Women's NRL

[PJ]

You do understand that the Sharks have been investing time, money and development into these players for a few years now? Only for the NRL to not only exclude their team but another club will gain all the benefit.

Yeah, I would have thought that would be obvious, but you are dealing with a Dogs fan.

So a couple of years down the track the Sharks can try and re-join, after the players they have spent a but of time and money developing are all contracted elsewhere, and then instead of a strong team in the inaugural comp they can submit a weaker team against established ones.

Sounds great and a sound investment.

I hope they tell them to ggf'd.

 

[Springs09]

Women do not have a second tier?

Between the NSW Women's Premiership (which expanded again this year), Tarsha Gale Cup (also grew) and the various QLD Women's comps, they absolutely do. The growth of these last season and this season will help expand the talent pool. Rushing too many teams too fast, IMO, was what saw the AFL struggle with their women's comp in some respects (yes it attracted crowds and ratings in various ways but that hasn't stopped widespread criticism of quality). 4 for the first year is fine, then it will keep growing.

No they don't, because one sydney comp, an U18s 9s comp and 'various QLD comps' are not a second tier. I didn't say they had nothing at all.

There is going to be widespread criticism of quality anyway. If anyone thinks a women's NRL will be like every Jillaroos vs Ferns match or anything like a men's NRL match they're an idiot. 6 teams for the first year would have been fine, there was no reason not to.

 

[johnny plath]

No they don't, because one sydney comp, an U18s 9s comp and 'various QLD comps' are not a second tier. I didn't say they had nothing at all.

There is going to be widespread criticism of quality anyway. If anyone thinks a women's NRL will be like every Jillaroos vs Ferns match or anything like a men's NRL match they're an idiot. 6 teams for the first year would have been fine, there was no reason not to.

Why wouldn't they be second tier comps. Surely the quality women rugby league players in NSW are already playing in the NSW Womens premiership, and similarly there are 27 Senior womens teams in SE Qld, I'd be surprised if the majority of the Qld players aren't already in these comps. I'd imagine, but could be wrong, that the four NRLW teams will contract players from these teams, probably just for this initial season, whatever shape it is. So if the existing major comps aren;t second tier, what are they, because all those budding women are playing somewhere a level below NRL.

 

[T-Boon]

One thing having 4 teams does that is in massive juxtaposition to our biggest enemy is that it assures that the games will look pretty damn good and of high quality.

 

[Shorty]

The #1 criticism of AFLW is that they put in too many teams with too small a talent-pool and the first season was barely watchable as a result. There is no harm in starting smaller and growing the thing.

Well that and they poached athletes from other sports, they did this instead of taking the time to properly build up the talent level.

I'm not sure that'll be the case with women's RL as several of the Jillaroos were also in the Olympic 7s team (But were Jillaroos first and foremost iirc).
But as a fan of women's sport I would prefer waiting longer for a more reputable product.

And even with those faults in the AFLW when you compare to every other women's sport in Australia it still blows everything else out of the water.

 

[ReddFelon]

Well that and they poached athletes from other sports, they did this instead of taking the time to properly build up the talent level.

I'm not sure that'll be the case with women's RL as several of the Jillaroos were also in the Olympic 7s team (But were Jillaroos first and foremost iirc).
But as a fan of women's sport I would prefer waiting longer for a more reputable product.

And even with those faults in the AFLW when you compare to every other women's sport in Australia it still blows everything else out of the water.

Women's League and Union have the distinct advantage of being able to draw from the women's Touch Footy, OzTag and League Tag comps thatve been running for years. A ton of 7s and Jillaroos players were Touch crossover players. AFLW basically had no development programs so they just grabbed at cricket, soccer and netball players.

Also I'd say netball is a mile ahead of the AFLW, superior athletes, vastly better skills and talent depth.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Women's League and Union have the distinct advantage of being able to draw from the women's Touch Footy, OzTag and League Tag comps thatve been running for years. A ton of 7s and Jillaroos players were Touch crossover players. AFLW basically had no development programs so they just grabbed at cricket, soccer and netball players.

Also I'd say netball is a mile ahead of the AFLW, superior athletes, vastly better skills and talent depth.

I think the reference was to AFLW's exposure and reach. There is no question in terms of the quality of the game AFLW sits behind other female domestic competitions, but the one thing they do have is the backing of the large governing body of the men's competition. Regular advertising and free to air coverage puts this competition in front of people in greater volumes than say netball, soccer etc. It creates more interest and connects budding female sportspeople to consider AFLW over other professional sporting options.

That's why NRL can't be half arsed about the NRLW, they need to ensure the level of support goes beyond just the product but to create exposure and interest that engages the next generation of female sports people to think being an NRLW player is a viable option.

 

[ReddFelon]

I think the reference was to AFLW's exposure and reach. There is no question in terms of the quality of the game AFLW sits behind other female domestic competitions, but the one thing they do have is the backing of the large governing body of the men's competition. Regular advertising and free to air coverage puts this competition in front of people in greater volumes than say netball, soccer etc. It creates more interest and connects budding female sportspeople to consider AFLW over other professional sporting options.

That's why NRL can't be half arsed about the NRLW, they need to ensure the level of support goes beyond just the product but to create exposure and interest that engages the next generation of female sports people to think being an NRLW player is a viable option.

Yeah re-reading that I may have missed that point, although I still think Super Netball has a superior broadcast deal with Channel 9 and Telstra backing them. You are correct though NRLW or WNRL or whatever it ends up being, has to seize the opportunity, the big sponsors are all on the train and the positive PR that comes with supporting women's sport. BuildCorp are basically the sole fundraiser for the Super W union comp and they're contributing big money.

 

[Timmah]

Yeah re-reading that I may have missed that point, although I still think Super Netball has a superior broadcast deal with Channel 9 and Telstra backing them. You are correct though NRLW or WNRL or whatever it ends up being, has to seize the opportunity, the big sponsors are all on the train and the positive PR that comes with supporting women's sport. BuildCorp are basically the sole fundraiser for the Super W union comp and they're contributing big money.

Aren't Buildcorp the same mob that sponsor/ed the failed National Rugby Championship too?

 

[ReddFelon]

Aren't Buildcorp the same mob that sponsor/ed the failed National Rugby Championship too?

Correct , they were the chief sponsors and pulled their support last year because they wanted a women's comp and were told no, now they've invested their total support into the women's comp.

 

[carcharias]

One thing having 4 teams does that is in massive juxtaposition to our biggest enemy is that it assures that the games will look pretty damn good and of high quality.

I saw one of the teams picked in this league play on Sunday
They’ll need a complete new squad
They were just rubbish
Absolutely flogged by a team who missed out

 

[Shorty]

Yeah re-reading that I may have missed that point, although I still think Super Netball has a superior broadcast deal with Channel 9 and Telstra backing them. You are correct though NRLW or WNRL or whatever it ends up being, has to seize the opportunity, the big sponsors are all on the train and the positive PR that comes with supporting women's sport. BuildCorp are basically the sole fundraiser for the Super W union comp and they're contributing big money.

Netball has done things the proper way and worked very hard (good domestic and international product depth etc) but AFLW is already rivaling it with their kinks and all.
There's actually a massive rivalry between the two codes players because netball has been working for years to gain a foothold and AFLW just rocked up and changed the landscape within a year.
But to be honest RLW done properly would wipe the floor with both, so I hope the NRL really looks at doing this properly.

I just don't know how you structure 4 teams to be competitive, hopefully 2 more are added asap.

 

[T-Boon]

I saw one of the teams picked in this league play on Sunday
They’ll need a complete new squad
They were just rubbish
Absolutely flogged by a team who missed out

It isn't going to be those teams in terms of the players. The best 60 players hopefully in the world will play in it. Hopefully there will be a draft.
It is a shame that Cronulla missed out but it could drum up some publicity. Same with Souths. They should organise a joint protest March like the bunnies march of 1999 or whenever it was. They could organise a protest game at Redfern or Caltex.

 

[T-Boon]

so I hope the NRL really looks at doing this properly.

Haha. There is the right way, the wrong way and the NRL way (which is just the wrong way except faster).

 

[bad boy bubby]

It isn't going to be those teams in terms of the players. The best 60 players hopefully in the world will play in it. Hopefully there will be a draft.
It is a shame that Cronulla missed out but it could drum up some publicity. Same with Souths. They should organise a joint protest March like the bunnies march of 1999 or whenever it was. They could organise a protest game at Redfern or Caltex.

The site that that is taking the petition about the Sharks is down, but last i saw a few hours ago it was fast approaching 5000 signatures in 24 hours.
I daresay if the Roosters had missed out no one would've even bothered to start one.
The NRL are once again proudly showing how ignorant they truly are. Its quite obvious the stronghold of the womens game in NSW lies in southern Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle. Fans are tribal and do not just change teams willy nilly, more likely is that they will ignore the game entirely.

 

[Timmah]

I saw one of the teams picked in this league play on Sunday
They’ll need a complete new squad
They were just rubbish
Absolutely flogged by a team who missed out

Sorry, you think the U18's Tarsha Gale Cup Nines competition is the same as Women's NRL premiership?

LOL

 

[Timmah]

The site that that is taking the petition about the Sharks is down, but last i saw a few hours ago it was fast approaching 5000 signatures in 24 hours.
I daresay if the Roosters had missed out no one would've even bothered to start one.
The NRL are once again proudly showing how ignorant they truly are. Its quite obvious the stronghold of the womens game in NSW lies in southern Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle. Fans are tribal and do not just change teams willy nilly, more likely is that they will ignore the game entirely.

Why are Sharks fans acting like this is the end of the road?

 

[carcharias]

Sorry, you think the U18's Tarsha Gale Cup Nines competition is the same as Women's NRL premiership?

LOL

What Women’s NRL premiership?
It hasn’t even started yet as far as I know.

I based my opinion on the only thing I could.

One club looked well drilled and professional
The other was utter rubbish.

 

[bad boy bubby]

Why are Sharks fans acting like this is the end of the road?

Why are you twisting what really is happening?
You cant see that we are voicing our concern about the due process of how the teams were picked, and/or why a team that has spent a great deal of time, and organisation, is put aside for a team that has basically done bugger all?
Do you always push conversations into a circular loop like this?

 

[carcharias]

Why are Sharks fans acting like this is the end of the road?

Because we give a f**k....and the club deserved to ba part of the comp in its first year.

Is that a problem for you?