NSW town's two female rugby league teams fold due to player shortage

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The best of women's rugby league will be in the spotlight during tomorrow's NRLW grand final clash, and at a grassroots level, female participation in the sport is at an all-time high. But in the NSW border town of Queanbeyan, both women's teams have collapsed leaving upset players in limbo.

Transcript

00:00These women are passionate about their weekly footy.

00:06Tackling mainly, yeah, putting my body on the line.

00:09Some of the friendships I've made from it are definitely friendships for life.

00:13But this season they were sidelined. Their team, the Queanbeyan Roos, folded just a few rounds in because they couldn't get the numbers.

00:23I was actually pretty gutted. We really did want to play.

00:26So some of us did go to other clubs and some of us decided to either not play or play unions.

00:33So yeah, it was really sad.

00:35The town's rival club, the Queanbeyan Blues, also had to scrap its women's tackle team due to player retention.

00:43Just like the boys, we're getting off work and we're coming here to be part of this culture and the club and put ourselves out there.

00:50And for a lot of these women, they're mums and they're running these lives as well.

00:55So it's an outlet.

00:57The local league is an important pipeline for future NRLW stars.

01:02But many of the best players are lured away to the Queensland and New South Wales competitions.

01:08It's really good to have the pathways if you want to pursue it into an actual career.

01:13Canberra Region Rugby League says it's spent the past decade working to increase participation and pathways for women and girls.

01:22This year, more than 2,000 signed up across all local clubs and age groups, an annual increase of more than 17%.

01:31But retaining female players beyond junior levels remains a challenge as work, study, family and injuries get in the way.

01:41We want to make sure that rugby league is seen as a sport for all and it's an inclusive sport.

01:47All our clubs, I think, embrace that. Some clubs are better at fostering that earlier than others.

01:53That comes with the territory or any developmental area.

01:57Unlike the first grade men, the women don't get paid to play.

02:01First grade is always going to come first and we kind of spend every dollar to be competitive in first grades and that will be our goal.

02:09Everyone makes it a big deal about men's comp but I feel like a women's comp is very much as important as a men's comp.

02:17Both Queanbeyan clubs are hopeful about reviving their women's teams next year.

02:23Still a long way from a level playing field.

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