Women ’ s rugby league is back in 2024
with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
Rugby league is back , and everyone loves getting out and supporting their favourite team , the NRLW and even park footy . Women playing rugby league is not a new thing ; the NRLW started the first professional women ’ s competition back in 2018 .
There have been some brilliant and talented players come through the competition , which initially saw the Sydney Roosters , St George Illawarra , Brisbane Broncos and New Zealand Warriors in the inaugural NRLW season . The competition has sparked interest and seen a rise in numbers and growth of the game in all levels , particularly in junior ranks and grassroots football .
The Penrith District Junior Rugby
Riverstone vs Doonside women ’ s rugby league . Credit : Scott Morris Photography .
League competition is no different and 2024 will see the re-emergence of the competition with six clubs competing for the Don Feltis Women ’ s open rugby league competition . The competition will be hot as all clubs believe they have a genuine shot at bringing home the crown .
It ’ s the first time the women ’ s rugby league competition will be up and running since 2021 when the competition was cut short after nine rounds due to COVID .
In the previous edition of the women ’ s rugby league competition , eight clubs were out there battling away to see who the champions of the Penrith district would be . But even bigger than this was the growth of the competition with clubs from St Marys , Minchinbury , St Clair , Mt Druitt Lions , Blacktown City , Doonside , Emu Plains and Penrith Waratahs , who all provided sides for the season .
At the time that the competition was called short , there were three sides all on 14 points being St Marys , Minchinbury and St Clair , with Mt Druitt Lions on 12 and Blacktown City on 10 , all in the running to take out the minor premiership in the run into the semifinals . It was close and competitive , as you want a competition to be .
This season offers to be much of the same . There are six teams in this year ’ s competition with St Marys , St Clair , Riverstone , Glenmore Park , Doonside and Cambridge Park all fielding teams in a red-hot competition . And an even stronger sign for the women ’ s competition in the Penrith District is the
Cambridge Park vs St Clair women ’ s rugby league . Credit : Scott Morris Photography .
presence of dedicated girl ’ s and women ’ s competitions in under 12s , 13s , 14s , 15s , 16s and under 18s to show how far women ’ s rugby league has come in the district .
The numbers are growing along with the professional opportunities for the best women players in the game , now able to be presented genuine opportunities in the current 10 team NRLW competition , which expanded in 2022 from six teams .
The NRL have been proactive in announcing that in 2025 the NRLW will expand from 10 to 12 clubs with the inclusion of New Zealand Warriors and Canterbury Bulldogs . The opportunities for players in the women ’ s competition in Penrith to participate in the NRLW must be just around the corner with the recent success of the emerging talent pool of players competing in the Tarsha Gale Cup in the u19s competition in 2024 , Lisa Fiola Cup in the u17s competition in 2024 .
Clubs from the Penrith district have previously entered sides in the Harvey Norman NSW Women ’ s premiership including St Marys in 2018 , 2021 and 2022 , Penrith Brothers in 2018 and 2019 and Glenmore Park in 2017 .
The sky is the limit for women ’ s rugby league , particularly in the Penrith district which is the biggest rugby league nursery in the world . With the success of the Penrith Panthers first grade men ’ s rugby league team and the growth in numbers in the women ’ s competition , it will not be long until we see these local women provided a professional opportunity to play rugby league at the highest level in Australia for their hometown club .
And that is an extremely exciting opportunity awaiting these players .
Layla and Brooke light up acrobatic gymnastics
with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
Women gymnasts in action are a wonderful to watch . Two local girls , Brooke Prampero and Layla Dimacali are taking on the world in the sport of acrobatic gymnastics and , my , are they going places .
Layla and Brooke teamed up in acro gymnastics and have been competing together for several years . Layla , 14 , started the sport at six and has been doing it for eight years now . Layla ’ s mum got her involved because she was always hanging upside down around the house and thought it would suit her !
Brooke is 22 and has been doing acro
Brooke and Layla at the state championships . Credit : NSW Gymnastics . gymnastics for 13 years . She has always been active and wanted to do cheer , dance or gymnastics . Brooke started with recreational gymnastics and has never looked back .
Brooke is the base and Layla is the top . Layla realised she was very good when she got her second partnership as a 7-yearold . Layla qualified for her first world championship at nine in 2020 which was interrupted because of COVID .
Acrobatic gymnastics is a competitive discipline of gymnastics incorporating balancing , aerial and tumbling skills within a choreographed routine . Acrobats use their partners hands , feet , shoulders or head to perform balance skills . There are five divisions : women ’ s pairs , men ’ s pairs , mixed pairs , women ’ s trios and men ’ s fours . You can grow in coordination , strength and teamwork and practice balance , throws and dance elements .
Brooke only tried acro and never tried the other five disciplines . She never imagined she would reach such high levels , but admitted she stuck with her training and was always disciplined . Brooke likes to hold her dad up for practice ! She is very tall and works hard on her strength as the base .
The girls just won the gold medal at the recent state championships . People that see acro gymnastics for the first time
are always impressed with the skills are demonstrated . Layla would love to be involved with Circus de Soleil some time in the future .
Layla and Brooke have a silver medal from the Vegas competition where they came second in the world , a massive achievement for them . They have won state , national club and national championships as well .
These extremely talented gymnasts are looking forward to the nationals in June . The highest you can go in acrobatic gymnastics is the world championships , which are in Portugal in September . And yes , the girls will be in Europe representing us .
They are currently looking for sponsors ; the Portugal trip will cost $ 6000 each . The Australian Sports Foundation are setting up a fund to assist the girls .
The girls spend some training together every day . Layla spends an extra 45 minutes training on her own on shape and form . Brooke focuses on weights and strength and conditioning training to be able to help throw and catch Layla and hold her during their routine .
They have just started with a nutritionist so hopefully this will help them bring home the gold medal from Portugal .
Go girls ! The girls in the Pulse FM studio .
BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 38 // MAY 2024 21