Women’s rugby league is on the up, thanks to record State of Origin ratings, packed crowds and the addition of two fresh franchises in 2025. But on the eve of the NRLW’s seventh season, the game’s pillars of pace and power are joined by another: patience.
The NRLW competition will be a key selling point for the National Rugby League’s next media rights deal, according to chief executive Andrew Abdo, following the success of the 2024 women’s State of Origin series which drew more than three million viewers across the three games. NRLW a ‘value driver’ for next NRL broadcast deal, says Abdo.
A boom in TV ratings can put the NRLW on a fast-track to full-time professionalism as the game prepares to cash in on record-breaking State of Origin audiences this season.
