roosters will be vying for the 20 NSW-based players on NRL contracts, which is a reason why the NRL was reluctant to include four Sydney clubs in a six-team competition.

After seeking input from the Jillaroos players, the NRL was determined that the teams be as evenly matched as possible to try and avoid blow out scorelines in the first season.

There were also concerns about the workload for elite female players, most of whom were involved in last year's World Cup, the recent Commonwealth Championships and play for teams in state-based competitions.

In addition, they have the National Championships on June 1-3, followed by State of Origin on June 22, the NRL Women's Premiership to coincide with the NRL finals and a trans-Tasman Test double-header in October.

Jillaroos representative Kezie Apps.
Jillaroos representative Kezie Apps.
©Gregg Porteous/NRL Photos
While the Sharks and Rabbitohs also had strong bids, the Dragons and Roosters were awarded licences because of their geographic reach.

The Roosters have been associated with the Central Coast since 2014, with the Wyong Roos being their feeder team in the NSW Intrust Super Premiership and the area's representative teams adopting the club's colours and nickname.

Jillaroos centre Isabelle Kelly and halfback Caitlin Moran are expected to be among the Roosters recruits, while the club is understood to have also offered to pay relocation costs for the likes of Northern Territory-based Jillaroo Meg Ward.

The Dragons boast more than 14,000 female participants from Kogarah to Batemans Bay and have one of the strongest and most established women's competitions, with Kezie Apps and Sam Bremner playing for Helensburgh Tigerlillies.

Fellow Jillaroo Rikeyah Horne plays for Corrimal Cougars, while Ruan Sims, Corban McGregor, Maddie Studdon and Alana Ferguson have previously played in the Illawarra Women's League.

Vanessa Foliaki, who now plays for Brisbane Easts, also has ties to the area and may be targetted by the Dragons, along with NSW winger Jessica Sergis

Gold Coast Titans executive chairman Dennis Watt says club keen to field women’s NRL side
Connor O’Brien, @obrien_GCB, Gold Coast Bulletin
August 22, 2018 5:00am
Subscriber only
THE Titans have declared their burning ambition to field a women’s NRL team to provide an elite pathway to both their newly affiliated Northern Rivers players and blossoming stars on the Gold Coast.

The inaugural women’s NRL premiership will kick off next month involving four teams: the Broncos, Roosters, Dragons and Warriors.

Gold Coast are ready to pounce when the chance arises, according to executive chairman Dennis Watt.

“We’re very, very keen to go down that path … we’re just not in a position to do that now,” he said.

“We have got these wonderfully gifted players at Burleigh who have just won the (South East Queensland division one) title for the fourth year running.

“So clearly we would like to enable as soon as we can that great talent in the area to represent the Titans.”

Under their new four-year deal with Country Rugby League to make the area south of the border an official catchment zone, the club will provide coaching support and have a representative team branded the Northern Rivers Titans in the women’s country championships.

While they will be closely observing the 2018 competition, Watt said having a national team of their own is realistic in the foreseeable future.

“Certainly within the next couple of years,” he confirmed.

“We’ll take our opportunities as they come, it just depends on what the hierarchy of the game want to do.

“We just love seeing women playing the game; they play a pretty spectacular and entertaining style of footy.”

The rapidly improving women’s game has often been praised as a throwback to old-school rugby league, with less wrestling and more one-on-one hits.

A number of Bears players have earned women’s NRL contracts for this year, including Tallisha Harden, Chelsea Lenarduzzi, Rona Peters (all Broncos), Zahara Temara and Tazmin Gray (both Roosters).

Excited to read that we may be after a Womens NRL team. Also to read about the alliance that boosts our support for northern NSW. Which is a vital cog in our long term plan and one that has been sorely neglected.

Been a little sad to read articles about the Womens NRL and seeing no Titans, but it really is a small pilot comp and many clubs missed out.