Mahalia Murphy scores a try in the Jillaroos v Kiwi Ferns Test at Suncorp Stadium. Credit:Josh Bristow Such unorthodox thinking allowed the showpiece Test to cap off a weekend of build up, gave families the chance to attend and also delivered the gloriously sentimental image of sun-kissed chevron jerseys beneath a blue sky. Much has been written about the performance of Marika Koroibete for Fiji, Sam Kasiano's game saving tackle for Samoa and the changing of the guard between Australia and New Zealand but the real take away should be women's rugby league. This shouldn't be a surprise because the Australian Jillaroos and Kiwi Ferns provided three of the best matches at the Auckland Nines in January and also played out a last-minute thriller back in November. Fast, skillful and with more brutal big hits than recent rounds of NRL, Sunday's Test match at Lang Park between the World Cup holding Jillaroos and the intimidating Ferns was a fantastic step forward for the entire sport.

It was yet another reminder that any prejudice towards the women's game is completely unfounded, if not entirely moronic. The Jillaroos and Ferns are already stacked with ready-made superstars. Shane Webcke? Heather Ballinger. Billy Slater? Sam Hammond. Sam Burgess? Teuila Fotu-Moala. Greg Inglis? Mahalia Murphy. The NRL has spent a motza attempting to attract women recently, the Robbie Williams 'Let me Entertain You' promo this year featured just as many female actors as NRL stars, but have they finally woken up to sport's sleeping giant? Down in Melbourne, the Australian game has also shown significant interest in its forgotten athletes.

The annual women's exhibition match is now in its third year and plans for a national competition with 6-10 AFL teams are in motion for a possible 2017 commencement date. Commercially it's a stretch to see the viability of an Australian women's competition. In America the Women's National Basketball Association is almost 20 years old and only recently have half of its franchises managed to turn a profit. Altruistically though, allowing our female footballers access to the best stadiums, giving the matches increased coverage and paying the athletes for their hard work could be the key to unlocking demographics not yet won over by the NRL. Governing bodies would be unwise to ruin a good thing with undue saturation, however, which is why the NRL's approach has made sense thus far.

This isn't to give the NRL too much praise, the 2013 World Cup-winning Jillaroos have only been paid for Tests since last November and the coverage of Sunday's test was an embarrassment. Banished from TV in favour of a game only cared for by country NSW, the international Test match was broadcast on a live stream that resembled footage filmed on a calculator, if it was even working at all. The calamity was blamed on 'internet problems' at the ground, which could be forgivable, but in an age where even local junior clubs stream HD quality game days it was a regrettable situation. As a mea culpa the match will be replayed on free-to-air television (another first for women's league) in Sydney and Darwin as a curtain raiser for the Eels vs Storm telecast this Sunday. So despite the two steps forward one step back progression up to this point, where does the women's game go to from here?

As discussed, the financial doubt over a complete Holden Cup style league remains the issue for the foreseeable 'end-goal' of women's sport. But in small chunks the NRL has marketing gold in its hands. Why not stage matches around Origin or the Grand Final? Forget musical snoozefests like Train or Guy Sebastian, put on a QLD vs NSW women's nines match at half-time at the festival of hate. The NRL could even take a leaf from the AFL's book and play a drafted three match exhibition nines series on grand final day.

Put the teams in the jerseys of the two NRL grand finalists and play the three games in and around the Interstate, Holden Cup and NRL matches. Sights like debutant Mahalia Murphy sprinting 60 meters through the defense for a hat-trick will do more to sell rugby league to mothers and future Jillaroos than one hundred ads featuring women practising yoga while Greg Inglis walks past.