Australia’s leading women’s rugby league players will pocket $30,000 in the hunt for a third consecutive World Cup win as the code makes strides towards equal payments for the Jillaroos and Kangaroos.
Coach Brad Donald’s 24-player squad will receive a touring payment of $30,000 – a massive increase on the $3000 they received during the 2017 World Cup – and claim a percentage of prize money should they be successful at next month’s tournament in England.
Collective bargaining agreement negotiations are ongoing but the ARL Commission has a desire to create parity for Australia’s male and female Test players by 2025, with Kangaroos squad members in line to earn $40,000 on a pro-rata basis during the men’s World Cup.
“We’re not at that professional stage. Even for our medicals last week, there were a lot of players saying ‘I’ve got to ask for another day off work and get someone to cover my shift’,” Donald said.
“It certainly takes away one of those issues, which is finding the money whilst they’re away. To have such a significant amount paid for the quality of a footballer is fantastic.
“You are the best player in your position at that point in time, just like the Kangaroos, and the Jillaroos are going to be paid for that service.”
The investment into Australia’s women’s program comes on the back of a rapidly expanding NRLW competition which has seen player payments skyrocket in comparison to past figures.
“They were over the moon to receive [about $3000 with a daily allowance] at the last World Cup,” Donald said.
“Since then there has been a number of what I call ‘true believers’ within our organisation. Having someone like Tain Drinkwater come out of the Broncos system, where she was CEO of the women’s program, into the NRL has been really beneficial for the women’s program to take it forward.”
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