The NRLW season has been officially postponed again due to Sydney's COVID outbreak, with the season to be played in early 2022.
With Sydney still in lockdown, state borders slammed shut and the men's NRL season only able to be completed because of a Queensland based hub with tight quarantine, isolation and biosecurity arrangements, the NRL were left with no chance but to postpone the women's version.
The season was originally supposed to get underway during Round 23 of the men's competition, with five regular season rounds, to go with semi-finals and a final.
It was then postponed to October with teams unable to start pre-season during the lockdown, even with the New Zealand Warriors pulling out of the competition.
However, the six clubs - the St George Illawarra Dragons, Sydney Roosters, Brisbane Broncos, Parramatta Eels, Newcastle Knights and Melbourne Storm - were today informed that the revised start date won't be possible either.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said all optionts were explored to play the competition this year, however, it simply couldn't happen. He also acknowledged most athletes in the NRLW aren't full time athletes, meaning it would be impossible for them to enter biosecurity bubbles, in much the same way reserve grade in the men's competition had to be cancelled.
"The rescheduling provides us with an opportunity to create a full 12-month calendar for women's rugby league in 2022 and importantly means our athletes will not have to relocate," Abdo said.
"This [delay] presents an opportunity to build the profile of the women's game next year and we are looking forward to making the most of that opportunity.
"Today's decision highlights the Commission's absolute commitment to ensuring the 2021 season is played.
"We explored all avenues, but it is simply not possible.
"When the men's competition was relocated to Queensland there were 77 cases in NSW on that day."
"There's now consistently over 1000 cases a day and restrictions around border closures are much tighter than they were in the middle of the year.
"We also acknowledge that nearly all of our NRLW athletes are not full-time athletes.
"They have careers off the field that limit the ability to relocate for a long period of time and that's something we also considered carefully."
It now means 2022 will become an enormous year for women in rugby league, with the NRLW, followed by the state-based competitions, Women's Stater of Origin and a Rugby League World Cup. It's understood the season of NRLW played at the start of 2022 will still be named the 2021 season, with a fifth instalment of the competition which launched in 2018 to be played later in the year.
There are concerns for a group of players who relocated from New Zealand ahead of the tournament however. With the border between the two countries slammed shut, those players are now left in limbo.
The NRL have acknowledged they are working to find a solution, however, the RLPA womenโs players advisory group (WPAG) have slammed the NRL in a statement.
โWe are committed to advancing the interests of the entire playing group and Womenโs Rugby League and we know itโs more important than ever to support each other and offer our voice when we can, and this is one of those moments,โ a statement from the WPAG read.
โThe New Zealand-based players made a significant personal commitment to relocate to Australia to play in the NRLW, and they are now stranded, unable to return home.
โFrustratingly, the communication, level of support and understanding of the effects the delayed competition announcement would have on the repatriation of these players by NRL leadership, has not met our collective expectations.โ
