From backyard footy to the big stage: NRLW stars eye long-term growth

From backyard footy to the big stage, the NRLW's biggest stars have reflected on the rapid growth of the women's game as the sport celebrates the 20th year of Women in League Round this weekend. 

An elite women's competition was merely a pipe dream back in 2007 when the NRL launched Women in League Round. 

Back then, there were few pathways for junior girls and limited opportunities for women to play the game.

Fast forward 20 years and rugby league is Australia's most-watched women's sport, with NRLW stars rapidly developing into household names. 

Canterbury skipper Tayla Preston was a primary school student back in 2007 who thought her passion for the game would be limited to supporting from the stands.

Having benefited from the increased investment and support for women's rugby league, Preston hopes to inspire the next generation to more success in the future. 

"I was in primary school back then and I didn't even see there was a pathway for girls in rugby league," Preston told NRL.com. "To see where it's come to now is amazing. 

"We've had so many amazing people invest in women in league and it's a dream come true for me to play this game. 

"Twenty years ago I was running around the backyard getting tackled by my brother, I'm so proud to be part of this and hopefully in 80 years we'll still be here talking about our 100th year of growth. That would be exciting for the women's game."

The brainchild of Harvey Norman CEO Katie Page, Women in League Round was launched in 2007 to celebrate the unheralded role women played in keeping the sport moving from the grassroots right up to the elite level. 

The game has changed drastically since then, with the round celebrating the players, officials, coaches, fans, media members and volunteers who continue to blaze the trail for future generations.

While the game's biggest NRLW stars have developed into household names, it has not always been that way. 

Many NRLW players were required to stop playing rugby league at the age of 12 because there were no girls competitions. 

Kezie Apps famously played junior footy in Bega alongside Storm and Sharks great Dale Finucane, before she was forced to hang up the boots while her brothers kept playing. 

The Tiggers skipper eventually returned to the sport after reading about the Jillaroos historic 2013 World Cup win and is now the Australian captain. 

"In 2007 I was in year 11 at Bega High," Apps said. "I was playing rugby union at school, I had no dreams or ambitions, no idea rugby league even existed for women. 

"My family watched it religiously and I fell in love with it but then I stopped playing because girls couldn't play. I always thought if I was a boy I would want to play in the NRL. Seeing Dale Finucane have an amazing career and to see his success, I did wonder 'why can't I play? Why isn't there girls rugby league?'

"It's crazy to think that now 20 years on I am playing and it's cool I do get to be part of it too."

As the NRLW has grown, so too has investment in girls grassroots competitions and Apps' experience is no longer a common occurrence.

The expansion of those competitions, particularly in the teenage years, means girls can now play all the way through from under sixes to the elite level. 

Junior representative competitions in NSW and Queensland now provide a clear pathway to the NRLW and a growing number of players such as Titans young gun Indie Bostock have emerged from the Tarsha Gale Cup and QRL Harvey Norman competitions. 

NRLW clubs have now also invested heavily in those leagues to ensure players are prepared for the transition to senior rugby league. 

Eels captain Mahalia Murphy crafted her skills playing touch football with friends in the streets of Doonside. The current crop of youngsters are developing their games in competitive matches and Murphy said it's not hard to see the benefits of the development structure.

"We've got a lot of girls that have come up from the Tarsha Gale team," Murphy said. "They're part of our development squad but at training you wouldn't be able to tell.

"They've just fit in so well and you can see what the pathways system has done. The NRLW team plays a similar structure of game so they can just come in and pick it up straight away."