KIERSTEN DUKE: Jillaroos game in Las Vegas alongside NRL premiers Penrith great exposure for women’s game

I told a friend last year that I “couldn’t wait for NRLW to have it’s Matilda’s moment”.

Their response was blunt: “The NRLW will never explode like the Tillies because it’s not internationally known.”

The comment truly took the wind out of my sails.

It felt like a serious blow to the progress women’s sport that had been made over the last few years.

But maybe they were right?

When you compare the NRL as a product to the likes of the English Premier League, which is known in even the most remote of countries, it’s worlds apart.

So how do you fix that? Cue Peter V’landy’s genius idea to take the NRL to Vegas last year and to expand it this year to include the NRLW and the English Super League.

If you want a sport to be internationally known you’ve got to take the plunge and take it on the road to new markets.

Admittedly the Americans didn’t seem entirely sure about what was going on when the NRL first hit Allegiant Stadium, but credit to them, they embraced it and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the game we hold so dear.

This year the NRL program in Sin City, which features NRL premiers Penrith as well as Super League teams Warrington and Wigan, will include an international women’s game

The Jillaroos are locked in to play England as part of a four-game rugby league extravaganza.

The English will have several NRLW stars to support with Knights playmaker Georgia Roche, Raiders second-rower Hollie-Mae Dodd and new Eels recruit Paige Travis suiting up for king and country.

After a record-breaking State of Origin series in 2024, the women’s game seems to have never been in better shape.

With that in mind, plus the addition of two teams expanding the competition next season, the move to add a women’s game to the Vegas extravaganza makes sense.

Just a few days ago we witnessed Bankstown born, ex-South Sydney Rabbitoh’s player Jordan Mailata add a Super Bowl ring to his annual $100 million NFL contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

If a humble Aussie kid who grew up playing rugby league can make the transition to Super Bowl greatness, then it begs the question, how many Americans would thrive playing rugby league?

How many American women who grew up with NFL being the main sport on their TV screens would be able to thrive playing NRLW?

US rugby sevens player Liz Tafuna had a crack with the Sydney Roosters last year, and while that did not work out, it showed there could be a massive untapped market of US women for the NRLW.

This could be just the start of the NRLW going international.

Last year the women’s rugby league had its first three-game origin series. This week Mailata won the Super Bowl.

Female rugby league is growing and this year the sky is the limit.