‘It does suck’: NRL must find a way to reward NRLW minor premiers

The stadium debate for NRL finals has been raging for years, but it’s time to look at a big problem in the women’s game.

The Roosters are hoping for a similar result to the last time they played in a semi-final. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The NRL says it will look to bring in incentives to claim the NRLW minor premiership as the first-placed Roosters prepare to play their semi-final against Parramatta in neutral territory at Suncorp Stadium.

As it stands, there is no prize money or shield for the team that finishes first in the women’s competition, but the NRL will look to bring that in line with the men’s game when the NRLW expands to 10 teams in 2023.

The Roosters went through the regular season undefeated but won’t have home ground advantage on Sunday, with both semi-finals and two Prime Minister’s XIII matches to be played in Brisbane.

The top-four system was brought in last season, with both semis played in Sydney, but that should change now that we’ve seen there’s an appetite for stand-alone matches that would reward the higher-ranked teams.

The irony is there are no Queensland teams in the finals after the Broncos and Titans sensationally missed out on the top four.

It was a safe bet at the time that Brisbane would have been there given they won the first four minor premierships, but the NRLW fixtures were locked in a few weeks ago and the Broncos missed out on for and against.

The Broncos missed out on the finals for the first time after they were beaten by the Eels. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

The Roosters aren’t complaining given they finished fourth and beat Brisbane at Leichhardt Oval in the semis last season, while they’ve also hosted two matches at Allianz Stadium this season.

“I’m not bothered at all,” coach John Strange said.

“We got to play at the opening of Allianz, so we were the first team to play there.

“While that’s exciting, the field is 100 by 68 (metres) and the grass is green, and that’s exactly the same as Suncorp Stadium. Just give us a footy field – it doesn’t matter what state it’s in – and we’ll do our best.”

There was room for the NRLW matches to be played on Saturday before the NRL preliminary final at Accor Stadium or on Sunday at CommBank Stadium before or after the NSW Cup Grand Final.

The four fixtures on Sunday should attract a big crowd in Brisbane, but it means Roosters fans in Sydney will again miss out on seeing their team in a big game given last year’s NRLW decider was played in Redcliffe.

The Roosters got the job done outside Sydney in last season’s grand final. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

“It does suck a little bit, but it’s good for exposure taking it up there and there should be a big crowd with four games played on the same day,” superstar centre Jess Sergis said.

“I think it’s great for the game to take it to Brisbane because Suncorp is such a great field to play at. We have the same goals no matter where we play so nothing changes for us.”

The Roosters will head into Sunday’s semi against the Eels as raging favourites having finished the regular season unbeaten and averaging roughly 31 points per game.

It’s a far cry from scraping into the finals last season before they went on a giant-killing run to claim the club’s first title.

“It is a little bit disappointing not to be playing in Sydney,” skipper Isabelle Kelly said.

“But we’ve got a job to do and these semi-finals are so brutal as we saw last season. It doesn’t matter where you sit on the ladder or where you’re playing because all four teams are going to bring it knowing they can be knocked out.

“It is a bit disappointing that it’s in Brisbane, but we’re there to do a job.”

Kelly said taking on a Parramatta team with nothing to lose was scary, but she had full confidence in her team to take care of business because they were “definitely playing better than their premiership campaign”.

Raecene McGregor is one of the favourites for this year’s Dally M Medal. Picture; Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The players and coaching staff stopped short of calling it the most dominant regular season in NRLW history, but there’s no denying that halfback Raecene McGregor has produced numbers we’ve never seen before.

She has nine try assists from four matches this season compared with the three she set up in her previous 18 appearances.

The star playmaker also averages more than 100 running metres per game and is second for line-break assists.

“I’m so happy for Rae,” Kelly said.

“I’ve always thought she’s one of the best halfbacks in the competition for a long time.

“I’ve got to play with her for the past two seasons and I’ve seen just how smart she is. When she goes out on the field, she takes it to a whole new level and I don’t know what we’d do without her.

“She’s had one of the best seasons I’ve ever seen.”

Originally published as ‘It does suck’: NRL must find a way to reward NRLW minor premiers