'Pinch me moment' Jillaroos put women's game on global stage

The Jillaroos deserve to be recognised as one of the best sporting teams in the world, but the players have long acknowledged that for that to occur people need to know who they are.

As they departed Las Vegas after their stunning 90-4 defeat of England at Allegiant Stadium, Ali Brigginshaw and her team-mates did so in the knowledge that they have gone a long way towards achieving both of those goals.

“We spoke a couple of years ago about spreading the name of the Jillaroos and when you are walking down The Strip and you hear people yelling out the Jillaroos it’s a pinch me moment because there was a time a few years ago when no one knew our names,” Brigginshaw said.

The match at Allegiant Stadium was the first time women’s sporting teams had played at the home of the Las Vegas Raiders and venue for the 2024 Super Bowl, and the Jillaroos put on a show for their growing army of fans and new supporters in America.

Yet it was off the field that the Australian players really noticed how far they’d come in earning widespread recognition from fans across the game and across the world.

Photo: Thousands of fans got behind the Australian and England women's teams in Las Vegas (NRL Photos). 

“It has been really lovely and I think even walking onto that field – we had to go through a little tunnel through the bar and there were so many supporters there who were calling out our names or were aware of who we were as players, so I think our game has come a long way.”

The NRLW is arguably the best female contact sport competition in the world and there are few better athletes than the likes of Tamika Upton, Tarryn Aiken and Isabelle Kelly.

Even England coach Stuart Barrow said after his side’s 17 tries to one pummeling that the performance of the Jillaroos was an advertisement to American viewers of the skill and athleticism of women’s rugby league.

“I hope they saw the skill that the Jillaroos showed and thought ‘that’s really exciting, we want to be a part of that’ and it’s still done its job as a match to sell the sport to young girls out there watching,” Barrow said.

To put into perspective how dominant the Jillaroos are, the team lost just one match during Brad Donald’s eight years in charge and his replacement Jess Skinner started her international coaching career by inflicting England’s heaviest ever loss.

Photo: The Australia-England international was the first women's sports fixture played at Allegiant Stadium (NRL Photos).

“It felt like a colosseum and when we walked out we had in the back of our minds that Super Bowl was held here last year and the most incredible athletes in the world have played on a pitch like this and we definitely could feel the fans and hear them,” star centre Tiana Penitani said.

“We were kind of thinking ‘why has no [women’s team] played here before, so we feel really privileged, like that's another history making moment for us and we're really grateful for it.

“It's been a really unique experience, and I think the NRL's done a really good job in the way they've organised things and the way the week's kind of rolled out.

“It's been pretty amazing, the turn up from the fans both from Australia and America has been something that we've never experienced before.”

The question most people were asking after Australia’s stunning performance was who the Jillaroos will play next season if they return to build on what they have started.

“We came here to spread the Jillaroos name and that is how we are going to grow to be the best team in the world in any sport, so I feel like we are doing that,” Brigginshaw said.

“That was the focus on what we were doing here. It wasn't about the Jillaroos brand, it was about growing the women's game and showcasing in America what we do and how we do it.

“We need to grow it. There's Australian girls going to England to play and then we're getting the English girls coming over. Hopefully we picked up some girls from the NRL Talent Combine [in Las Vegas] and they can come and join the NRLW.

“I think we're having players come over from every sport, so the NRLW and women's rugby league in Australia are doing something right.”