The Massive Success Of The AFLW Has Bolstered Calls For An NRL Women’s Comp

Cronulla Sharks boss Lyall Gorman wants the NRL to follow the lead of their cross code rivals in the AFL, and launch a national women’s rugby league competition as soon as possible.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Gorman pointed to the increasing interest in women’s sport around the country – typified by the phenomenal success of the inaugural AFLW season – as proof that a national women’s comp could and should be a priority for the NRL.

“We have a lot of history in professional sport in Australia now around women in cricket, AFL, soccer,” Gorman told the paper. “There are models there that we should be able to use to inform that debate and you’d like to think that we could probably accelerate that process rather than let it take a couple of years.”

Gorman’s team is currently leading the push for a women’s competition. The Sharks have already recruited a squad of female players, and are hosting exhibition matches in conjunction with men’s home games this season.

The NRL, for its part, is reportedly eyeing 2020 as a potential start date for a national women’s competition, with league officials concerned there aren’t enough elite-level female players to support a national contest before then.

“I don’t want to start a competition without having the substance below it,” NRL CEO Todd Greenberg told the ABC in February. “We need to make sure out pathways are real and sustainable.”

But Gorman believes the league should strike while the iron is hot, saying there was an opportunity to build a “real legacy”, particularly with the Women’s Rugby World Cup scheduled for August this year.

@Cronulla_Sharks Women's Series team kick off their Local Derby at 5:15PM. Get down to SCG Stadium on Sunday & support our girls! #CSSC17 pic.twitter.com/BnckhsfP7c

— The CSSC (@TheCSSC) March 15, 2017

“I see it as a real opportunity to uplift the brand of rugby league,” Gorman said. “The opportunity to shift from just being about male-dominated participation to a real social hub.”

According to the ABC, last year there were some 482,000 women involved in playing rugby league, a more than 25 per cent increase on the year before.

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Feature image via Cronulla Sharks