Men’s and women’s NRL to clash in draw
George Clarke and Scott Bailey |
The NRL and NRLW are set to regularly compete for viewers for the first time with clashes between the two competitions to become a staple of the broadcasting schedule.
The NRL will release its women’s draw on Thursday, after confirming CommBank Stadium and Townsville as the venue for its two women’s Origin matches on Wednesday.
The expansion from six sides to 10 for 2023, as well as the venue challenges for the women’s soccer World Cup have particularly created issues for organisers.
As a result, there are expected to be up to three clashes in each round between men’s and women’s matches.
But the upside is the introduction of free-to-air prime time matches each Saturday night, as well as wall-to-wall rugby league coverage each Sunday afternoon on the Nine Network.
The NRLW will kick off on Saturday July 22 with Gold Coast hosting competition newcomers North Queensland in a 12.50pm kick-off.
Newcastle and St George Illawarra will also face off on the opening day, at 3pm, in a direct clash with a men’s game between the Titans and Sydney Roosters.
Both will air on Fox Sports.
Brisbane and the Roosters will then face off on Saturday night, with the game to be shown on Nine and Foxtel, at the same time the Cowboys face Parramatta in the men’s.
Another clash will come on Sunday afternoon at 2pm, when Cronulla host Canberra in the women’s and Penrith face Canterbury.
Again, the 2pm women’s game will be shown on both Nine and Fox Sports, while the men will only be on Fox.
The timing of the game will give the commercial network the chance to keep viewers from the Sunday Footy Show into the men’s 4pm game.
The round-one fixture also allows Cronulla to host NRL-NRLW double headers at Shark Park, despite concerns previously being raised about the facilities at the venue.
Consistent timeslots on Nine on Saturdays and Sundays will also give the NRL a chance to see what timeslots work for viewers with the women’s game.
The league will also introduce Thursday evening women’s games, played before men’s fixtures.
Women’s games won’t clash with men’s finals matches, however, with double-headers earlier on Saturday afternoons designed to avoid games being played simultaneously.
The NRL had one clash between a men’s and women’s game last season, but that was only when a Roosters home game was moved so it could be used to open Allianz Stadium.
AAP
