NRLW in consolidation period but expansion not off the cards in 2026

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has emphasised the need for “sustainable growth” in the women’s game as the newly expanded NRLW competition starts this week.

The entrance of the Bulldogs and Warriors in 2025 has taken the total number of teams in the competition to 12, but while the Abdo said it was crucial to consolidate the current pool of players, he didn’t rule out expansion in 2026.

“I think it’s important to make sure that you’re investing in grassroots and in talent development, and you’re opening up age group competitions so that everyone can play the game, and then you’re thinking about how you can harness talent from multiple ways,” Abdo said.

“New markets are really important for us. I’ve spoken about New Zealand, but ultimately thinking about how we can lure talent from other markets is also to the front of mind, but ultimately, it’s making sure that our core nurseries are producing talent, and as long as that continues to grow we’ll be in a situation where eventually all the clubs will have both a men’s and women’s team.”

The NRLW’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) allows the NRL to expand to a maximum of 12 teams in the current cycle (2023-2027), however Abdo said the NRL could re-negotiate those terms with the players if they saw room for growth.

“We’ve done a collective bargaining agreement that contemplated growing from 10 to 12 teams in the current set up of the salary cap,” Abdo said.

“It doesn’t preclude us from growing beyond that, but it obviously requires a renegotiation, and we’re at a point now where we really want to focus on making sure this season is successful and then again we’ll review and have a look at what the road map looks like over the next couple of years.”