'We want the world's best athletes': Bold NRLW expansion plan unveiled
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The NRLW will target the best female athletes from around the globe as the competition continues to grow in coming years, with each club to eventually field both men’s and women’s teams.
After announcing that the Bulldogs and Warriors would join an expanded 12-team women’s Telstra Premiership in 2025, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo revealed that the remaining five clubs were working towards their own teams.
The Storm and Rabbitohs issued statements after the announcement confirming their strategies for gaining an NRLW licence, while the Dolphins, Panthers and Sea Eagles have similar ambitions.
The evolution of the NRLW
“This decision had a lot to do with geography and timing,” Abdo said. “The Bulldogs represent an opportunity in western Sydney, the Warriors represent an opportunity in New Zealand, but so did the investment and readiness of these clubs.
“Pleasingly, we have a program, and we have a strategy, with all of the clubs in that regard so over the coming years we are going to see expansion and opportunities for those clubs to enter the competition at a time that is right for each club.”
The Warriors were one of four NRLW foundation clubs in 2018 after the NRL fast-tracked a women’s competition following the interest and demand generated by the 2017 World Cup.
Border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the Warriors to play NRL matches in Australia for three years, led to the Auckland-based club’s NRLW withdrawal in 2021.
We want to attract athletes from all over the world to play in the best rugby league competition that there is.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo
Since then, the competition has expanded to include the Cowboys, Eels, Knights, Raiders, Sharks, Titans and Wests Tigers, as well as the Broncos, Dragons and Roosters.
Significantly, the expansion of the NRLW has coincided with growth in female playing numbers, from less than 10,000 in 2017 to more than 40,000 this season.
Registrations have increased by 17 per cent this year, with 10,000 girls aged 13-to-15 years old now playing the game in Australia.
“Expansion is important because you can’t be what you can’t see, and as we have grown at the elite level, we have seen the inspiration that our players provide to young people,” Abdo said.
“I want to acknowledge the importance of the Warriors in providing opportunities for young girls and women in New Zealand.
“It opens up a huge pathway opportunity for us, not just with existing rugby league players but other athletes.”
The NRL is also targeting female players from around with world, and Las Vegas Combine winners Megan Pakulis and MarCaya Bailous are hoping to become the NRLW’s first North American recruits.
The pair would join English internationals Hollie-Mae Dodd, Francesca Goldthorp and Georgia Roach, as well as a growing number of players from Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
Brazil’s 2022 World Cup captain Maria Graf and French forward Perrine Monsarrat are playing in Queensland’s BMD Premiership in the hope of earning NRLW contracts.
“We believe we have, and we want to continue to have, the best professional sports leagues in the world,” Abdo said.
“We want to attract athletes from all over the world to play in the best rugby league competition that there is, so if you are an elite athlete you want to play in the NRL or the NRLW.”
Pakulis, from Toronto, and Ohio-based Bailous attended the announcement after arriving in Sydney on Wednesday night following a whirlwind tour of the Titans, Raiders and Knights.
They played in last week’s National Championships on the Gold Coast and were scheduled to attend the Roosters-Panthers and Broncos-Cowboys NRL matches before returning home on Saturday.
“It’s really exciting to see that the competition is going to a 12-team league and to be able to maintain the competitiveness in the league with that many teams is outstanding, I think,” Pakulis said.
“There are a lot of good players here in Australia but adding another two teams will open up more opportunities for international players.”
Bailous was also excited about the potential for the NRLW to continue to grow.
“The next thing you know there will 14 teams and 16 teams so I am excited to watch that growth.
“If we have the opportunity to get to the next level [the NRLW], that will open the eyes to other players in North America, not just in rugby league but in other sports, as well.”
Abdo confirmed that a women's match could be played in Las Vegas as part of an expanded offering after the success of this year's season opening double-header at Allegiant Stadium.
“That would be a natural progression,” he said. “We wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we weren’t plotting and planning how to showcase our female athletes and NRLW talent on the global stage.”
