NRLW superstar Tiana Penitani Gray has called on coverage of the elite women’s competition to be more analytical and says it’s time to ditch tokenistic commentary as the game pushes towards professionalism.

Penitani Gray will join the 50-game club this weekend when the Sharks take on the Bulldogs, with the strike centre joining Canterbury rival Tayla Preston at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Tuesday to launch The Captains exhibition, which promotes 12 leaders from the NRLW with a powerful photography display.

The exhibition coincides with the 20-year anniversary of the Women in League Round, with the NRLW growing every year after it started in 2018.

And while the product continues to improve, there are still areas that need to be addressed such as season length, the timing of the competition, and how the game is covered.

Supreme athletes like Jaime Chapman need to be celebrated, freakish talents like Tamika Upton must be lauded, and huge hits should be replayed on social media wherever possible.

But commentary also needs to be critical of simple errors that are so often brushed aside, blowouts and losing streaks aren’t scrutinised like they are in the NRL, while sweeping statements with no depth irk players.

Penitani Gray has shone in her role at Fox League and says the next step in the women’s game is for coverage to become more analytical once players are made fully professional and can dedicate their full attention to footy instead of splitting it between their other jobs.

“I know exactly what you’re trying to say, and I absolutely agree,” she told the NewsWire when asked about the need for more critical coverage of the NRLW.

“The game is still in its infancy when you compare it to the men’s, right?

“I think that will be a part of the next step from a broadcast or journalistic lens where we actually analyse the game for what it is rather than just tokenistic comments like ‘wow, she looked so great when she caught that ball’.

“It’s been fantastic being given the platform and the opportunity to grow our game in broadcast from that point of view, but I think now we are almost at that tipping point where we boil over into the women being professional soon.

“That’s what will be the difference. When the women go professional, it’s all that they focus on, it’s what they live and breathe.

“They don’t have to be part-time paramedics or part-time athletes because that’s kind of what we’re criticising at the moment that they’re just dipping their toes in as athletes to what that world can look like.

“Once the game goes full-time, the broadcast, journalism, and analytics will run alongside that, and we’ll be able to dissect it as the game that it is and the way that the men’s game is treated.”

The representative star spoke on stage on Tuesday at the launch of the exhibition of how she grew up doing nippers in Maroubra and would see Rabbitohs players at the beach.

Now she is the one being stopped for photos and autographs.

“The biggest pinch-me moment is probably when I first signed my own footy card,” the Sharks skipper said.

“I don’t remember specifically when or where it was, but I just think every time it happens now, I’m like ‘this is wild’.

“They are things that I never take for granted. I still think, how do people know who we are? I don’t see myself in that aspect. I’m just Tiana, the kid that grew up in Matraville and loved playing sport.

“To look at young girls that have your name on the back of their jersey or create posters of you or want you to sign their footy cards that have your face on them, I think they are just such small but significant pinch-me moments that make you think, ‘wow, what a dream life that I get to live’.”

Considering how far the women’s game has come over the past 20 years, it’s impossible to predict exactly what it will look like in 2046.

The goal has to be for every NRL team to have an NRLW side, with a professional system put in place to ensure the best women’s competition continues to attract fans, athletes and the coverage it deserves.

“The opportunities are endless for where we can take this game,” Penitani Gray said.

“First and foremost, we will see equality in the sense of women having a season that runs alongside the men or that’s as big as the men’s.

“They will be full-time athletes who don’t have to be semi-professional, which is what we still are, but we’re growing in the right direction.

“Broadcast is such an exciting opportunity to be a part of now, and who knows where that’s going to be in 10 or 20 years’ time.

“In all facets of the game, we will grow in leaps and bounds. I think that will strengthen us as a code and a game in this country but also provide so much opportunity for women and for the people that love the game of rugby league.”

Originally published as ‘Tokenistic’: Tiana Penitani Gray calls on coverage of the NRLW to become more critical as the game celebrates major milestone