Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Club gets license to have NRL Women’s team in 2023

The Sharks are among four teams added to the NRLW competition next year. The club aims to entice existing and new players to wear their local colours and play on the biggest stage.

In a move set to shake up professional women’s rugby league, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks will have a new team in the 2023 competition.

The Sharks were granted one of four new licenses to compete in the NRLW competition from next year with the decision giving a pathway for local players and athletes.

The Sharks will be part of a 10-team NRLW competition in 2023, joining the Raiders, Cowboys and Tigers who have also been added to the existing six teams, an announcement on Wednesday said.

The Sharks this year provided 11 players to existing NRLW clubs from their Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership team; six were named in the NSW Women’s Origin squad, the majority having come through the junior pathways in the Shire.

The addition of the Sharks team now makes way for existing and new players to wear their local colours and compete on the biggest stage.

Sharks executive officer Dino Mezzatesta said he was thrilled to have the club accepted into the NRLW competition.

“Ever since the NRLW was proposed we’ve had a desire to be a part of the competition and for it to now be a reality is exciting,” Mezzatesta said.

“A lot of hard work has gone in, going back to 2016 when the Sharks had a vision for professional women’s rugby league and to have it now come to fruition, where talented young players can stay and play for their local club, is really positive for everybody involved.

“We will now continue that hard work to build a strong and competitive squad, while putting the right people and resources around the team to help make us successful from our first season,” he added.

When entering the Sharks submissions, more than 20 of the clubs women’s players - ranging from the premiership team to young girls from the Cronulla junior league - joined club officials, Mr Mezzatesta and chairman Steve Mace to board a specially branded Sharks bus before handing over the formal application to NRL executive officer Andrew Abdo.

Mr Mezzatesta said delivering the Sharks application was “more than a publicity stunt” and showed how serious the club was about being included in the competition.

“From the moment we began investing resources into our women’s program some six or seven years ago, we have wanted to offer opportunity for our players to compete at the highest level. Following our successful bid and acceptance now that will happen,” Mezzatesta said.

Roosters captain Corban Baxter poses with the Premiership trophy after her team's victory during the NRLW Grand Final match between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters at Moreton Daily Stadium, on April 10, 2022, in Brisbane, Australia. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

The 2022 NRLW season, set to get underway later this year, will remain at six teams, before expanding to 10 in 2023, ahead of possible further expansion in 2024.

A key element of the Sharks’ bid application centred around the rich talent pool in the Sutherland Shire, with the Sharks fielding a Tarsha Gale team since the inception of the competition in 2017.

Meantime Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership team captain Corban Baxter, along with Sharks teammates Hollie Wheeler and Kiana Takairangi, will impart their knowledge on the next crop of emerging players as coaches of the clubs under-17 Lisa Fiaola Cup squad.

The club was also hoping to entice women’s and girls playing non-contact forms of the game into the competition and the Sharks envisage a bright future not just for the 2023 season but well beyond.