NRLW superstar Tiana Penitani Gray has called on coverage of the elite women\u2019s competition to be more analytical and says it\u2019s time to ditch tokenistic commentary as the game pushes towards professionalism.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But commentary also needs to be critical of simple errors that are so often brushed aside, blowouts and losing streaks aren\u2019t scrutinised like they are in the NRL, while sweeping statements with no depth irk players.<\/p>\n
Penitani Gray has shone in her role at Fox League and says the next step in the women\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know exactly what you\u2019re trying to say, and I absolutely agree,\u201d she told the NewsWire when asked about the need for more critical coverage of the NRLW. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe game is still in its infancy when you compare it to the men\u2019s, right? <\/p>\n
\u201cI 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 \u2018wow, she looked so great when she caught that ball\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what will be the difference. When the women go professional, it\u2019s all that they focus on, it\u2019s what they live and breathe. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t have to be part-time paramedics or part-time athletes because that\u2019s kind of what we\u2019re criticising at the moment that they\u2019re just dipping their toes in as athletes to what that world can look like. <\/p>\n
\u201cOnce the game goes full-time, the broadcast, journalism, and analytics will run alongside that, and we\u2019ll be able to dissect it as the game that it is and the way that the men\u2019s game is treated.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Now she is the one being stopped for photos and autographs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest pinch-me moment is probably when I first signed my own footy card,\u201d the Sharks skipper said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember specifically when or where it was, but I just think every time it happens now, I\u2019m like \u2018this is wild\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are things that I never take for granted. I still think, how do people know who we are? I don\u2019t see myself in that aspect. I\u2019m just Tiana, the kid that grew up in Matraville and loved playing sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo 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, \u2018wow, what a dream life that I get to live\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Considering how far the women\u2019s game has come over the past 20 years, it\u2019s impossible to predict exactly what it will look like in 2046.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s competition continues to attract fans, athletes and the coverage it deserves. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe opportunities are endless for where we can take this game,\u201d Penitani Gray said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst and foremost, we will see equality in the sense of women having a season that runs alongside the men or that\u2019s as big as the men\u2019s. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey will be full-time athletes who don\u2019t have to be semi-professional, which is what we still are, but we\u2019re growing in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cBroadcast is such an exciting opportunity to be a part of now, and who knows where that\u2019s going to be in 10 or 20 years\u2019 time. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n