Newcastle is set to cement its status as the home of women's rugby league when the sport descends on the region for the inaugural NRLW Magic Round.
All 12 teams will converge on the Hunter next year for a two-day festival of rugby league, with more than 40,000 fans expected to cram into McDonald Jones Stadium across the weekend.
Newcastle has long been a hotbed for rugby league, the Knights women's team building on a foundation first laid when the men's side entered the NSWRL competition in 1988.
Next season's Magic Round will be the first in a three-year deal with the NSW Government, with the event to be held in regional towns across the state in the coming years.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the decision to award Newcastle the inaugural edition was a simple one.
"We see in many ways Newcastle and the Hunter being the home of rugby league," Minns said. "So many of the young players that are representing Australia and NSW and [playing] first grade, whether in the men's or women's game, grew up in the Hunter.
"It's a return home to the spiritual home of rugby league in the Hunter."
Tuesday's announcement comes on the back of a sold-out Women's State of Origin clash at McDonald Jones Stadium in June.
More than 25,000 fans crammed into the venue despite pouring rain, highlighting the region's appetite for elite women's rugby league.
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The support has extended to the Knights, with a passionate Newcastle fan base backing their team through a rapid rise to NRLW titles in 2022 and 2023.
While they fell short in 2024, big crowds watched the side on their run to the semi-final and Knights forward Simone Karpani said it's a reflection of the blue-collar nature of the region.
"Fans are people who support you when you win," Karpani said. "In Newcastle we have amazing supporters where they support us win, lose or draw. That's what makes them so special, they support us through everything.
"It's really exciting we get to have [Magic Round] at Newcastle because we've got a lot of great talent in the backyard, from under sixes all the way up to the women's game. For them to get to see us play at home, it's been said already, you can't be what you can't see."
NRL officials are confident they can replicate the success of the men's Magic Round, however they have made one key tweak for the women's edition.
Rather than remaining in one location each year, the event will travel around various regional NSW towns, with the state's west likely to host the 2026 version.
The move is a key part of a detailed plan to take rugby league, in particular the women's game, to the country and grow the sport outside metro areas.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said the NRLW Magic Round is a key pillar in the organisation's quest to establish direct links between grassroots and the elite level.
It's a process the players are determined to facilitate, with Wests Tigers skipper, and Bega product, Kezie Apps excited to connect with fans from across NSW and beyond.
"It's so important to have more games in regional areas and not only in the big stadiums," Apps said. "We need to go back to bush and take our games there.
"It's so important the regional areas get this opportunity to witness all the different teams playing, especially when fans like different players in different teams. They can just come to one venue and watch all our superstars playing for different teams.
"In the Newcastle area there's a lot of talent so for them to get the opportunity to come and watch female athletes inspire them, give them motivation and something to work towards is really special and important for our game."
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