14-05-2025
State of Origin success shows women's rugby league deserves to stand tall on its own
In 1921, two women, Molly Cane and Nellie Doherty, put up their hands and asked to play rugby league. They weren't asking for glory, they certainly weren't chasing social clout. What they wanted was the chance to play a game they loved.
That match, held at the Sydney Showground, drew a crowd of 30,000 more than 100 years ago. Two weeks ago, Game One of the 2025 Women's State of Origin series drew more than two million viewers. This love of women's rugby league is not a new phenomenon. The interest, passion and talent has always been there, and it is because of Molly and Nellie that women's rugby league is where it is today.
These two women weren't just players, they were pioneers with vision, passion and serious guts. A century ago, when they took to the field, it was bold, brave and proved there was a genuine desire for women's rugby league. But their momentum was short-lived. Officials shut it down, and it would be another 78 years before we saw the birth of the Women's Interstate Challenge.
Still, Molly and Nellie lit a spark that never went out. It kept glowing quietly in local parks and backyard games, carried closely by generations of girls who kept playing and dreaming big.
As a former player, and someone who loves the game of rugby league I have observed in every generation players who are breaking the 'grass ceiling' and championing for change. We owe a lot to Nellie, Molly and every woman since who has picked up a ball and played, even when no one was watching. Everything we have today – the stadium crowds, the broadcast figures, the young girls proudly pulling on jerseys with their signs – is built on these women challenging the norm and their choice to pick up a rugby league ball.
When I was growing up in Gerringong, on the NSW south coast, I played junior rugby league with my brother. I was often the only girl on the field, and for a while, that was fine, until I turned 12 and the rules said I couldn't play anymore. Back then, the system didn't see girls as part of the game's future. Like so many others, I turned to netball and basketball, not because I wanted to, but because rugby league didn't yet have space for me.
That's what makes this current moment in women's rugby league so powerful. Today, girls don't have to give up the game, they can play as they are, all the way through. They can dream of wearing the sky blue or maroon jersey, not as a novelty, but as a real, attainable future.
Less than a decade ago, Women's State of Origin players were getting changed in car parks, staying in caravan parks, eating meals cooked by our team managers on a community barbecue. Now, they're playing in front of packed stadiums and pulling millions of viewers. That's incredible progress.
Yet Women in rugby league still juggle full-time work, study and family, alongside elite-level performance. Imagine the heights they will reach when women can be full-time athletes.
Sign up to Australia Sport
Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk
after newsletter promotion
To me, equality in rugby league means equal opportunity. It means sponsorships, broadcast deals, pathways, and media that not just reflects the skill and popularity of the women's game, but also that desire to build up a sport that started more than 100 years ago.
The fans' role has never been more important. When they buy a ticket, tune in, or sign up as a member, they're not just showing up, they're helping to make history. Every cheer, every social post, every conversation – it all adds weight to a game that deserves to stand tall on its own.
The young girls playing today on grassroots fields belong there. They don't need to fight for their place, they already have one. The women before them played for the love of the game, and everything they did was to ensure the young girls today could play with pride, confidence and visibility.
Women's rugby league is exploding, and it's here to stay. I'm thrilled to be a part of it but it's up to all of us to continue striving to make this the greatest game of all.
