How some of the most influential people in rugby league are supporting the development of the women’s game
IT is the next great stage in the game’s growth — and some of the NRL’s most influential figures are lending a hand to aid the development of women in rugby league.
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SOME of the game’s most influential figures are lending a hand to aid the development of women in rugby league.
The likes of Harvey Norman chief executive Katie Page, Bulldogs chair Lynne Anderson and Australian Rugby League Commissioner Amanda Laing are among a string of people who have been involved in mentoring a range of women involved in the game.
Page has spent time mentoring Sydney Roosters NRL women’s player and Jillaroo Shontelle Stowers.
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“She’s a very impressive lady and is very, very driven,” Stowers said. “Just sitting there and having a yarn with Katie she’s a really relatable person. She had a lot of interest in what I wanted to do with my future, she’s a massive supporter of women in league.”
This week is the annual Harvey Norman Women in League round. While the NRL will stage its first women’s premiership later this year, the influence of women in the game has never been greater highlighted by the involvement of Page, Anderson and Laing.
Page said it had been a “slow burn”.
“The Harvey Norman Women in League Round started nearly 12 years ago and it’s been this amazing journey,” Page said. “We just love the game. We love rugby league. So, the fact that you’ve got these women out there providing a more balanced view of the game to me is the best thing.
“I think you can tell today it’s been a slow burn, but my goodness me the contribution they’re making to the game means that a generation of young women coming through will aspire to do what they’re doing.”
Roosters coach Trent Robinson has been among the mentors alongside NRL official Kasey Badger and retired Canberra Raiders captain Alan Tongue.
Anderson, who was voted Bulldogs chair earlier this year, has spent her life involved in the game.
“Over time we’ve had women in administration but at the more junior levels if you like and I think the big difference for me, and I have to give a huge wrap to not just the game but to Katie Page where what has changed now is there is opportunity and there’s respect,” Anderson said. “There’s opportunity to say, ‘you know what? Let’s be a more inclusive game and let’s see we get the best person to do these jobs’ and there’s not a job that’s just exclusive for men and I that’s a really important change for me that I’m loving seeing.”
The theme for the women in league round is “developing, nurturing and celebrating pathways for women and girls in the game”. Laing said creating those pathways was “absolutely critical”.
“The adage of you can’t be what you don’t see is not just true for elite sportspeople, but also for people in all aspects of the game,” Laing said.
Originally published as How some of the most influential people in rugby league are supporting the development of the women’s game
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