See also
- Women's rugby league in Australia
- NRL Women's – the official league for women's rugby league in Australia starting in 2018
The Australian Women's Rugby League was the governing body of female rugby league in Australia and other parts of Oceania from its establishment in 1993 until December 2013, when its operations were integrated into the National Rugby League, under the Australian Rugby League Commission. [1] [2]
Women's rugby league teams from Sydney, Illawarra and Canberra had played in weekend tournaments in 1991 and 1992. To coincide with the 1993 tournament, arrangements were made for stakeholders to meet with the view of establishing an association. An interim committee was elected, and in December 1993 announced their intention to seek affiliation with what was then the Australian Rugby League. [1] It took the association five years to be recognized by the game's governing body, which by then had emerged from the Super League war. [3] [4] [5]
The AWRL was run at state level by its own governing organizations in the Queensland Women's Rugby League, New South Wales Women's Rugby League, Canberra Women's Rugby League and the Western Australian Women's Rugby League. The main women's competitions in Australia during the period were the Sydney Metro Women's Rugby League and Brisbane and District Women's Rugby League. [6] Following the integration, the Sydney and Brisbane competitions were elevated to state-wide competitions, the NSWRL Women's Premiership and QRL Women's Premiership.
At international level the Women's Australian side is commonly referred to as the Australian Jillaroos.
From 1995, the AWRL has staged international fixtures against other women's rugby league countries.
In Australia, rugby league is a popular spectator and participation sport which has been played since 1908. It is the dominant winter football code in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. According to Ausplay in 2024, there were 174,343 adult and 93,287 children playing it across five states at a participation rate of 0.8% per capita. Just under half of adult players are female. It is governed by the Australian Rugby League Commission based in Sydney.
The 1993 NSWRL season was the eighty-sixth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. The New South Wales Rugby League's sixteen teams competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a replay of the previous year's grand final for the Winfield Cup trophy between the Brisbane Broncos and St. George Dragons. As Sydney celebrated winning the 2000 Olympic Games, Brisbane spoiled the party by retaining the NSWRL premiership.
Women's rugby league is the female-only version of rugby league.
The 1988 NSWRL season was the 81st season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and saw the first expansion of the New South Wales Rugby League Premiership outside the borders of New South Wales, and another expansion outside of Sydney, with the addition of three new teams: the Brisbane Broncos, Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast-Tweed Giants. The largest NSWRL premiership yet, sixteen clubs competed during the 1988 season, with the J J Giltinan Shield for minor premiers going to Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. The finals culminated in a grand final for the Winfield Cup between the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Balmain Tigers. This season NSWRL teams also competed for the 1988 Panasonic Cup.
John Junior Lomax is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Primarily a prop, he captained New Zealand and played for the Canberra Raiders, North Queensland Cowboys and Melbourne Storm.
James Tamou is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop for the Townsville Blackhawks on the Queensland Cup
Top-level rugby league in 2010 centered on Australasia's 2010 NRL season and Super League XV. High-profile representative competitions included the 2010 Four Nations, the 2010 State of Origin series and the 2010 European Cup.
The New Zealand women's national rugby league team, also known as the Kiwi Ferns or New Zealand Kiwi Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's rugby league. They are administered by the New Zealand Rugby League.
The Australia women's national rugby league team, also known as the Australian Jillaroos, or Harvey Norman Jillaroos for sponsorship reasons, represents Australia in women's rugby league. They played their first formal international in 1995 under the administration of the Australian Women's Rugby League. The AWRL affiliated with the Australian Rugby League in the late 1990s, with AWRL reports included in ARL annual reports. Since the advent of the Australian Rugby League Commission in February 2012, the team has been administered by that body and the National Rugby League.
The Great Britain women's national rugby league team, also known as the Great Britain Lionesses, represents Great Britain in Women's rugby league. They are administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL). The Great Britain Lionesses have placed third both the 2000 and 2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup.
Women's rugby league is a popular women's sport in Australia. The sport has a high level of participation in the country both recreational and professional. Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) is the national governing body of the sport in Australia, organising the Australian Women's Rugby League, the Australian women's national team, and the nine state governing bodies of the game, among other duties. Women's participation of modern rugby league has been recorded since the early 1920s. It has since become one of Australia's most popular women's team sports.
Zahara Temara is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback for the Canberra Raiders Women in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Burleigh Bears in the QRL Women's Premiership.
Corban Baxter is an Australian international rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback, centre or five-eighth for the Sydney Roosters in the NSWRL Women's Premiership.
Annette Brander is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a second-rower for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Central Queensland Capras in the QRL Women's Premiership.
The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is contested by a subset of clubs from that competition. The current Premiers are the Sydney Roosters.
Lavinia Gould is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who plays for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL Women's Premiership.
Tazmin Gray is an Australian rugby league footballer who last played for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Burleigh Bears in the QRL Women's Premiership.
Georgia Hale is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who plays for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRLW.
Tallisha Harden is an Australian rugby league footballer who captains the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL Women's Premiership.
Rebecca Young is an Australian rugby league and rugby union footballer who played for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL Women's Premiership.
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