When the NRL announced it will feature an international women’s game at the Las Vegas extravaganza, former Jillaroos and NSW captain Tarsha Gale could not have been more proud.
“We’ve all seen the clips on the net with the American public’s reaction to the big hits and spectacular tries that our men’s game brought them last year,” she said.
ABC Sport is live blogging every round of the AFL and NRL seasons in 2025.
“Imagine their reaction when they see our Jillaroos giving the same product.”
Organisers have also shown confidence in the test match between Australia and England, by giving it a prime time slot in between the two men’s NRL matches.
“We’re going to get millions of viewers and so many more eyes on the sport,” Gale said.
“Vegas will go viral with the women’s game.”
The Test match will be the first women’s game of any sport to be played at Allegiant Stadium since it opened in 2020.
Australia and England are ranked first and third in the world, but with limited opportunities for international competition, they have not played each other since 2017.
“I’m sure the English women will really want to bring it to the Jillaroos and knock us off that number one podium,” Gale said.
The high-flying Jillaroos are set for a Test against an unfamiliar opponent. (Getty Images: Joe Allison)
What has England been up to?
Australia and England have both made strides in women’s rugby league, but the result of Sunday’s match will confirm which nation is making better progress in developing elite female players.
England coach Stuart Barrow believes the women’s game has grown, “remarkably on both sides of the world”.
The England equivalent of the NRLW is the RFL Women’s Super League, which was established in 2017 with four teams, and has since expanded to 12.
“We’ve got quite a lot of youngsters here now knocking on the door. So I think the growth of the game has just gone in a phenomenal level,” Barrow said.
Attendances in the two competitions last season were not far apart, with the NRLW seeing an average of 1,864 fans per game, while Women’s Super League received 1,666 per game.
England’s squad members play in the Women’s Super League, while a few have made it over to the NRLW. (Getty Images: Alex Livesey)
Regular competition has also raised the standard for England’s national side. In November last year, they carved up Wales 82-0 at Headingley, their biggest ever margin of victory. They are raring to go against Australia.
“Just so we can take some learnings from it and actually see where we are and use that as a benchmark,” Barrow said.
“I’ve got a healthy respect for the Jillaroos, they’re world champions for a reason.”
England coach Stuart Barrow says he had been pushing their governing body to set up a match with the Jillaroos. (Supplied: England RFL)
But plenty believe the NRLW is one of the best female competitions across all rugby codes, including Tarsha Gale.
“Whilst they’ve got a strong competition, there’s a big gap between the strength of our competition and what they’ve got over in England,” she said.
Some of the England players will bring valuable NRLW experience, including Knights halfback Georgia Roche and Raiders backrower Holly-Mae Dodd.
Changing of the guard for dominant Jillaroos
The Jillaroos are coming off a flawless campaign at last year’s Pacific Cup, including back-to-back wins over the Kiwi Ferns.
However, captain Ali Brigginshaw said she expects England to be more physical and fiery than New Zealand.
But preparation for Vegas has been less than ideal, with the postponement of a training camp, ahead of coach Brad Donald’s resignation.
Donald was in the role for eight years and built the Jillaroos into a dominant side, but he came under fire for not selecting the NRLW’s Dally M medallist Olivia Kernick in his squad, and for an alleged disparaging comment made about a journalist.
With prop Millie Elliot unavailable, Dally M medallist and Roosters premiership player Olivia Kernick is back in the Jillaroos. (Getty Images: Mike Egerton/PA Images)
Assistant Jess Skinner is now leading the side as interim coach.
“I believe what Brad Donald built was great. Jess will only add to that and build on that platform,” Gale said.
“All the players totally respect that. But I think they’ve moved on with the change, and I don’t think it’ll affect their game.”
There have been calls to consider appointing a high-profile former player, such as Andrew Johns or Michael Ennis, who could coach the side and draw more hype.
But Gale believes the next permanent coach must have a solid resume in the female game.
“Putting a token past male rugby league legend in the top job as head coach of the Jillaroos, I think that sort of suggestion’s a bit rash.”
“I want to see the women in the top coaching positions, but I’m also aware that they’ve got to do their time,” she said.
Australia won the 2022 Women’s Rugby League World Cup final at Old Trafford in Manchester. Even so, the competition did inspire local players in England. (Getty Images: David Davies/PA Images)
Gale hopes 2025 will ignite more competition in international women’s rugby league.
“I want Jillaroos to stay number one, but I’d love it if there were 10 other countries nipping at their heels,” she said.
“And it’s spectaculars like Vegas that can get the interest globally.”
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