The biggest ever NRL Telstra Women’s Premiership will kick-off on February 27, with five rounds, triple and double headers, Semi Finals, and a Grand Final on April 10.
The schedule for the rescheduled 2021 NRL Telstra Women’s Premiership season will be highlighted by an opening round triple header at McDonald Jones Stadium and all six teams hosting matches.
The semi finals will be played on April 3, while the Grand Final will be played on Sunday, April 10.
The opening triple header will be highlighted by a clash between two of the new Clubs – Newcastle Knights and Parramatta Eels – in Newcastle.
Gold Coast Titans will kick-off the NRL Telstra Women’s Premiership, playing their first match ever in the competition against St George Illawarra Dragons while the 2020 Grand Finalists Sydney Roosters and Brisbane Broncos will face off in their season openers in Newcastle.
Three double headers will be played prior to Sunday afternoon men’s premiership fixtures, at CommBank Stadium (Round 3), McDonald Jones Stadium (Round 4) and Suncorp Stadium (Round 5), allowing fans to watch both their NRL and NRLW teams at the same event.
There will be two matches (Roosters v Knights and Eels v Titans) in Round Three which feature the same match-up in both the NRL and NRLW fixtures.
All Channel Nine matches will be broadcast on the main channel in NSW and QLD, while there will also be three Fox Sports-exclusive matches.
“We have three new teams, two additional rounds, semi-finals matches for the first time, as well as a great chance to put the elite women’s competition – our biggest yet – front and centre early in the rugby league calendar year,” NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said.
“Clearly it was disappointing for us that we were unable to play the 2021 competition this year due to COVID. But with adversity comes opportunity.
“Next year will be our biggest yet for the elite women’s game – with two Premierships, State of Origin, All Stars and a World Cup.
“Thank you to our broadcast partners and to our loyal naming rights partner, Telstra for helping create a great 2022 schedule for fans.
“With additional teams and an extended competition, February 27 will mark a new era for the women’s game.”
