In this episode Sam Squiers sits down with Sarah Olle to discuss the AFLW’s ambitious scheduling in 2022 – staging two complete seasons in one calendar year – and any knock-on effects it created. This conversation also delves into how this decision created challenges for other female leagues like the WBBL and the W-league. Could the NRLW learn from the way the AFLW has mixed things up and has the clogged sporting calendar started to impact traditional Summer fixtures like Test Cricket?

We interrupt our regular transmission for an urgent discussion of the NRLW Collective Bargaining Agreement, which is being negotiated between the NRL and the Rugby League Players Association as we speak.

Sam Squiers welcomes Channel 7 sports journo Katie Brown to break it all down.

Schedule, sponsorship, minimum wage and pregnancy policy are all on the table – and a whole lot more!

NRLW star Karina Brown speaks to Sam Squiers about her life in rugby league.

As a young girl she had to convince teachers to let her play with the boys (4:50), as a young woman she had to find a league that would let her tackle other women and now she’s trying to make the world a more inclusive place. Karina is also a proud gay Queensland woman who opens up about THAT kiss in 2018, when she embraced her then-NSW-girlfriend on the field after a State of Origin clash (28:19). If that wasn’t enough, she also address the Manly boycott saga and doesn’t pull any punches! (38:25). Part B will be available on Saturday, August 6. Karina tells  how she came to record the hit song (1:01), ‘She’s got confidence’, with Jess Harlen and what it’s like playing a game and performing on stage at the same time! Karina also explains the impact of having so many female hero athletes bursting on to the scene as well as the NRLW’s lofty aims for expansion (10:55).

Before Tallisha Harden represented Australia in three sports, she was a self-confessed book nerd who played in the school brass band and was better at ten pin bowling than ball sports.

Growing up, Tallisha suffered from chronic middle ear infections which meant she stayed on the sidelines of most sports. But she was tall, so when a teacher picked her out to join the local volleyball team, Tallisha said yes, unknowingly starting her career in sport.

Tallisha represented Australia in volleyball and Rugby 7’s before switching to rugby league where she’s at the top of her game as a Jillaroo and Brisbane Bronco in the NRLW.

Tallisha joins host Sam Squiers to discuss growing up in Woodridge in Brisbane’s Logan area, how she educated herself about her Indigenous culture, her passion for speech pathology and what she wants the future to look like for the NRLW.

Jillaroos and Brisbane Broncos captain Ali Brigginshaw wants the women’s game to become professional. Growing up as the only girl in the boys’ team, Ali was told she had no future in the sport so she never imagined she could turn rugby league into a career. Ali joins Sam Squiers to discuss fighting for the growth of the women’s game, why it’s important for young boys to look up to female athletes and how a photo of her kissing her girlfriend on the sidelines ended up in the paper.

Before Hannah Southwell played in the inaugural NRLW season, she’d already made a name for herself playing soccer and Rugby 7s. Hannah joins Sam Squiers to discuss the pressure of being the youngest goalkeeper in the W-League, rebuilding her confidence after losing her spot on the 7s team and why you’ll never see her playing without headgear.

Missing out on the 2016 Rio Olympics was devastating for Tiana Penitani but led her down a different sporting path. Tiana joins Sam Squiers to discuss the impact of losing her father as a teenager, the injury that took her away from the 2016 Olympics and falling in love with rugby league.