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Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League

The Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League was the premier women's rugby league competition in the state of New South Wales, Australia. In 2017, the competition became known as the NSWRL Women's Premiership. The New South Wales Rugby League also administer open age women's and age group girls' competitions that sit below the NSWRL Women's Premiership. Within the Sydney Metropolitan region, there are several conferences.

History

A regular women's rugby league competition was started in Sydney in the 1990s.

Competition rules for the 1995 season had modifications to team size. On-field teams were between seven (minimum) and ten (maximum) players, with the number for a match being determined by the availability of players on the day. Including players starting on the bench, teams were limited to fourteen players. The number of interchanges been on-field and bench was unlimited. Scrums were three players per team in a front row formation. Game time was two thirty minute halves.

Eight teams nominated for the 1995 SWRL season: Bankstown, Blacktown, Cabbage Tree Hotel (Bulli), Mount Pritchard, Northern Reds, North Sydney, Parramatta Eels Juniors, and Riverwood. Both Northern Reds and North Sydney had their home games scheduled at the same venue, Tunks Park in Cammeray. Fourteen rounds were scheduled from late April to mid-August, with the Grand Final in early September 1995.

This competition folded after the conclusion of the 2000 season.

In 2001, the New South Wales Women's Rugby League staged exhibition and trial matches in lieu of a competition.

The Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League restarted a competition in 2005. A meeting in March 2005 at the PCYC in Miller, south west of Sydney was the catalyst to get the women's competition up and running again.

Sydney Metropolitan - Rugby League Clubs with Women's Teams

In the 2025 season, four open-age women's rugby league competitions featured teams from Sydney.

  • Metro Combined (8 teams): Cabramatta Two Blues, Marrickville RSL, Mascot, Milperra Colts, Mounties, Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Stags, Redfern All Blacks, and Wentworthville Magpies.
  • Metro Combined (6 teams): All Saints Toongabbie Tigers, Chipping Norton, Forestville Ferrets, Lalor Park, Leichhardt Wanderers, Hills District Bulls.
  • In Round 6 the above competitions were restructured.
  • Chipping Norton, Forestville Ferrets and Leichhardt Wanderers moved from gold to silver.
  • Cabramatta Two Blues, Milperra Colts, Mounties, and Wentworthville Magpies moved from silver to gold.
  • Both competitions commenced on 6 April and ran to Round 15 on 10 August 2025, followed by a final series that concluded with a Grand Final on 31 August 2025.
  • Redfern All Blacks defeated Mounties in the gold competition.
  • Chipping Norton defeated Hills District Bulls in the silver competition.

Premiers

Premiership Tally

Bold means the team currently plays in the competition.

Clubs by season

1990s

1992 (5 teams)

  • Bankstown, Bonnyrigg, North Sydney, Parramatta, and Wildfires.

1993 (6 teams)

  • Bankstown Sports, Bonnyrigg Warriors, North Sydney, Waverton Eagles, Western Sydney, and Wildfires.

1994 (5 teams)

  • Bankstown Sports, Blacktown, North Sydney, Western Sydney, and Waverton Eagles.
  • There was also a four team competition in the Illawarra: Bulli Eagles, Lakeview Bears, Picton Magpies, and Wollongong.

1995 (8 teams)

  • Bankstown Sports, Blacktown Wildfires, Cabbage Tree Hotel (Bulli Eagles), Mount Pritchard, Northern Reds, North Sydney, Parramatta Eels Juniors, and Riverwood.
  • The Illawarra competition having collapsed, players from the region entered the Sydney Competition as the Cabbage Tree Hotel (Bulli). The team was referred to as Bulli in July.
  • There were two name changes: Western Sydney to Mount Pritchard and Waverton to Northern Reds.

1996 (5 teams)

1997 (unsure of exact team numbers)

1998 (unsure of exact team numbers)

1999 (unsure of exact team numbers)

2000s

2001

  • No competition. The New South Wales Women's Rugby League staged a thirteen-a-side trial between South Sydney and Doonside and several other exhibition matches.

2002

  • No competition.

2003

  • No competition.

2004

  • No competition.

2005 (unsure of exact team numbers)

2006 (6 teams)

2007 (unsure of exact team numbers)

2008

2009 (unsure of exact team numbers)

2010s

2010 (unsure of exact team numbers)

  • Teams included: All Saints Toongabbie, Canley Heights Dragons, Forestville Ferrets, Guildford Owls.

2011 (unsure of exact team numbers)

  • Teams included: Canley Heights Dragons, Forestville Ferrets, Merrylands, Minchinbury Jets.

2012 (8 teams) <br>

2013 (unsure of exact team numbers)

  • Teams included: Canley Heights Dragons, Forestville Ferrets, Maitland Pickers, Penrith Waratahs.

2015 (11 teams) <br> Eleven teams competed, including three from clubs outside of Sydney.

2016 <br> In 2016, the Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League included the following clubs.

2020s

2020

  • No competition due to lockdown measures taken to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic.

2021 <br> In the 2021 season, three open-age women's rugby league competitions were conducted across Sydney.

2022

2023 <br> In a change from the previous season (2022), a Southern Corridor Women's Tackle competition was established.

2024 <br> In the 2024 season, four open-age women's rugby league competitions featured teams from Sydney.

  • Metro Combined (6 teams): All Saints Toongabbie Tigers, Mounties, Narraweena Hawks, Redfern All Blacks, St Christopher’s, Wentworthville Magpies.
  • A 13-a-side competition ran from 14 April to a grand final on 23 June 2024.
  • A nines competition ran from 7 July to a grand final on 8 September 2024. Only four of the six teams participated, with Narraweena and Redfern not playing in this nines competition.
  • Metro Combined (10 teams): Alexandria Rovers, Cabramatta Two Blues, Forestville Ferrets, Guildford Owls, Hills District Bulls, Lalor Park, Leichhardt Wanderers, Marrickville RSL, Mascot Jets, Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Stags.
  • The competition ran from 28 April to a grand final on 7 September 2024.
  • Macarthur (9 teams): Camden Rams, Campbelltown City Kangaroos, Campbelltown Collegians Collie Dogs, Glenquarie All Stars (two teams, 1 and 2), Minto Cobras, Narellan Jets, The Oaks Tigers, Warragamba Wombats.
  • The competition ran in two phases.
  • The first ran from Round 1 on 28 April to Round 8 on 18 May, followed by semi-finals, preliminary finals and grand finals on 15 June 2024.
  • Glenquarie All Stars entered a second team which played its first game in Round 6.
  • The second phase ran from Round 9 on 29 June to Round 15 on 18 August, followed by semi-finals, a preliminary final, and a grand final on 14 September 2024.
  • Campbelltown City Kangaroos did not play in this second phase.
  • Southern Corridor (4 teams from Sydney, 3 teams from the Illawarra & South Coast regions):
  • Sydney: Como Jannali Crocodiles, Penshurst RSL Kookaburras, Riverwood Legion, Taren Point Titans.
  • Illawarra & South Coast: Corrimal Cougars, Illawarra Collegians Collie Dogs, Western Suburbs Red Devils.

Clubs by name

Teams that participated in the SMWRL prior to the 2016 season include:

See also

References

External links