When it comes to female participation in the NRL, there has been much to celebrate in the past 18 months.

Significant achievements include the appointment of Raelene Castle as CEO of the Bulldogs, the appointment of Corene Strauss as Men of League CEO, the appointment of Rebecca Frizelle as the Titans Board Chair and Linda Burney as the ARL Indigenous Council Chair.

The Jillaroos won the Women’s Rugby League World Cup for the first time, we won the Trans-Tasman series in all three divisions last month and Kasey Badger and Belinda Sleeman have become the first female referees to be included in the full-time elite match officials squad.

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The stats don’t lie either. Female participation is on the rise in a major way. The NRL made a number of announcements this year.

• Female player registrations have increased 66 per cent over the last 12 months;

• 40 per cent of club positions are held by women;

• There are six women in NRL club board positions;

• 39 per cent of NRL fans are women;

• Throughout 1300 grassroots clubs, more than 2500 women hold senior volunteer positions; and

• The number of female coaches continues to rise with 265 in 2014.

Season 2014 is not done yet though. On Wednesday, another good piece of news was delivered. Belinda Sleeman will be a touch judge this weekend for the clash between the Wests Tigers and the Cronulla Sharks at Leichardt Oval on Saturday. This is a first for the NRL and we say bravo.

Sleeman came to officiating because she wanted to be involved in the game, but did not want to coach and did not want to play. As a result, she began officiating at age 18.

For many of you, Sleeman will not be a new face. She was a touch judge in the NYC qualifying final in 2013 between the Canberra Raiders and Canterbury Bulldogs, making her the first female to officiate in a Holden Cup finals game.

Sleeman is not the only female making waves in the NRL world when it comes to refereeing. Enter Kasey Badger.



For those of you who have not followed Kasey’s story, at 25, she began refereeing in the local Parramatta junior competition. In 2012 she made history when she became the first woman to referee in the Toyota Cup.

Since then, Kasey has appeared on the touch line and refereed the women’s All Stars versus the Indigenous Women’s All Stars which raised the curtain for the Australia v New Zealand Test. A wonderful achievement.

I’m standing behind Kasey and Belinda as they continue working towards coaching in the top grade.

We need to make it clear that women are welcome in all aspects of our game, not because they are female but because they are the best person for the job.

I am delighted for Belinda and will be keeping my eyes on these talented women in the next 12 months and in particular on Belinda this Saturday!