KIERSTEN DUKE: Women’s State of Origin boom continues with record crowds and ratings
Game I was an old-fashioned battle that the fans loved. Game II may be even bigger.
The opening Women’s State of Origin game wasn’t just another game of rugby league, it was another powerful statement about how quickly the sport is growing.
Game I, played at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium, delivered everything you could want in a game of footy. State against state rivalry, big name players and a finish that kept over 25,000 fans on their feet. But the real story stretches far beyond NSW’s 11-6 win.
Television ratings were outstanding with an average national audience of around 980,000 viewers.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.On top of that, it smashed streaming records by becoming the most watched women’s rugby league fixture online.
Put simply, people are choosing to watch women’s rugby league not just stumbling across it on their TV dial.
And they’re not just watching; they’re turning up to stadiums to cheer on the girls by the coach load.
The crowd of more than 20,000 in Newcastle reinforced a trend we’ve been seeing build year-on-year. Only recently, the competition was celebrating breaking through the 25,000 barrier as a landmark moment.
Now, five-figure crowds are the new norm. The atmosphere at Game I reflected that shift.
Women’s State of Origin is no longer fighting for relevance it is battling with the other prime time sports, male and female, for eyeballs.
Women’s State of Origin isn’t a stand-alone novelty event anymore, it’s part of a genuine three-game series, a format only introduced recently but already paying dividends.
The move to a three-game series like the men in 2024 was seen as a bold step despite the girls asking for the change for years and looking back it’s a wonder it took so long.
There’s an appetite not just for the spectacle, but for the narrative, and that’s where this series becomes truly compelling.
NSW have struck first, but the beauty of the three-match format is losing the first game does not consign a side to ultimate defeat as we have seen time and time again in men’s Origin.
Queensland now returns home for the next two games, and if Origin history tells us anything, it’s that the Maroons rarely stay quiet for long. The shift north sets the stage for bigger crowds, more hostility and a genuine escalation in intensity.
With Game II on Thursday next week being the curtain raising game for Magic Round, expect Suncorp Stadium to be packed.
There’s also a deeper layer to what we’re seeing. The quality of play in Game I was repeatedly described by the players themselves as one of the fastest and toughest contests they have experienced. This is far from accidental. Origin is bearing the fruit of increased professionalism, better pathways and rising investment in the NRLW.
The demand is real. The proof is in the pudding as my dad would say.
Game II shapes as a potential turning point with Queensland desperate to square the ledger on home soil. Expect a spike in physicality and emotion from the Maroons. If Queensland can hit back and level the series it sets up a tantalising decider for Game III that could become one of the biggest events in women’s rugby league history.
Women’s State of Origin is no longer fighting for relevance it is battling with the other prime time sports, male and female, for eyeballs.
And there are more of those on the game than ever before.
