For the NRLW, from little things big things grow

Sydney Morning Herald

3 days ago

It was all about geography when the 2018 NRLW season kicked off with the Roosters, Dragons, Broncos and Warriors, with the NRL wanting to spread the love across two states and two countries.
'We think we've got the balance right for our first year and I would expect more NRL clubs to join the competition in the years ahead,' NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said at the time.
Now, the footprint of the 12 NRLW teams spans from Townsville to Wollongong and across the Tasman to Auckland.
Since 2018, NRLW viewership has grown 35 per cent annually, while attendances have increased 37.5 per cent year on year.
Perhaps the starkest illustration of the growth of the women's game can be seen in State of Origin.
Despite a dip in attendances during COVID-19, the interstate clash has drawn strong crowds since the introduction of a three-game series in 2024.
As the game has become more professional, the quality – and quantity – of Origin matches has increased, leading to greater fan engagement.
A big step was taken with the introduction of multi-year contracts for players in 2023. Before then, players were contracted for one season at a time, which made it hard for clubs to retain talent and develop the on-field understanding and combinations that come from longer-term knowledge of each other's games.
Now, player contracting more closely resembles the men's game – though the salaries remain poles apart – and clubs can build their team around key players. For example, the Cowboys have secured key trio Emma Manzelmann, Jakiya Whitfeld and Lily Peacock until 2028 – something that was impossible when Kelly signed her first contract in 2018.
The current state of play
After expanding again in 2025 with the introduction of the Bulldogs and the Warriors, the NRLW is in a consolidation period.
Further expansion in 2026 is unlikely but not completely out of the question, with NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo eager to increase quality before quantity.
'It would be a very short runway to expand in 2026,' Abdo said. 'Expansion is something that we've handled, and the commission has handled, in my view, very effectively. Whilst the commission has always said it's a priority to invest and grow in the women's game, it's [about] growth at all levels.
A major aim of the consolidation period is creating a deep enough talent pool to sustain the women's game.
In 2024, the state competitions were pushed back so that they ran concurrently with the NRLW. Previously, they began in February and players would compete in both the state competition and NRLW.
It was a big adjustment for players, with many having effectively used the state competition as an NRLW pre-season, but it means the NRLW now has an established reserve grade league from where players can be elevated or dropped as needed – the same as the men's game.
And an increase in quality duly followed. The 2024 season saw the highest ever ball-in-play average of 47.6 minutes per game, with the average margin of victory narrowing to 13.9 points.
Women who were in junior pathways systems are now starting to find their way into the top grade. In 2018, the average age of an NRLW debutant was 27; now it's 21.
Where to now?
The goal for the NRLW is full-time professionalism.
For now, most players juggle fulltime jobs with their NRLW careers – NSW and Eels fullback Abbi Church is a paramedic, while Eels halfback Rachael Pearson is a coalmining fitter and turner.
Eventually, every NRL team will have an NRLW team.
'All of the NRL clubs that don't have an NRLW license have their own individual plan where they're working towards their readiness to have a team in NRLW,' Abdo said.
'We will continue working with them and the more that we invest and the more we see of investment in age group competitions and the programs to accelerate talent development, the more we're going to have the capacity to expand ... in a sustainable way where the competition quality actually improves, doesn't decrease.'
For players like Kelly, who have seen the highs and lows of expansion across the past eight seasons, controlled growth is key.
'I think we've still got a few years to go until I think it would be best to go full-time,' Kelly said.
'Having it stay the same for a bit I think is probably the best [option] in keeping that product really high and making sure that everyone's developing at the same rate. I think it's always been a conscious thing with us girls that we've never wanted to go too big too soon.'
Just as geography was a key factor in the make-up of the inaugural competition back in 2018, it remains a key consideration for further expansion.
The Perth Bears and Papua New Guinea are the latest clubs to be handed NRL licenses, with the two teams to enter the competition in 2027 and 2028 respectively.
Abdo said the plan for NRLW teams was 'essential' when Perth and PNG were awarded teams.
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'Both are areas where we don't have any league, men's or women's, teams and both are hugely important development areas for us,' Abdo said.
'The game plan for both Western Australia and Papua New Guinea is to open up talent development from an early age for both mens and women's, boys and girls, and the business case and the consideration of the awarding of the license to those two regions had built into both an NRL and NRLW license over time.
'What I can say to you is the blueprint and the business plan absolutely includes a women's team, but what I can't say to you is what year they will enter the competition, but that will become clearer over time as those pathways an investments take shape.'