Jillaroo and Cronulla-Caringbah player Corban McGregor said while players wait for final details on how the NRL season will actually look and which clubs they will be playing for, they are being kept busy with state competitions and thoughts of State of Origin.

HISTORIC: Women’s Origin to light up North Sydney Oval

SIDELINED: Injury hits sevens stars post-Games

The women’s rugby league schedule has grown rapidly throughout the past years, but it really ramped up in 2018 with players needing to commit to state competitions in order to be eligible for representative selection.

Prior to this year women played the Interstate Challenge but for the first time they will contest a State of Origin, which will be played as a standalone fixture on Friday June 22.

McGregor said there have been big changes in a short time, but she enjoys having the clear steps for the season.

“There’s heaps of footy this year so it’s exciting to have a sort of a calendar of events, I guess with games throughout the year,” she said.

“With the NRL coming up towards the end of the year, this year it’s sort of just calming us down that we’ve got really exciting games before then leading into that and that’ll just top it off.”

McGregor kept an eye on the recent Commonwealth Games, in particular the reception Australia’s sevens team enjoys.

The Rio gold medallists played an incredible final on Sunday that went into extra time in front of a packed out stadium.

She is confident women’s NRL will deliver similarly in no time.

The Jillaroos put in a dominant display in last year’s World Cup final, another match that had fans on their feet and edge of their seat. McGregor knows Australians are excited about what the new competition will bring.

“I watched the final, the women’s [sevens] final. It was epic, I think it was a really good showcase of women’s footy,” she said. “Down to the wire and I think similar to our World Cup final; a really close game that was down to the wire as well.

“It looked like an amazing atmosphere and everyone was really backing the girls and it’s also great to see really good support for women in sport now.

“I’ve only had good feedback from the news of the new women’s [NRL] competition, so I think there’s a lot of excitement around it. It’s sort of been a long time coming and the fans really do want to see it.”

####