Health, theatre and finance: Inside the NRLW Rookie Camp

Dramatic arts and rugby league seem two worlds apart but at the 2024 NRLW Rookie Camp they came together seamlessly.

As 70 young women, on the cusp of an NRLW debut, were thrown together in a room with Director of Dramatic Difference Training Barbara Warren, the walls between them quickly came crashing down.

Reciting in front of the group a ‘pitter patter’ riddle or sharing with their new peers a personal and life changing event, the importance of engaging and connecting with an audience, exercising improvisational techniques and presenting as an athlete, rang true.

“It was absolutely phenomenal, the girls were so brave and courageous in jumping into a space that for many people can be confronting,” Warren told NRL.com.

“But you could see that they were willing and daring enough to tell parts of their story and they will develop more of that.

“Once we let our guard down great things can happen because you realise what we’ve got in common and what we’ve got in common is our humanity and our connection to others.”

The 70 rookies made up of ages from 17 to 27 came together for a two-day education boot camp in Sydney to cover topics such as social media, female health, education, finance and Warren’s session - Successful Presenting.

One of the biggest takeaways of the session was that each of these rookies have a story, they are part of the history of the NRLW and they must be confident in sharing their story for the next generation of aspiring athletes.

"Actors and athletes are great friends. There is great sympatico between those two worlds because all of us, regardless of what we do, we have to speak,” Warren said.

“I said to them, don’t reduce speaking to an obligation, it’s a wonderful thing and a privilege to be able to share your story.

“The important thing is that these young women have got things to share that could really make a difference to other people that are coming through.

“We want to see them lead with confidence. They need to know their place in this history and take their place in this world with great confidence.”

St George Illawarra rookie Kasey Reh participated in the camp this year after joining the Dragons’ Top 24 squad ahead of the upcoming season.

The 2024 Tarsha Gale Player of the Series said the camp covered many different topics that she hadn’t considered would have an impact on her rugby league career.

“Things like finances, social media and talking to a camera hadn’t even been brought to my awareness but it was all so useful,” Reh told NRL.com.

“Looking across the room, it was so cool to see all of the girls in the same position as you.

“At the start everyone was just sort of staying within their own team but by the end of it you were just with whoever was beside you and we all started mixing in with each other.”

Knights premiership-winning hooker and Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) Operations Manager Nita Maynard also ran a session during the camp, educating the rookies to what resources are available for an up-and-coming athlete.

Maynard, who made her debut for the Roosters in 2018 said the camp is evidence of how far the women’s game has come in recent years.

“We covered some of the services that we offered and how we are a resource for a lot of the young players and just kind of established where we fit into being an NRLW player,” Maynard told NRL.com. “What you could look towards if you did need any assistance.

“A camp like this was not even a thought process at that time with the competition.

“Just being able to understand what resources were available like networking, education grants, the importance of leaning on some of your support staff, like wellbeing managers.

“Because the season was so short when I was coming through, I guess we were just grateful to be there and happy with the opportunity.

“You never kind of looked at yourself as being a professional athlete and understanding that being in that position means you've got all these resources available.

“It was more so, just trying to make do with what you had.”