NRLW 2023: The biggest talking points to expect this season

Grudge matches, airing grievances between ex-teammates and more cross-code superstars to uncover. These are the biggest talking points to come in the 2023 NRLW season.

Yasmin Clydsdal celebrates her try in the NRLW 2022 Grand Final against the Eels.

The biggest NRLW season yet kicks off this weekend and the talking points will come thick and fast.

Bad blood between ex-teammates, new rivalries and the impact of the media black out.

It’s all be talked about over the next nine rounds of the women’s competition.

GRUDGE MATCHES

There’s not a spotlight on it (yet) but there’s a hint of bad blood within the playing group over big name player swaps over the off-season.

There was a lot of players movement for the 2023 season just by nature of expansion and the introduction of multi-year contracts, so moves were not rare or unexpected.

But Newcastle captain Hannah Southwell’s gibe to local media that there were ‘egos’ in the premiership-winning team season (see below) didn’t go unnoticed by anyone this week.

Hunter junior Hannah Southwell has been chosen to captain the Knights, as they look to defend their NRLW title.

But the 24-year-old hasn't recovered from knee surgery in time to lead her side out against the Dragons on Saturday.@mitchhughesnbn#NBNNewspic.twitter.com/02x3zRehrS

— NBN News (@nbnnews) July 17, 2023

Millie Boyle (Roosters), Romy Teizel (Broncos), Kirra Dibb (Cowboys) and Bobbi Law (Dragons) all left the Knights this year, and will all face the club again at some stage.

They didn’t do anything wrong by leaving, but Southwell’s comments show at least a few players feel some type of way about it.

QUEENSLAND RIVALRIES

The Gold Coast and Brisbane have had a rivalry for the past two seasons, but adding a third Queensland team into the mix with North Queensland just introduces a new angle for more spice.

The women’s game needs as many genuine rivalries as possible to create interest in an already saturated market – especially with so many eyeballs on the FIFA Women’s World Cup in the country at the moment.

The addition of the North Queensland Cowboys will spice things up. Picture: Alix Sweeney / Cowboys

Soon the NRL finals will start too, and anything the NRLW can bring to the table in terms of storylines, personalities, and especially passionate rivalries, will be incredibly valuable to the success of the competition.

With Scott Prince taking over at the once dominant Broncos, Karyn Murphy assembling a squad to envy at the Titans, and Ben Jeffries building a brand new team at the Cowboys, Queensland could be in for a big year. And in all honesty, they need to be after a few lean seasons.

Who's No.1 in the NRLW?@PamelaWhaley ranks the Top 30 players in the competition, see who comes out on top: https://t.co/XRqs5P3TrE

— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) July 19, 2023

EXPANDING TOO SOON?

It’s been a radical jump from six teams to 10 this season and there’s plenty of anxiety in the women’s game around how the competition will hold up.

There’s a fairly even spread of top talent across the teams, but the issue will be depth in each squad once injuries and suspensions start to hit in the new, longer season.

There isn’t a lot of experience to dip into straight away. And any squad members not in the starting 17 each week have no football to be playing instead, because the state competitions are over.

Any lags in the quality will be especially obvious coming off 2022, which was an incredible year for women’s rugby league. The two NRLW seasons gave the players plenty of momentum, into a ripping State of Origin game and then a World Cup at the end of the season.

It created big expectations for what lies ahead in 2023, but whether or not there’s enough talent to execute it remains to be seen.

Corban Baxter is preparing to make her NRLW return for the Sydney Roosters.

RLPA MESS

The longer this media blackout drags on, the worse it is for the women’s game.

Yes, the game’s female players also deserve to have the full protection of a collective bargaining agreement. That much is obvious.

But there are so many incredible stories within the women’s game that aren’t being told right now because they’re on a media boycott.

Botielle Vette-Welsh’s return from a devastating knee injury to play fullback with the Wests Tigers. Corban Baxter’s Roosters comeback post-partum after missing out on last season with the birth of her child.

The coverage of these stories will suffer because the players won’t be able to express their emotions, thoughts and opinions before and after the games.

And it’s a shame because it’s these kinds of personalities and stories of perseverance that fans fall in love with. And now, with the competition fighting for as much coverage as possible, that precious moment in the spotlight will be gone.

INCOMING. 💥#PARRAdise#NRLWpic.twitter.com/nOdIpdLxj9

— Parramatta Eels (@TheParraEels) July 20, 2023

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The days of cheerleading for the women’s game are over. Now that there’s more professionalism in the NRLW and there’s more money invested into the game, the big questions need to be asked. That means more critical analysis of the game.

Are halves pairings working? Are there poor set finishes? Is someone out of form? Is the coaching style not up to scratch? Are there culture concerns at clubs?

It all needs to be spoken about (respectfully of course) in order to move the women’s game towards a more professional competition, and to be seen in the eyes of the public more professionally too.

It’s a different game to the men’s, but it needs to be treated equally as seriously.

CONTRACT LENGTHS

Now that players can sign multi-year deals, the length of contracts becomes a massive talking point.

The knock on impact for salary caps is just too important to ignore, because we’ve all seen the pitfalls of deals gone wrong in the men’s game. A few wrong roster choices and a club can be dealing with damage for years to come.

That will now be a factor within the NRLW too.

There’s only a handful of players on truly long term deals, but Newcastle have the most with fullback Tamika Upton and English recruit Georgia Roche both signed for five-years. The Southwell sisters, Hannah and Jesse, both have three year deals with options for the final two years (club options for Hannah and mutual options for Jesse).

The Roosters have the only other player on a long-term deal. Star prop Boyle signed for three years with 2026 and 2027 as options in her favour.

The rest of the contracts across the game range between a one and three-year investment.

The gamble of a big contract could mean the clubs are getting a bargain come 2027, but time will tell.

Rugby 7s star Tyla Nathan-Wong ha sjoined the Dragons. Picture: AAP Image

CROSS-CODE STARS

The influx of Rugby 7s stars gave the NRLW a huge boost a few seasons ago, but with each passing year more are making the switch to rugby league.

This year, the Dragons have recruited Tyla Nathan-Wong, an Olympian from the New Zealand

Rugby 7s program, where she was named player of the year - twice. The Titans also landed her long-term teammate Niall Williams-Guthrie, while the Raiders signed fellow Black Ferns player Cheyelle Robins-Reti, who has been a part of the sevens and 15s program in recent years.

There’s every chance the former professionals will hit the ground running the same way Emma Tonegato, Evania Pelite and Gayle Broughton did in their first seasons.

AND THE LAST THING …

The Roosters are hot favourites for the title given their incredible roster, which includes Boyle, Tarryn Aiken, Amber Hall, Jess Sergis and Isabelle Kelly. They’re gunning for a second premiership in three seasons, and that pressure will weigh on them through the season. Whether they achieve or not, they’ll be in the headlines for it.

Originally published as NRLW 2023: The biggest talking points to expect this season