State of Origin success shows women's rugby league deserves to stand tall on its own | Ruan Sims

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The game has come a long way in just the last 10 years but it owes a great deal to those who have championed for change for more than a century

In 1921, two women, Molly Cane and Nellie Doherty, put up their hands and asked to play rugby league. They weren't asking for glory, they certainly weren't chasing social clout. What they wanted was the chance to play a game they loved.

That match, held at the Sydney Showground, drew a crowd of 30,000 more than 100 years ago. Two weeks ago, Game One of the 2025 Women's State of Origin series drew more than two million viewers. This love of women's rugby league is not a new phenomenon. The interest, passion and talent has always been there, and it is because of Molly and Nellie that women's rugby league is where it is today.