Brisbane Broncos sign NRLW partnership deal with Sunshine Coast Falcons

The Sunshine Coast Falcons have landed a major partnership deal with a leading NRLW club that will offer female players a direct pathway to the elite level.

Pictured at the announcement on Thursday morning were Falcons CEO Chris Flannery, chairman Ashley Robinson, BMD player Remy Hinckesman, head coach Danny Gray, Brisbane Broncos NRLW head coach Scott Prince, development player Georgia Bartlett, emerging player Tilly Cason, NRLW and Game Development officer Paul Dyer and game development officer Jack Reed.

The Sunshine Coast Falcons have taken their female rugby league program to new heights after signing a partnership deal with the Brisbane Broncos for the 2025 season.

With the Falcons joining the open women’s BMD competition in 2024, alongside their current under-17 and under-19 girls teams, this affiliation will offer players a direct pathway to the elite level.

“For a young girl that goes to school here and has just started her footy dream, to think she can be selected in a local talent squad with an NRLW club, the Falcons junior representative pathways, to the Queensland BMD competition and all the way through to the NRLW is the thing that’s exciting for me,” Brisbane Head of NRLW and Game Development officer Paul Dyer said.

The partnership will also offer courses and sessions for local female coaches.

Premiership winning Brisbane Broncos NRLW and World Cup winning coach Paul Dyer. Picture: Brendan Radke

“We’ve invested in the school competitions and development support on the Sunshine Coast for more than 20 years so it was a great extension for us to reach out and have a solid partnership with the Falcons,” he said.

“They’re a great club in their own right, they’ve got a wonderful community presence, there’s a talent squad in our female space, four or five players in our emerging, development or top 24 NRLW program so to have a formalised partnership with the Falcons is exciting.”

The Falcons were an inaugural competitor of the 2024 BMD competition, finishing fifth and missing out on the finals on for and against.

Falcons CEO Chris Flannery said it was a major step forward for the club.

Sunshine Coast Falcons CEO Chris Flannery. Picture: Patrick Woods.

“There’s a number of local players that are already affiliated with the Broncos through their academies or their NRLW squad so we’ve got a lot of talent coming through the ranks, this just helps provide a clear pathway for those players,” he said.

The Falcons men’s side are aligned with the Melbourne Storm, who also share affiliation with the Brisbane Tigers and the North Sydney Bears in the New South Wales Cup.

“The Melbourne Storm are probably gearing up for their own NRLW side in a couple of years but that will be played down in Melbourne so it certainly makes sense for us to reach out to a Queensland club,” Flannery said.

Sunshine Coast Falcons BMD player Rhemy Hinckesman. Picture: Nicola Anne Photography.

The 2025 BMD season will run adjacent to the NRLW competition, meaning contracted players who miss out on selection will return to their feeder clubs each round.

Falcons BMD star Remy Hinckesman and under-19s prospect Tilly Cason said the announcement was a major boost.

“We were a bit unsure heading into this season whether or not we would have any NRLW players coming back and representing the Falcons but to hear of this and to know we’ll get some real quality players in terms of skill and leadership is really exciting,” Hinckesman said.

“It’s very exciting because obviously there are the older girls paving the way but you can also show the younger girls what’s to come,” Cason added.