KIERSTEN DUKE: Jasmin Strange speaks out about playing NRLW while on menstrual cycle, Dragons’ sport bra lead

An NRLW player has opened up about something that most people don’t even consider when it comes to their job — their menstrual cycle.

Last week Roosters centre Jasmin Strange, below, asked on a podcast why no one speaks about the fact that NRLW players play every fourth game on their period. That’s 25 per cent of the games they compete in. That’s a lot.

Personally, I don’t even have the ability to regulate my own body temperature on the first day of my period, let alone perform physically to the best of my ability for my team. Although saying that, there are days in the lead-up where I’d believe I could tackle a T. rex, so maybe that anger could be used to an advantage on game day.

Strange certainly leaned into those fiery feelings in the 2023 NRLW grand final. She took a bomb before being smashed by Titans centre Niall Williams-Guthrie. The pair exchanged plenty of shoves before the situation was diffused.

“You know that fight in the grand final? Guess what I was on? My period,” Strange said.

Roosters teammate Millie Elliott (nee Boyle) weighed in on the conversation during a popular Sydney breakfast radio show prior to Origin game two.

“It bloody sucks!” she stated.

Girls will risk their health and take the pill to skip their period just so they don’t have to suffer with it on game day.

But ofcourse contraceptives have other side effects on your body.

For example, it decreases your maximum oxygen consumption and affects your body’s ability to regulate its temperature. These are very important things for an athlete, especially if you’re travelling to warmer climates.

Yet another thing men don’t have to worry about.

Elliott did explain that the girls no longer had to play in white shorts. The darker colour shorts help disguise any accident that could occur while menstruating.

You can tell a man figured white shorts should be part of the team uniform.

Hearing these conversations made me think, what else goes on behind the scenes for female athletes that regular people don’t batter an eyelid at?

Cue Jess Stoll, a professional women’s health and musculoskeletal physiotherapist who works closely with the NRLW Dragons. She was kind enough to let me pick her brain.

Ever heard of no question is a stupid question? Well I really tested that theory on Stoll.

As a female there was an enormous amount I didn’t know. And no wonder, because she brought to my attention that only 5 per cent of sporting research is currently done on women. Wild statistics when you consider 50 per cent of the population is female.

Working in female health there’s nothing Stoll hasn’t experienced and let me tell you, the girls have been very creative behind the scenes in places where they’ve lacked support.

Stoll has witnessed girls wrap their chests with strapping tape because their sports bra didn’t offer enough security. Another girl made the executive decision to wear a swim top to training because she was uncomfortable in any sports bra she tried.

Nearly two-thirds of NRLW players experience chest injuries. So why on earth are these women not receiving the education and appropriate items of clothing required to do their jobs? It’s like asking a tradie to work without a hard hat.

Stoll echoed my concerns surrounding this alarming statistic.

“Every player I spoke to aged 18- 34 admitted they’d never had a sports bra fitted before.,” she said.

“Imagine going to work wearing uncomfortable shoes that gave you blisters; it would irritate you and play on your mind all day. It’s the same for the girls trying to play in ill-fitting clothing.”

She went on to speak highly of the Dragons Future Female Fund which is taking action.

The fund has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to raise money for the team to each be professionally fitted in a sports bra.

After all, if a good fitting bra prevents injuries, then it potentially takes a load off the club’s health teams and ultimately results in more comfortable, happy players. Another no brainer.

You’d think the obstacles female athletes faced daily would stop there. But my goodness it was like opening a can of worms.

Research is underway to study the link between female hormones and injury. Specifically, ACL injuries.

It shocked me to the core learning that less than a handful of major sport brands make footy boots specifically for the female foot.

Worryingly for the young girls who pop into their local shopping centre with big dreams of playing in the NRLW only to be served with boots that are designed for men.

Let’s get Xavier Coates to score a try in boots made for a female and see how well he does.

These problems are just the tip of the iceberg.

Bottom line, the girls deserve better.