NRLW set for pivotal season amid popularity surge

This year's NRLW competition will be a 10-team, nine-round season with the top four progressing to semi-finals before culminating in a decider on NRL Grand Final day. 

The competition will expand to 12 teams next year, with the Warriors and Bulldogs added to the fold. 

From there, a number of options are on the table, with the start of a new broadcast rights deal in 2028 looming as a pivotal point in the future direction of the competition. 

While further expansion is under consideration, NRLW players have called for the season to be extended to 16 or 22 rounds before more teams are added. 

"We probably need more rounds to start with," Roosters five-eighth said Tarryn Aiken. "We don't want to dilute the talent too much. 

"We speak about it a fair bit as players. We want to go to either one and a half rounds or two rounds before we get more teams."

Such a shift would likely see the NRLW become a fully professional competition with players able to dedicate their entire energy to the sporting ambitions.

The push for full-time contracts come amid a wider sporting landscape in which women's sport is booming and rapidly professionalising. The Matildas are one of Australia's most popular sporting teams and AFL and cricket are investing significant amounts of money into their women's programs. 

The players currently juggle work and football, with many required to take time off during the season. 

While the players are not yet full-time, wages have risen significantly in recent years and the NRL has plans to grow salaries even more in the coming years. 

Talking on Tuesday, Abdo said there is no firm timeline for a fully professional competition but reiterated his intention to make it happen in a sustainable manner.

It's hoped a windfall in the 2028 broadcast deal would enable the salary cap to grow, with Wests Tigers captain Kezie Apps confident the surge in popularity of the NRLW will trigger an increase in commercial returns.

"We all still train like full-time professional athletes," Apps said. "The respect I have for all the females who are playing in the NRLW is so high. 

"They have to train at the highest level to make sure the product's good enough so we can get more funding coming in but they sacrifice so much for the game.  

"We need to go full time to see the game go to that next level. Then we don't have to worry about work and juggling all the things that go on in our lives."

Discussions over the future of the women's season come as senior officials also explore expansion of the men's competition throughout the second half of this decade.

While NRL expansion bids won't have a women's team tied to their entry, Abdo said a commitment to growing both male and female participation and engagement will be considered when the Australian Rugby League Commission grants licences to new teams. 

The CEO also revealed the growth of both the NRL and NRLW will provide a unique opportunity to have a detailed discussion about the optimal makeup of the two competitions and the ideal rugby league calendar. 

"Expansion gives us more options," Abdo said. "As you think about expanding more teams you can think strategically around what the structure of the competition looks like. It's possible there may be fewer rounds going forward. 

"For us it's about the quality of the competition and the quality of the whole season structure, the pre-season, the premiership, the finals series, State of Origin and the international game. 

"How you balance all of that, how you get the right mix of quality content, the beauty of expansion is we will have options and we're planning now for something happening in '27 and '28. 

"That means we can get organised and we can think about both the men's and women's competition. We can ask what is the right time of year, what is the right time of games and what is the right configuration?"