Why NRL can’t compete with the Matildas and Women’s World Cup

Rugby league tends to endure a flat period after State of Origin — and in a worrying sign for the NRL it has coincided with the Women’s World Cup landing in Australia, writes BRENT READ.

Journalist Brent Read taking in the Matildas.

Don’t tell the boss, but I’ve decided to put the rugby league cue in the rack for the next few weeks. Got swept up in Matildas mania on Thursday night and had a blast. So I’m jumping on the bandwagon.

Sat through their opening game of the World Cup on the edge of the lounge, the Matildas on the big screen and a feast of sport on three others.

Even convinced the good wife to join me. Sadly, still couldn’t get the kids off their devices but their loss. The young bloke came back upstairs from the garage for the final five minutes so he got a little taste of history.

The older one never left his room. God knows what he was up to. Chance to witness sporting immortality and he opted for TikTok. Makes you wonder what the hell this world is coming to.

Anyway, I enjoyed it so much I am planning to keep a few rugby league yarns up my sleeve so that when Matildas games come round, I can roll them out and take it easy.

Again, keep it under your hat. The bigwigs don’t need to know. Hopefully they won’t notice. And while we’re at it, can I share another little secret?

Matildas mania has taken over with the kick-off of the Women’s World Cup. Picture: Getty Images

Long before I was a rugby league journalist, I was a soccer player. Not a bad one either. Still playing now at the ripe old age of 53 when the hamstrings and calves allow it.

The sport’s sort of in the blood, although rugby league courses through the veins as well thanks to a father who played the game and urged his son to watch it as much as he could.

It all makes for an interesting month or so. Rugby league tends to endure a flat period after the State of Origin series comes to an end and it has coincided with one of the biggest sporting events of the year landing in this country.

Stadiums will be filled to the brim in coming weeks. The Matildas are the biggest show in town, even with superstar Sam Kerr battling injury. A calf problem sidelined her on Thursday night and the Matildas looked scratchy in her absence.

They got the job done and no doubt they’ll hold the fort until her return, but they’ll be better when she brings her goal-scoring prowess back into the mix. It says something that amid a multitude of sporting choices on Thursday night, the Matildas were required viewing.

Journalist Brent Read taking in the Matildas.

Nirvana looked suspiciously like a suburban lounge room as the World Cup opener kicked off. There was nothing particularly special about it. A couple of couches, an ottoman, a big-arse television and a handful of small screens.

No doubt, lounge rooms across the country took on similar shape. Big occasions often call for big decisions. The first was the easiest. The largest screen was reserved for the most significant occasion. The Matildas received priority.

Second choice went to the ‘Spoon Bowl’, the game between St George Illawarra and the Wests Tigers that brought out the macabre in all of us. This was more about the loser than the winner. The Tigers succumbed and another wooden spoon looms.

Third in line was the Open championship as Cameron Smith launched his title defence with a performance that matched the Matildas — scratchy but still in the fight.

Need another screen for the Spoon Bowl! pic.twitter.com/Wr71qCBq7P

— Brent Read (@brentread_7) July 20, 2023

The phone carried the cricket as England got the better of Australia in their attempt to level the Ashes. It was a smorgasbord but even with all those screens, the eyes were fixated for the most part on the Matildas.

It was brilliant and breathtaking. It was gripping and nerve-racking. It felt like a landmark night for the sport in this country, an evening when the women rightly took centre stage.

There was an underlying message for all the footballing codes about the potential of female sport. Significantly for rugby league, it arrived the day before the new season of the NRLW was due to kick off with new teams and an expanded competition.

The NRL has read the tea leaves. They can see the benefit that comes with investing in the women’s game. As for the Matildas, they are due to play again on Thursday night against Nigeria. Kerr won’t be back but I will be.

So will the millions who tuned in to their World Cup opener. Just don’t tell my mates at the Broncos. Brisbane are due to play the Sydney Roosters that night but my other great love in life will have to play second fiddle on this occasion.

TIGERS’ TOP SIGNINGS COME WITH A RISK

The Wests Tigers have got themselves a heck of a footballer in Samuela Fainu. His brother Latu goes good too. If things go to plan, the Fainu boys will take centre stage in a revolution at the Tigers under Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall.

That said, their signings aren’t without risk, something that has been rammed home this week after it emerged Samuela was facing a code of conduct breach after last week’s NSW under 19s State of Origin game.

Fainu didn’t take kindly to what was said on the field and went looking for vengeance in the early hours of the morning.

His manager Mario Tartak responded by suggesting the NRL needed to come to their aid as they continue to be taunted over their brother Manase, the former Manly hooker now in prison over a stabbing incident.

Samuela Fainu in action for NSW under-19s. Picture: NRL Photos

Tartak suggested it was tantamount to bullying and wants head office to intervene. The NRL are willing to take a serious look at the matter but they need an official complaint. They need to hear from Tartak or Fainu. Even better, both.

The abuse certainly isn’t going anywhere. Even if the NRL step in, the Fainus will be a target because opposition now know they can get under their skin. They know how to press the buttons.

Talk to people at Manly and they’ll tell you Samuela is a serious talent. He is already in first grade at the age of 19 and could be anything.

But it could all unravel unless he learns to control his emotions.

Originally published as Why NRL can’t compete with the Matildas and Women’s World Cup