NRLW Tackle: Pamela Whaley reveals her likes and dislikes from round 1

Injures soured the opening round of the NRLW season for some players, but not for tough Knights prop Tayla Predebon. Pamela Whaley reveals her likes and dislikes from round 1.

The Tigers have made a blazing start to the season. NRL Imagery

Wests Tigers have finally given their fans something to cheer about after two winless months.

The club’s NRLW team - playing their first ever first grade game - scored a stunning maiden victory and they celebrated like they won the grand final.

Pamela Whaley reveals her likes and dislikes from the opening round of the expanded NRLW competition.

ROUND 1 LIKES

FOOTY IS BACK

There were concerns that expanding the women’s competition too soon would dilute the quality of the competition, but from the looks of round one it’s no issue.

All five games were of high quality – barring the Wests Tigers’ win over Parramatta, which blew out at the back end of the game as fatigue set in.

All the trademarks of the NRLW were all there – minimal wrestle, bravery, bone-crunching hits and slick ball work.

Women’s footy is back and it’s about time.

DREAM DEBUT

It’s been two months since Wests Tigers had something to cheer about, but the club finally scored their first win since May 20 on Sunday afternoon.

Led by coach Brett Kimmorley, the Tigers overcame a slow start to run down Parramatta 36-8 at Commbank Stadium in their first ever NRLW match.

The NRL side hasn’t had a win since round 12 against the Cowboys, and the entire club has been plagued by misery this season, so Sunday’s win was extra special.

The first of many 🔊🆙
That felt good 🤩 pic.twitter.com/QfaZcIUZX1

— Wests Tigers (@WestsTigers) July 23, 2023

There were emotional scenes at fulltime from players in the sheds who broke a drought that wasn’t even theirs, giving fans something to cheer about – finally.

SHARKS IMPRESS ON DEBUT

It’s been a long road for the Sharks to get an NRLW license too, and their emphatic 28-14 win over fellow newcomers Canberra was a huge moment for the club.

Emma Tonegato, the club’s major signing, showed she’s every inch of the star they need her to be with a try, four tackle-breaks, a line-break and a two line-break assists in her debut for the Sharks.

Wests Tigers celebrate their first NRLW win. Picture: NRL Imagery

YOUNG TALENT TIME

It was a breakthrough in many ways, but Wests Tigers unearthed two young stars on Sunday in Ebony Prior and Losana Lutu.

Lutu, who was at the Eels last season, is sure to be a star of the future.

She stunned for NSW in their under-19s loss to Queensland a few weeks back, but she changed the game at five-eighth when she came on in the second half for the Tigers on Sunday.

A direct ball-runner with a big body and precise kicking game, 19-year-old Lutu has given coach Brett Kimmorley plenty to think about.

Young dummy-half Ebony Prior was also electric on debut for the Tigers, a small but mighty No.9 who helped turn the game around with plenty of speed from behind the ruck.

TRY JULY CELEBRATIONS

NRLW players didn’t waste an opportunity to participate in Try July and raise $5,000 with Sportsbet for Nathan Stapleton and Daniel Anderson across the weekend.

The creativity was raging.

There was the Matlidas’ penalty goal, the genie, the family photo, the Viking Clap, the limbo and the 10 pin bowling strike.

With only two rounds of NRLW in July, they’re making the most of it.

ROOSTERS ROCK ON

The Roosters are premiership favourites for a reason and they showed it on Saturday night.

The star-studded side ran down the Broncos 36-18 on the Sunshine Coast, but it was especially significant for fullback Corban Baxter, who just may be an athletic freak in the best way possible.

The 29-year-old gave birth to her second son Beauden in January, but fought her way back to make her NRLW return on Saturday night with the Roosters.

She didn’t miss a physical beat either – scoring two tries with 82 running metres and four tackle-breaks.

Corban Baxter celebrates a try for the Roosters. Picture: NRL Imagery

EVANIA PELITE

A switch to fullback from the centres was an inspired move for the former Australian Rugby 7s champion, who was in a class of her own for the Titans in their win over North Queensland.

She scored a try, ran for 201 metres, had 14 tacklebreaks, three offloads and a linebreak for the most dominant performance of the round.

She leads the Dally M count with six votes, along with Roosters centre Jess Sergis (6), Tigers hooker Ebony Prior (5), Sharks hooker Quincy Dodd (5) and Tigers prop Sarah Togatuki (5).

ROUND 1 DISLIKES

INJURIES

Gold Coast have copped a huge blow early in the year with Jillaroos and NSW star Taliah Fuimaono suffering an ankle injury that forced her from the field.

She went down with no contact which is a big concern for a player who has a long history of shoulder and knee injuries.

The club is waiting on results of scans on Monday to assess the extent of the injury but any time off will be an issue for the Titans.

Newcastle prop Tayla Predebon showed courage to play on with a dislocated finger which was jutting out of her hand at a cringeworthy angle. Once she had it put back in place she marched back on to help the Knights to their 32-16 win over the Dragons.

Elsewhere, Roosters prop Amber Hall suffered a foot injury that will require scans, while Broncos winger Julia Robinson was also taken from the field with a hamstring injury that will likely sideline her for a few weeks.

Nasty finger dislocation for Tayla Predebon - was able to return to the game after finger was reduced (put back in). Common for players to do so but notable here that she stayed in the line for an entire defensive set after this happened, involved in 2 tackles before coming off pic.twitter.com/A4mAq33UBr

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) July 22, 2023

Tayla Predebon opens the scoresheet 📃 #NRLWKnightsDragonspic.twitter.com/1zItuimkFk

— NRLW (@NRLWomens) July 22, 2023

MEDIA BAN

The men’s and women’s athletes are united in a media boycott in their fight for a resolution to the collective bargaining agreement negotiations, but the sacrifice between them is undeniably different.

It’s the very definition of equity v equality.

The boycott of media on game days is equally applied, but it costs one playing group a whole lot more than the other, so it’s not equitable, and therefore not fair.

The men are marching towards the end of their season with rusted on fans and analysis available from any number of ex-players. But the women are fighting for coverage and a fan base to help grow the game at this crucial time, at the start of their biggest season ever.

Without players to speak to after the game, it’s a tough ask for journalists to attend games when press conferences are live-streamed. Games that include a tough road trip like Newcastle or Wollongong are almost a no-go.

That’s where the women, the competition, and the fans they’ve managed to find lose out more.

St George Illawarra coach Jamie Soward found himself with no one to talk to after their loss to the Knights on Saturday night because no one was there to cover the game.

The NRL eventually put together a press conference so he could answer for his side’s performance, but it was an hour after the game.

There were so many good stories across the weekend, but by Monday when players are able to talk, the world has moved on.

Broncos winger Ashleigh Werner was sent off.

THAT BITES

Ash Werner has learnt the hard way that there’s many camera angles watching every move on the football field at the NRLW level.

The Broncos rookie has been referred straight to the judiciary for allegedly biting Roosters winger Jayme Fressard in her side’s 36-18 loss on Saturday night.

She became the first player sent off in NRLW history, and rightly so. Biting is crook, and there’s no place for it in rugby league.

Any ban she cops will be a huge price to pay considering the season is nine games long, and that will be a consideration when she faces the panel on Tuesday night.

NRL CROSS OVER

These last few months of the season will be a festival of footy, but the timing of the NRLW season creates an awkward situation for sports fans.

Crowd attendances weren’t what they could be for the women’s game across round one, and that’s purely because they’re competing with NRL games all over Sydney and in Queensland. The FIFA Women’s World Cup further dilutes the spectator pool.

The timing of the NRLW season has been an ongoing debate for years and it’ll continue to be until there’s a spot in the season carved out specifically for and dedicated to the women’s game.

Originally published as NRLW Tackle: Pamela Whaley reveals her likes and dislikes from round 1