Gone are the days when women were invisible in the world of professional sports. In 2025, Women’s Rugby League is smashing records and proving to be a golden opportunity for brands.
With record-breaking crowds, national TV dominance and an ever-growing cultural momentum off the back of the Matildas’ success, the women’s game has officially entered the big leagues. And smart brands are already cashing in.
Game One of the 2025 series, held in Brisbane, drew a record in-stadium crowd of 26,022 fans. It also became the most-watched free-to-air rugby league game of the season, across both men’s and women’s codes, with an average national audience of 927,000 and a reach nearing 2 million on Nine’s broadcast and streaming platforms. In fact, it outperformed every other NRL and AFL match on free-to-air TV this year.
“The women’s State of Origin was extremely successful,” said ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys.
“The ratings were up 40 per cent year-to-year, and it’s the biggest audience we’ve ever had for a women’s game. That’s a remarkable sign of how far the women’s game has come”.
Even torrential rain couldn’t dampen the momentum. Game Two drew 16,000 soaked but passionate fans to watch the Blues notch a commanding 26–6 victory — a turnout that eclipsed the men’s Bulldogs vs Dolphins NRL match in the same city just a week later, which pulled only 10,412 in similar conditions.
It drew a sizeable TV audience, too with a total TV national reach of 2.13 million and an average of 1.067 million.
For brands, the message is clear: women’s rugby league is no longer a fringe event, it’s a prime-time platform.
Nine’s director of content partnerships Anna Gruber said the strong growth in viewership and attendance for the Women’s State of Origin is a clear indicator of the immense value and engagement the sporting event now commands.
“This increased reach translates directly into unprecedented opportunities to connect with a highly passionate and expanding audience. Nine’s commitment to showcasing and promoting the Women’s State of Origin has cultivated a vibrant platform, making it an attractive proposition for brands looking to empower women’s sport and achieve significant brand exposure,” she said.
Nine’s Women’s State of Origin 2025 series sponsors are Harvey Norman, Westpac, McDonalds, Telstra, Kia and Sportsbet.
From Early Believers to Major Players: Harvey Norman Leads the Way
One brand that saw the writing on the wall long before the rest was Harvey Norman. Executive director Katie Page has been championing the women’s game since long before it was rebranded as Origin. Back in 1999, the match was known simply as the Interstate Challenge, and while the NRL may not have seen its value, Page did.
“After having a look at the game, I realised the women were invisible,” Page told audiences at the Cairns Crocodiles conference earlier this month.
“Now remember, 50 per cent of the fans are female. They’re the consumers of media. They’re bringing the kids through. They are there, but they’re invisible to the game,” she explained.
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Page joined the ARL board in 1996 and quickly set out to change the status quo. Her efforts led to the creation of the Women in League initiative which would become the longest-running themed round in NRL history.
In 2025, the 19th annual Women in League Round included girls-only gala days, Schoolgirl Cup matches, and for the first time ever, live streaming of every match via KommunityTV, a major win for grassroots visibility.
Even now, Harvey Norman still plays a massive role in the ferocious series as they are the major sponsor for the Harvey Norman Queensland Maroons squad. Unfortunately, QLD haven’t endured the same success this year as the game itself, losing the series in the first two games.
Harvey Norman’s support of the NRLW, being the major sponsor of the competition since its inception, has helped the series grow three-fold from four teams in 2018 to today’s 12-strong ladder. Naturally, that growth in NRLW bleeds directly into the popularity and quality of the women’s Origin games.
A League of Their Own, On the World Stage Too
The commercial momentum of Women’s Rugby League extends beyond Origin. At the start of the year, the Rugby League community was put on watch by the Jillaroos, the Australian female side, who were introduced in 1995. They showed just how talented they are, absolutely demolishing England 90-4 in Vegas – very nearly smashing the all time record for most tries scored in a single match.
“The Jillaroos were fantastic,” Page said. “That game shouldn’t have happened… You could see there was no investment in those girls in the UK over that period of time. That shows you how advanced we are here”.
With a strong domestic foundation and international dominance, Australian women’s rugby league offers a rare combination for brands, the excitement of a sport on the rise and the infrastructure and fanbase of one already built.
Game Three: A National Stage for Brands
All eyes now turn to Game Three which will be broadcast live and exclusively on Nine and 9Now this Thursday, May 29. With the series already decided, the NSW Blues are eyeing a clean sweep at home in Newcastle, while the Maroons will be desperate to spoil the party.
Star players Jaime Chapman, Jess Sergis, Olivia Kernick and Jesse Southwell will lead the Blues into battle, while Queensland’s Ali Brigginshaw, Romy Teitzel and Julia Robinson look to bounce back in front of a packed McDonald Jones Stadium.
Hosted by Emma Lawrence, commentary for Nine’s Wide World of Sports features women’s internationals Millie Elliott and Allana Ferguson, Origin legends Phil Gould and Darren Lockyer, sideline reporter Marlee Silva and match caller Peter Psaltis.
Before the action kicks off in Newcastle, NRLWRAP will preview Women’s Game III with host Emma Lawrence, NSW Blues legends Corban Baxter and Allana Ferguson, joined by Maroons superstars Tamika Upton and Tarryn Aiken, and social influencer Lavender Baj breaking down all the biggest talking points.
With record viewership, surging attendance, and a loyal, growing fanbase, brands have a golden opportunity to align with the women’s game while there’s still space on the team sheet.
As V’landys put it, “It nearly hit a million viewers, that’s how far the women’s game has come.” The only question now is, which brands will come with it?
