NRL not sure on women’s game

THE question of the right time for the NRL to introduce a formal women’s comp started rumbling last week.

When NRL CEO Todd Greenberg was asked during the week how far off a women’s competition was, his answer that the numbers weren’t there and they weren’t sure what it would look like didn’t offer much comfort.

But the interest in women’s rugby league is there. The Jillaroos v Kiwi Ferns matches at the Auckland Nines have raised the profile of the women’s game and Tests broadcast delayed on Channel 9 the past two years have had more than 100,000 viewers.

The AFLW showed it doesn’t have to be perfect. That competition was brought forward three years – from 2020 to 2017 – because the public reaction to exhibition games was strong. Clubs had only months to pull together the infrastructure.

A workshop on women’s rugby league will be held this week. The NRL, state organisations and RLPA will examine where the women’s game is at but it is not intended to devise a plan for an elite competition.

Their cautious approach is understandable as they work to build participation numbers and establish pathways.

Participation is growing in Sydney and country areas (30 per cent from 2015 to 2016) and players at the top level, at least, are happy to wait while those continue to rise.