Australia's women's players are yet to be told what they will be paid for playing in the Rugby League World Cup, despite preparing to leave for England on October 23.
The Jillaroos were rocked by news that Newcastle superstar Millie Boyle had pulled out of the tournament on Monday, opting to prioritise her own new business.
Pay conditions for female players have improved dramatically in recent years but some players will still take leave without pay to play in the tournament.
A pay deal for the four-week trip is likely to be done in coming weeks, with some hopeful female players will edge closer to parity to the men for match fees and weekly payments.
Included in that will be far greater figures than the $4000 players were paid for a match fee for their last Test in 2019, with a per diem of about $100 a day.
A collective bargaining agreement for women's players has remained central in general game-wide negotiations, with no such deal in place when the last one was signed in 2017.
It means that there are no agreed terms for representative payments, with neither the NRL or players' union organising a long-term deal previously.
"It would have been such a tough decision for Millie and Tamika (Upton) to pull out," veteran Kezie Apps told AAP.
"It's an honour and privilege to be able to play at this highest level of our game.
"But at the end of the day you still have work and things you have to sort out before going away and doing the things we love.
"It would have been a hard decision for them, and my thoughts are with them. But at the end of the day they have a business."
There also remain some discrepancies over the pay structure for male players, given the tournament straddles the expiry date of the current CBA.
But for female players there is no such existing deal there as a baseline.
It comes as negotiations for the next CBA continue to drag on, with the Rugby League Players' Association rejecting the NRL's latest offer last week.
If a new deal is not finalised by November 1, the terms of the previous deal will roll on until a new one is signed.
"You feel bad for the women's game, whereas we have the foundation there," RLPA general president Daly Cherry-Evans said.
"So we are lucky. And that has come off the last CBA ... whereas the women don't have that.
"We've just seen two people pull out of the World Cup side and that is through uncertainty.
"It's tough to watch them have to go through uncertain times."
