It could be argued that the NRL really understands how to build anticipation for its women’s game. That would, of course, be a very generous interpretation of the situation that has led to a 491-day break since the last time an NRLW game was played.
The 2021 season, which was originally slated to take place in August and then pushed back to October, was moved to 2022 due to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said at the time that the delay offered an opportunity to commit to the women’s game completely in 2022.
“The rescheduling provides us with an opportunity to create a full 12-month calendar for women’s rugby league in 2022 and importantly means our athletes will not have to relocate,” he said. How that plays out remains to be seen, but there will be plenty of eyes on the sport to see how the women’s game is prioritised in a season that will undoubtedly still feel the effects of the pandemic.
The reinvigorated competition has farewelled the New Zealand Warriors but welcomes three new teams to the fold – the Newcastle Knights, Parramatta Eels and Gold Coast Titans will make their NRLW debuts this weekend, alongside foundation clubs the St George Illawarra Dragons, Brisbane Broncos and Sydney Roosters.
The new teams add some much-needed upheaval to the competition that has been dominated by the Broncos since its inception in 2018. No other team has claimed the premiership and Brisbane have won all three of their grand finals by margins of 10 points or more. The addition of new teams offers the opportunity for talent to be spread more evenly across the league and though the Broncos remain the firm favourites heading into this season, there is hope the competition will begin to even out over the next few years.
The expansion of the competition also provides essential opportunities for more players to take the step up to the top level. Throughout its first three seasons, the NRLW had more talent than it could fit into its four teams, particularly when the 2020 competition featured the injection of a number of rugby sevens Olympians whose own tournaments had been cancelled due to the pandemic. While women and girls have had limited opportunities in rugby league until very recently, its sister sport touch football has long been the summer sport of choice for women and girls in the rugby league states of NSW and Queensland. This has created a strong skills base in a wide group of participants that is easily translatable and has provided the NRLW with an embarrassment of riches in talent.
However, the ability of the competition to continue to expand and improve depends largely on the timelines for professionalism. At the season launch on Tuesday, Abdo was unable to provide details on when and how the NRL plans to make its female stars full-time professionals. “There are a number of factors that go into that; supply and demand, the level of content, the revenue that allows us to do that,” he told AAP.
These are lines that women in sport have become very familiar with: the idea that a women’s competition must be generating profits before significant investment is made – a concept that would be rather unusual in the early phases of most business endeavours.
While the bumper year of women’s rugby league, which includes two seasons of NRLW, a State of Origin game and a World Cup, is tremendous in terms of the elevation and profile of the sport, it also raises concerns for players who are juggling careers and family responsibilities alongside training, playing and travelling.
Parramatta halfback Maddie Studdon famously revealed in the post-match interview after 2018’s State of Origin match that she had lost her job as a result of her rugby league commitments interfering with her work. As the competition expands without a plan for professionalism in place there will be players who are forced to make the opposite decision – to lose their rugby league career for the sake of a job that allows them to pay their rent.
There is much to celebrate about the first of the 2022 seasons kicking off this weekend, including triple headers in the first two weeks of the competition in Newcastle and Brisbane. The action on the field will be exciting and fans will find new favourite players as plenty of debutantes take the league by storm. But in the midst of celebration and joy, the fight for better will also continue. Better pay and conditions to allow the stars to flourish. Better planning for the future to ensure the CEO has answers to the important questions about one of his flagship competitions. And better understanding of the importance of the NRLW itself so that there is never a 491-day gap between games again.
