'One of the last glass ceilings': Super six welcome HOF honour
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After being informed by NRL bosses Andrew Abdo and Graham Annesley that she was one of six women to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Tarsha Gale drew up a list of who the other five may be.
“I was spot on,” Gale said of former Jillaroos team-mates Nat Dwyer, Katrina Fanning, Karyn Murphy, Tahnee Norris and Veronica White.
“There are so many fabulous women who built up this great game that we have got, but I think those five are so deserving.”
The first six female Hall of Famers were not only great players, but they also pioneered women’s rugby league off the field, and all remain involved in the game today.
“We just had that pure belief that girls and women wanted to play the game, and we could play it at a good level,” said Fanning, who is a Canberra Raiders director and chair of the ARL Indigenous Council.
“We loved how it bought people together and we all in different ways have stayed committed to it.
“Every one of those people didn’t stop doing that just because they were no longer playing. They have continued to keep doing it for others and to keep building those pathways.”
Dwyer captained the first Jillaroos team in 1995, which included Gale, Fanning and White, while Murphy and Norris made their Test debuts in 1998.
The duo co-captained Australia’s first World Cup winning team in 2013 and have since turned to coaching, with Murphy in charge of the Titans NRLW team and Norris overseeing Queensland’s historic Origin series triumph earlier this year.
“We struggled to even play the game so to have some recognition like this, it's certainly very special for me, but particularly when I look at the other girls that were named at the same time with me,” Murphy said.
“They're all girls I debuted with in 1998, so that's extra special. We’re all, 26 years later, still very close friends, so to be named with that group makes it even more special.
“I came in after a lot of those girls had already paved the way before me. I came in in 1998 and there was years before me, so I'm very thankful for all of those girls who did it tougher than myself.
“Even in my time, we paid our way, and we did all of those things, but for us it was just to be able to play the game. We didn't care as long as we could play.”
'I'd sing the national anthem before we played': Hall of Famer Veronica White
Fanning, who joins cousin Laurie Daley in the Hall of Fame, had to fight to be allowed to play in junior teams with boys and like the others was forced to stop playing at 12 years-of-age before returning to the game as an adult.
“For a kid who they didn’t really want to play to now have women in the Hall of Fame, it’s like one of the last glass ceilings in the sport,” Fanning said. “We have got people in all other roles, but it was one place we weren’t represented.
“We have done that because people respect what has been done in the game and where it is at.
"It hasn’t been given to us, it has been earned, and knowing all of those women, they would be as proud of that as any individual feelings they would have.”
Like the others, Gale continues to be involved in the game, and she still marvels at how much it has evolved in her roles as a commentator for Fox Sports, NRLW judiciary member and Dally Ms judge.
“It is amazing that all six of us play such a big role in continuing to develop and promote the sport that we love so much,” Gale said.
“Even way back then, we all sat on committees, we were all hunting up referees and cleaning the ground before we played, and it was all of those things behind the scenes that our great game now has been built on.
“It’s so rewarding to see where the sport is now and also for me in my work as a commentator, and being part of the judiciary and being involved with the Dally Ms, the game is giving back to me constantly.”
Dwyer, Fanning, Gale, Murphy, Norris and White will be among 25 players, coaches, administrators, referees and members of the media inducted into the Hall of Fame at a special ceremony at the SCG on August 21.
The history makers
- Natalie Dwyer played 26 Tests for the Jillaroos, five as captain – including captaining the Jillaroos in their inaugural Test against New Zealand in 1995.
- Katrina Fanning, ACT Australian of the Year in 2020, played 24 Tests for the Jillaroos, including the inaugural Test against New Zealand in 1995. The Canberra women’s Premiership is named the Katrina Fanning Shield in her honour.
- Tarsha Gale played 15 Tests for the Jillaroos, including 11 as captain, and was halfback in the inaugural Jillaroos Test against New Zealand in 1995. The NSW Women’s Under-19s premiership is named the Tarsha Gale Cup in her honour.
- Karyn Murphy played 28 Tests for the Jillaroos, including 18 as captain, and was part of four World Cup campaigns (2000, 2003, 2008 and 2013). The NRLW grand final player of the match is named the Karyn Murphy Medal in her honour.
- Tahnee Norris played a record 33 Tests for the Jillaroos, including seven as captain. She played in four World Cup campaigns (2000, 2003, 2008 and 2013).
- Veronica White played 17 Tests for the Jillaroos, while the NRLW Community award was named the Veronica White Medal in her honour from 2019
