Panthers reveal NRLW plans and hopes for western area representation

The partnership between the NRL club and our region has been highlighted by the likes of Isaah Yeo, Matt Burton, Charlie Staines, Liam Henry and so many more playing at the highest level.

Now, the hope is young female players will follow in their footsteps.

During a visit to Dubbo last week, Penrith Panthers chief executive officer Matt Cameron said it was the club's hope to field a team in the 2027 NRLW season.

The plan to foster talent from the western area through to the elite level is a major part of the Panthers' bid.

"We're targeting 2027 as an entry point to the NRLW and we're awaiting them coming back with an opportunity to apply for a licence," Cameron said.

"In the original application we made in the very first round, we told the NRL that we want to set ourselves, as a point of difference, to be the club that regional and western area girls aspire to play with."

Ten teams currently compete in the NRLW and it will grow to 12 next year when the Canterbury Bulldogs and New Zealand Warriors join the competition.

Penrith competed in both the Lisa Fiaola Cup (under 17) and Tarsha Gale Cup (under 19) in 2024 and will also be a part of the Harvey Norman Premiership - NSW's premier open-age competition - next year.

Western area juniors Kirby Maslin, Taylor Keppie, Faith Ryder and Chloe Patrick were all part of the Panthers' Tarsha Gale Cup squad this season.

Given the club's success in the NRL and three successive premiership victories the past three seasons, many fans and others within the game were expecting Penrith to already be part of the peak women's competition.

But Panthers general manager Shane Elford, who joined Cameron on the trip to Dubbo, said his club wanted to make sure it was in the strongest possible position to field a successful and sustainable women's team.

"There's a lot of questions asked at Penrith about when do they think they'll get an NRLW team and what's happening," Elford said.

"But we know we've got a lot on with the stadium refurb and it wouldn't be right if we started a program now without a facility to house it in.

"We're actually doing it from the bottom up and we want to have the right program in place. We want the right facility before we proceed."

BlueBet Stadium will be closed for the entire 2025 season due to a $309 million redevelopment which will modernise the venue and increase its capacity to 25,000.

Four new changerooms to help grow female representation in the game is part of the upgrade.

"Everyone can say they want one (licence) but they don't all get to, at the end of the day," Elford said.

"The league will have their say in that but we're definitely building from the bottom up and we're excited about it."

The Western Rams region has already enjoyed representation in the NRLW.

Bathurst's Jakiya Whitfield's stunning 2023 season for the Wests Tigers resulted in selection in the Australian Jillaroos squad and a move to the North Queensland Cowboys while Taneka Todhunter earned Prime Minister's XIII honours after a strong debut season with the Parramatta Eels.

Orange's Kaitlyn Phillips, Cheynoah Amone and Vanessa Foliaki have all played NRLW, as has Parkes Talesha O'Neill (need Quinn) while Bathurst junior Kate Fallon will aim to make her debut this year after signing for the Parramatta Eels.