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This year Yvonne Sampson became the first women to host rugby league’s Holy Grail – the State of Origin series.
Since it’s inauguration in 1982, Origin television coverage has been male dominated.
But Sampson was an inspired selection with her knowledge, passion and easy-going interviewing style lifting Channel Nine’s Origin panel of Wally Lewis, Brad Fittler, Darren Lockyer, Paul Vautin, and Andrew Johns.
Better known as “Vonnie”, she’s highly-respected by such an illustrious panel, a positive indication her appointment was right on the money.
This Women in League round in the NRL is recognition of how big a part women play in the 13-man code – and it keeps getting bigger.
Turn the clock back to the 1980s, where women in any form of rugby league were as scarce as hen’s teeth.
Rebecca Wilson, Debbie Spillane, and Tracey Holmes were the trail-blazers.
Wilson started in 1984 at Channel 10 in Brisbane to become media manager of Super League and currently writes a full-page column on any sport in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph where rugby league is the centre of attention, and is a regular panellist on Sky’s Sportsline late evening program – always a top performer.
Spillane became the first female to sideline eye the ABC’s live radio coverage in 1984, before becoming the media manager of the Bulldogs. Quite often feisty during her long career, she has retired.
Holmes was the first female to host a national sports program in 1989 with the ABC’s Grandstand. She has always been highly respected in sporting circles and these days is an ABC NewsRadio morning host.
In 2004, Katie Page, Harvey Norman’s CEO, became the first NRL Board member. There are now 13 women on the board’s of the 16 rugby league clubs.
And today there’s a growing list of very talented women sportscasters.
Erin Molan and Danika Mason are on Channel Nine, Lara Pitt, Megan Barnard and Kelli Underwood on Fox, with Mel McLaughlin on Seven
Molan has been a regular on rugby league’s weekly Footy Show, and this year hosted a new rugby league program The Rookies.
Mason is a regular member of Nine News sport, with rugby league interviews that are always high quality..
Pitt is a regular on Fox’s rugby league coverage, appearing on Matty John’s excellent programmes, and interviewing before and after NRL games.
Barnard appears on the Johns programs with rugby league updates with her passion for rugby league clearly evident, while Underwood is a highly-respected regular on Fox’s Back Page.
But Channel 10 made a major blunder demoting McLaughlin to a lesser role in the Big Bash League, and paid the penalty with McLaughlin heading off to Channel Seven where she is now a high-profile presenter in the station’s live coverage of the Rio Olympics.
Roarers will be surprised to learn there are around 450,000 women directly associated with rugby league as commentators, administrators, employees, coaches, volunteers, and fully-paid members of rugby league clubs.
In that number are the 180,000 women who play rugby league.
Little wonder Women in League has become a powerful arm of the code.