NRL announces expansion of women’s competition to six teams

The NRL has announced that its Women’s Premiership (NRLW) will expand to six teams in 2021 with the inclusion of the Gold Coast Titans, Newcastle Knights, and Parramatta Eels.

With the new additions joining existing teams the Brisbane Broncos, Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra Dragons, the NRLW will expand from four weeks to seven weeks with the competition to feature 18 games.

NRLW will commence alongside round 23 of the NRL season with each team playing each other once and the top four teams meeting in the finals. The grand final is also scheduled to play on the same day as the NRL grand final.

With an objective is to expand the league to eight teams by 2022, NRL Chief Executive, Andrew Abdo today advised “women’s rugby league is the fastest growing part of our sport and it’s exciting to be in a position to expand the competition after the success of the last three seasons.

“The NRLW competition has produced some of the best athletes in Australia, it’s captivated a new fan base and today’s expansion will give more players the opportunity to play in an elite competition.

“Now that we have a really solid base, thriving state competitions and investment in expanding the game from the bottom up, I cannot wait to see the NRLW go to a new level across seven weeks and 18 games.”

Advising that the creation of the NRLW team was a "significant step forward" for the club, Titans co-owner Rebecca Frizelle stated “our NRLW program is fundamental to the success of the Titans now and into the years to come.

"As a club we are intrinsically connected to the region we represent and now, through our NRLW team, young girls will have athletes that they can aspire to be."

Image: The St George team take the field in the 2020 NRLW competition. Credit: Bankwest Stadium.