Roosters receive Nellie Doherty Shield as record NRLW growth celebrated

Sydney Roosters became the first club to receive the Nellie Doherty Shield as NRL CEO Andrew Abdo detailed stunning growth that confirms the NRLW as the world’s best female sporting competition.

Named after the female pioneer who championed women’s rugby league more than a century ago, the Nellie Doherty Shield will be awarded to the minor premiers each season and was presented to Roosters coach John Strange and captain Isabelle Kelly at the NRLW finals launch.

“Similar to the JJ Giltinan Shield that we have in the NRL men’s competition, we now have the Nellie Doherty Shield for winning the minor premiership in the women’s competition,” Abdo said.

“It is a reminder for us all of the importance of where we have come from and of Nellie Doherty.

"In May 1921, Molly Cane and Nellie Doherty wrote a letter to the NSWRL, who were then administrating the sport nationally, asking them for permission to have women’s clubs and a women’s competition.

“They were knocked back by the committee at that time, but Nellie Doherty kept going; she kept writing letters, she kept fronting up to the powers at the NSWRL until eventually they relented, and they sanctioned the first ever women’s clubs and women’s competition.

“In 2025 we celebrate the history and the legacy, and the efforts, of Nellie Doherty and many others that have laid the foundation for what is absolutely the best female sporting competition in the world.”

After expanding the competition to 12 teams this season, playing over 11 rounds, with a three-week finals series, the NRLW has not only grown on the field but off it, with record attendances and television audiences in Australia and New Zealand.

The average crowd this season was 5,500 while the average TV viewership was 152,000 per match.

In addition, the speed, skill and intensity of games are up as the quality of games and players – many of whom have now been able to play the game since U6s – has improved significantly.

“I am very excited for the future,” Abdo said. "We have seen a massive increase in live attendance, up 74%, our broadcast audience is up by 24% so more and more fans are getting to see some really unbelievable football.

“The ball in play is up to 48 minutes, which is a couple of minutes up on the previous season, more play-the-balls than ever before, which shows you the speed and the intensity of the football. They are really important metrics for us.\

“This is a record breaking, historic finals series. We have expanded the competition to 12 teams and the quality of football has been sensational.

"We have got a six team finals series and this morning we recognised the amazing achievement of the Sydney Roosters in going through the regular season unbeaten and winning the Nellie Doherty Shield.”

The Roosters are the defending premiers and inflicted the only loss of the season by the second-placed Broncos, but Abdo insisted the grand final was not a foregone conclusion as the Knights, Cowboys, Sharks and Titans prepare to play on Saturday

The winner of the Cowboys-Sharks semi-final will face the Roosters on the Central Coast a week later, while the winner of the Knights-Titans semi-final will meet the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday week.

“In any given year you are going to have some teams who are at the top of the ladder and some teams who are the bottom of the ladder and now we have got a finals series, and let’s see what happens,” Abdo said.

“I think it is too early to talk about the balance of the competition because this competition is quite dynamic, it continues to grow and evolve and the quality of football and the quality of footballers is increasing and that is obviously really pleasing.”

While the Warriors are not in the finals, the return of a New Zealand team to the NRLW has been a huge success, with the club breaking the standalone attendance record three times in Hamilton.