Laurie Daley predicts women to hold down senior NRL men’s coaching positions

Laurie Daley believes a woman could become a full-time NRL assistant coach within five years – and then progress into head coaching role.

Titans coach Justin Holbrook, AJ Brimson, NRLW player Evania Pelite and coach Karyn Murphy. Picture Glenn Hampson

In what looms as a defining moment in rugby league, former Australian captain Laurie Daley has predicted a woman could become a full-time NRL assistant coach within five years – and then progress into a history-making head coaching role.

Daley, a robust supporter of the NRLW, claimed a woman holding down a future senior coaching role at an NRL club was “inevitable.”

He even claimed a woman could be appointed an NRL head coach over the next ten years in what would be a landmark move.

Daley’s comment come as NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said: “With the continual growth of the women’s game we will ultimately see more and more female leaders across both the NRLW and NRL and that is a tremendous outcome for rugby league.”

Women are already making considerable progress in coaching and a growing list of female coaches has emerged in recent years.

They include Karen Murphy, Kylie Hilder, Kate Mullaly, Ruan Sims, Jess Skinner, Alicia-Kate Hawke and Rebecca Young.

Kylie Hilder, head coach of the Blues is chaired by Jessica Sergis and Isabelle Kelly after winning the Women's State of Origin match between New South Wales and Queensland in June. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“I think it’s inevitable that it will happen, a woman being a head coach or an assistant coach,” Daley said. “That’s the way we’re tracking.

“With the rise of women’s sport, in particular rugby league, more people are getting involved and more people will want opportunities so if they’re good enough to win a position, then why not?

“We’re all open now to possibilities.

“I think in the next five years we might start to see women as assistant coaches and then in ten years we might see our first-ever NRL female head coach. There are opportunities there now that weren’t there years ago.

“If they get an opportunity and are prepared to put in the hard work then I think they would do a good job. I can see no reason why it wouldn’t be accepted.

“There is certainly an opportunity for one or two women to be promoted into those roles. Maybe it could start with a coaching job in the under 20s, SG Ball, Jersey Flegg but eventually they would get there.

“It might be ten years, maybe longer, but eventually we will have a female head coach in the NRL.”

In March this year, the AFL announced one of its 18 clubs will employ full-time female assistant coaches in men’s sides.

AFLW legend Daisy Pearce will be apart of Geelong’s senior men’s coaching staff when her playing career is finished. (Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Photos/Getty Images)

Asked would a female coach be a risk, Daley said: “I think any appointment would be a risk but you have to weigh up the person, their credentials, see how they operate, how long they’ve been coaching for and get feedback from clubs and players.

“I think the game would start with a woman being an assistant coach before progressing, like we see in several overseas sports.

“You may have some people say it can’t happen but once it happens, people would become more accepting.”

NRL clubs are moving towards the appointment of females at the top-end of their coaching rosters.

A Souths spokesman said: “We don’t currently have any female coaches in our senior or junior representative squads, however our proposal to the NRL regarding an NRLW license said our intention was to employ an all-female coaching staff for the NRLW team.”

And a Cowboys spokesman added: “We are currently in the process of assembling our coaching staff for our inaugural NRLW season, but our goal is to develop female coaches as well as players.”

The NRLW competition will expand from six to ten clubs this coming season.

Mullaly said last year: “As a female in rugby league I have obviously been given this assistant coach role for a reason and I think just having confidence.

“Obviously it’s a male dominated game, it always has been and the other coaches are male.”

Originally published as Laurie Daley predicts women to hold down senior NRL men’s coaching positions