Regional Rugby League Community Fights To Save Women’s Competition

Players, parents, clubs and supporters across Western NSW are calling on NSW Rugby League to reverse its position to discontinue the Western Women’s Rugby League (WWRL) Spring Competition from 2027.

The competition provides dedicated rugby league for girls and women from Under 12s through to Women’s Opens and brings together players from communities across Western NSW, including Bathurst, Orange, Mudgee, Forbes, Parkes, Coonabarabran and surrounding areas.

Campaign supporters say the issue is not simply the loss of another sporting competition. For some regional players, it could mean losing their opportunity to play rugby league altogether. “You cannot grow the women’s game by taking opportunities away from women and girls.”

The WWRL provides an established regional competition for communities where individual towns do not always have enough players to sustain teams across every female age group.

NSW Rugby League’s Women in League Strategy identifies expanding participation opportunities for women and girls as a priority. Supporters of the WWRL say discontinuing an established regional competition from 2027 is difficult to reconcile with that objective, particularly while equivalent opportunities are not currently available across the region.

Supporters are calling for NSW Rugby League to reconsider the decision and work directly with clubs, players and communities on a model that protects participation while continuing to grow women’s rugby league across Western NSW.

“Regional girls should not have to lose an established competition now in the hope that something equivalent might exist later.”

The Save the Western Women’s Rugby League Competition campaign has been established to give players, families and communities a voice and to demonstrate the level of support for retaining the competition.

“This is bigger than one season or one club. It is about whether girls growing up in regional NSW have genuine opportunities to play the game.”

A public petition has also been launched, sign here https://petitions.getup.org.au/p/SaveWWRL