Women’s State of Origin Game 2 2024 to break attendence record, with McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle sold out
It’s official. Women's State of Origin is set to break the attendance record for a fourth straigh game, with McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle selling out for Game 2.
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It’s official, Women’s State of Origin II at McDonald Jones Stadium is a sell out.
In yet another history making moment, Newcastle’s rugby league mad crowd fans will break the world record for the largest ever stand alone crowd at a women’s rugby league match.
After NSW scored a 22-12 win in game one, they will play their home game and attempt to wrap up the series in front of a rocking crowd in Newcastle on June 6.
The final allocation was exhausted on Saturday for the 33,000 capacity stadium, which smashes the attendance record set in the series opener at Suncorp Stadium on May 16 of 25,492.
“Women’s rugby league is fast, it’s skilful, it’s exciting, and fans are responding in droves.” NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo siad.
“Three straight record crowds in three straight Women’s Origin matches, the most watched women’s match in rugby league history and now the first sell out – this all proves women’s rugby league is absolutely soaring.”
“Origin One was an amazing, thrilling spectacle, showcasing the very best women athletes in Australia of any sport, and fans clearly can’t wait to see them back on the field in game two, where we expect to set new audience benchmarks.”
Origin I smashed not only attendance records, but created viewership history too.
A million people tuned in, making it the most watched women’s Origin game in history and smashing the free-to-air viewership of any NRL or AFL game this season.
It comes in the midst of the first ever three-game Origin series for the women, with the third game to be played in Townsville on June 27.
The capacity of Queensland Country Bank Stadium is 25,000.
Even if it sells out, it will be the end of a streak of record crowds for women’s Origin, which started in game one of last year’s series at CommBank Stadium, with a crowd of 12,972.
ORIGIN STARS READY FOR THEIR ‘MATILDAS MOMENT’
The Matildas had their moment during the Women’s World Cup last year and it feels as though women’s rugby league is on the cusp of something just as special.
History is being made with each and every game, breaking attendance and viewership records, while participation numbers are through the roof as the biggest growing area of the game.
More eyeballs means a bigger profile for the athletes, more opportunities for success and, if they’re smart, a career that can sustain them long into the future.
The success of the game is something the players take personally.
“You hear stories of people watching their first footy game ever, and that some people prefer to watch our game,” says NSW star Jaime Chapman.
“To know that, and we’re getting a million people watching our games and record crowds, whatever we are doing we’re doing it right and hopefully it’ll keep growing this fast.”
SKY IS THE LIMIT
If the watershed moment is coming for rugby league, the athletes had better be ready for it.
Across the three NSW women’s State of Origin camps, Sky Blues squad members are undergoing a program to help them figure out their personal brand and how to leverage it for greater success in their career away from the field.
It’s an idea sponsored by The Star, who recognise the gap between career support offered to male athletes compared to female athletes – especially in rugby league were the women are not yet paid full-time.
“If you give people female role models and you show them how good they are at the sport and also the incredible things they do off the field, then absolutely, I think we’ve got that moment coming for female professional athletes in the NRL for sure,” says Charlotte Woods, general manager of Brand Builders, the company providing the program to the Sky Blues.
“The world is ready for it.
“The World Cup prepared us for it and I think we want more.”
Game two on June 6 is set to sell out at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, which would make it the fourth women’s Origin match in a row to break an attendance record set by the previous game.
The series opener at Suncorp Stadium had a crowd of 25,492, and it was the most watched women’s Origin game yet with more than a million viewers, topping the free-to-air viewership for any NRL game so far this season.
“Some girls are lucky enough to be working for the clubs as well which sort of makes it a bit more flexible, but it’s a lot, so it’s really important for us to have an alternative post career because we obviously can’t get our full income from playing yet,” says NSW half Taliah Fuimaono.
“It’s good to get the mind thinking about this stuff, there’s many of us still on the base levels of this.
“Some girls are right across it … but some of us are still discovering what we want to portray and what our message is.
“We’re super grateful for the opportunity that we’ve been given.
“It’s a huge step from where we’ve come from, but we know where it’s been, we don’t want it to go backwards so we want to make the most of our opportunities.”
BIG BUSINESS
For some it can mean maximising social media as an earning platform, but for others it can be developing goals for post retirement, public speaking or other career opportunities.
Australia’s sweetheart Mary Fowler is the supreme example.
Just a few years ago she wasn’t widely known, but now the Matildas and Manchester City star is a household name.
At 21, she has brand deals with Loreal Paris, Barbie, Adidas, Weetbix, Calvin Klein, more than 400,000 Instagram followers she leverages into a multimillion-dollar income on top of her playing contract.
“The women’s game is growing so fast and some of us may not be ready for what’s coming. I’m only 22, I’m excited for when I am a bit older with this knowledge behind me,” Chapman says.
She says she realised two years ago she needed to take rugby league seriously as a career.
And now she sees it as a responsibility to give back to the game.
“Before it was a hobby, and it still is one of my most valued hobbies, I love it, but it’s now a career for me and I realised I had to knuckle down.
“Now I’m stepping more into the professional space.
“People recognise you now and it makes me so emotional to see young kids in Coles and coming up for a photo. I never had that chance.
“I had the men’s NRL players to look up to and get pictures with, but now we’re there as role models for these kids and hopefully they look up to us and know they can play too if they want to.
“It’s important that we recognise that, we can be a leader, and know that they’re looking up to us.”
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Originally published as Women’s State of Origin Game 2 2024 to break attendence record, with McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle sold out
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