Women’s NRL comp a positive step for sport

WOMEN’S sport in Australia will take a massive step forward next year.

With a six team women’s NRL competition kicking off in 2018, the dreams of at least 40 female league players will come true.

I’ve always been a fan of women’s sport particularly at semi-professional and professional levels.

I believe some of our male teams and athletes could learn a lot their female counterparts.

The life of a professional athlete can be difficult but I imagine it would be relatively easy to find motivation and focus when your being paid the big bucks.

Our female athletes don’t always have that luxury.

Yet they display the same amount of commitment, desire and passion when they play.

The Jillaroos performance in their 23-16 Women’s World Cup grand final win over New Zealand is proof of that.

That is why initiatives like the new women’s NRL competition are important.

More and more young girls are showing a continued interest in sport, the 9-15 year old female age bracket is one of the fastest growing in rugby league.

So it is important we create pathways and opportunities for them, not just in rugby league, but in all sports.

It’s also pleasing to see established sporting organisations backing the development of the “female game”.

The Dragons, Knights and Storm have all expressed interest in having women’s NRL sides.

Their support goes beyond their own sporting codes as well with several Suncorp Super Netball teams owned and operated by NRL and AFL clubs.

And let’s not forget our cricket, soccer and Aussie rules competitions and the backing they receive from their clubs.

There should be more of it too - after all the interest is clearly there.

And our female athletes deserve the chance to dream and achieve.