Head office revealed a drastically revamped schedule for next year's expanded season on Thursday, with the addition of Canterbury and return of the Warriors.
There will be significant increase to 33 double-headers alongside men's matches at the same venue, as part of player-backed push to improve crowds.
But there are other potential impacts of the move, namely in games being played at the same time as NRL matches elsewhere.Â
Only seven games clashed with men's fixtures last season, or around 15 per cent of regular-season matches.
Ordinarily, that was during a Sunday afternoon game.
Next year's expanded competition will have 30 games clash with the men, representing 45 per cent of matches.
Two NRLW games will clash with men's matches on most Saturday afternoons, along with one on each Sunday afternoon.
JUST IN: The draw for the NRLW Telstra Premiership 2025 season is out now 🔔 — NRLW (@NRLWomens) For all the details: https://t.co/jajHbtOzHk pic.twitter.com/PUuKibecEfNovember 21, 2024
"The female players want to play on weekends in front of their home crowds," NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said.Â
"The opportunity for clubs to celebrate having both their teams play at the same stadium was one of the considerations.Â
"The other consideration is that a lot of the female players have jobs or are studying.Â
"They're not full-time professionals, so playing games on a Thursday or Friday in non-optimal periods – or even very early on a Saturday – has an impact on them."
The clashes mean women's matches will therefore be moved to the non-NRL channel on Foxtel, while the Nine Network will continue to broadcast the games.
The NRL is determined to sell the rights to the NRLW in the next broadcast deal from 2028, eyeing it as a way to increase player pay.
Big ratings will likely be crucial in growing the value of the game.
The clashes are likely to renew questions over whether the NRLW should have clear air at the start of the season, as it was in the COVID-affected 2021-22 summer.
"The commission is of the view that rugby league is a winter sport," Abdo said.Â
"We play two grand finals on the same day, and there aren't many sports in the world that have that opportunity ... front of 40,000 seeing the NRLW Grand Final live."
Jayme Fressard crashes over in the Roosters' 2024 grand final win against Cronulla. (Mark Evans/AAP PHOTOS)
Cronulla and Parramatta will kick off the season on July 3, as one of three Thursday night clashes featuring only Sydney clubs.
Games will also be played on Friday evenings in the final two rounds of the season.
Ratings have been significantly higher for weeknight NRLW matches, drawing in more than one million viewers when there are no men's matches.
Magic Round has been introduced for Newcastle on August 2 and 3, while the finals series will expand to six teams over three weeks.
21°C