It doesn’t seem like such a revolutionary act – the simple desire to play rugby league - but for so long, females were denied that opportunity.
In a milestone many would never have imagined, six pioneering women took to the stage at the SCG last Wednesday to accept their induction into the NRL’s Hall of Fame.
As the first female inductees the names Karyn Murphy, Tarsha Gayle, Katrina Fanning, Tahnee Norris, Nat Dwyer and Veronica White will be remembered long into the future.
And while their induction is a huge individual achievement it is also a nod to all the women who helped dig the well, not knowing how just how far the game would come.
2024 Hall of Fame Induction - Tahnee Norris
Back when they were forming their own independent competitions, selling raffle tickets and selling their cars to fund their footballing dreams, there was no foreseeing the sellout crowds for a three-game State of Origin series and an expanding national competition in the NRLW.
When these first inductees said they wanted to play the game, they were often met with scepticism in some corners and outright ridicule in others.
The Greatest Game of All really wasn’t for all at that time, but these women simply wanted to play and found a way to make it happen.
Although she is perhaps one of the lesser known of the cohort, which includes State of Origin and NRLW coaches, TV commentators and the ARL Indigenous Council chair, there arguably would not be a women’s State of Origin series now if it wasn’t for the work of Veronica White.
2024 Hall of Fame Induction - Veronica White
White, who remains actively involved in developing the next generation of players and has also been honoured with the naming of the Veronica White Medal, was Australia Women’s Rugby League secretary before the women’s game came under the umbrella of the NRL.
In 1999, she was also the Queensland Women’s Rugby League secretary and oversaw the administration of the NSW Women’s Rugby League in their transition.
2024 Hall of Fame Induction - Tarsha Gale
Among her many duties was planning and managing the logistics around the inaugural Women’s Interstate Challenge match between Queensland and New South Wales, a game she would play in herself alongside Murphy, celebrating an 18-16 win over the old enemy.
“As I was the QWRL secretary and the AWRL secretary, much of the organisation of the teams fell back on me in the actual planning and making sure everything was covered,” White told me in 2020.
“I was also overseeing the administration of the NSWWRL in their transition, so it was a bit hectic at times.
“As we had made significant changes at the beginning of the year in terms of the representative teams that would compete at the national titles of that year, much of the organisation of coaching staff and management for each team was already set up. It was just a matter of getting the best teams out there on the day.
“I honestly cannot remember how we managed it with the funding that we had, because the AWRL was financed by its registered players through a player affiliation fee.
2024 Hall of Fame Induction - Katrina Fanning
"It was something like $5 per player… Needless to say, at times we were working in the hundreds of dollars, not the thousands, but we made it work.”
Norris recalls contending with the condescending ‘girls don’t play footy' attitudes and other comments questioning if they really wanted to play contact rugby league, as well as the difficulties the players faced with the lack of support outside of family and friends.
“My family was always hugely supportive, but unfortunately this wasn’t always the case with the diehard fans of footy who believed women ran the tuck shop at the footy fields, not play the game,” Norris said.
“Attitudes changed slowly when people watched us play, they realised we could actually play the game and enjoyed watching us.
“Obviously, we always paid our way for any rep teams, this was always hard and even meant good players would withdraw from teams if they couldn’t afford it.
“We’d be out the front of Bunnings selling tickets to try and pay for rep trips. I even remember coming across Jeff Thompson (Australian cricket legend) out the front of Bunnings once and talking to him about why we were raising money.
“He couldn’t believe we had to pay our own way, so needless to say he bought a ticket."
2024 Hall of Fame Induction - Karyn Murphy
Now the Maroons coach, Norris said there has also been a huge change in the equipment and support staff available to players.
“The uniforms were also a funny one, we’d end up with one training shirt – men’s size – huge, one pair of training shorts that I’d have to roll up a couple of times to fit and the playing kit for the Maroons team," she said.
“Nowadays, there are bags full of gear for the girls, they can get the female cut and they always fit.
“As for injuries and we what had for support staff – it was always tough one not travelling with physios for a contact sport and (trying to get) access to top quality sports medical staff.
2024 Hall of Fame Induction - Natalie Dwyer
“This is obviously changed now but I remember we would even have to strap ourselves (or other team members) before a game and you would need to bring your own strapping tape.”
Times have changed so much that most of these women are continuing to work within the game at both the grassroots and elite level, long after they hung up their playing boots.
The concept of women having full-time playing careers is also no longer a pipedream, but an inevitability in the foreseeable future with the NRLW continuing its strategic expansion.
“I love the fact the attitudes have changed, not only from the fans watching the game, but to the administrators behind the scenes in the NRL, QRL and NSWRL who now support the women’s game the way it should be supported,” Norris said.
“I also love the amount the media have supported the women’s game now and how the girls are shown as great models for not only footy, but for all girls wanting to achieve their goals.”
