NRLW players and clubs in toxic limbo as they wait for contract green light three weeks after CBA was finalised

The outpouring of relief at the time was enormous. After months of a drawn out and ugly negotiation with the NRL, the two parties had finally come together in agreement (in principle).

It was prioritised above the men’s CBA, they both said, so the women of the game would not suffer with their lives in suspension for any longer than necessary. Worries about where they would be living for large parts of the year, whether they could fall pregnant and keep their jobs, or even train and play with their state competition sides – all of that was supposed to be gone.

It was a genuinely exciting and historical day for the game. Surety and security was on the way.

But yet, they are still waiting.

The financials were agreed in principle, but the first women’s collective bargaining agreement hasn’t been finalised officially yet. Since then, the agreed terms were taken to clubs for their input and negotiation with the NRL, a process which took more than a fortnight before a meeting with the RLPA on Thursday last week.

It could all be finalised as soon as next week, as NRL and the RLPA work to finalise the interim contracts for players to sign ahead of the full CBA being agreed.

Until then, the NRLW contracting period has still not opened, which leaves the game’s players and clubs in limbo, where they have been for longer than has ever been necessary.

Naturally, desperation is rife – with both players and the clubs who are trying to build a roster, either for the first time as an expansion side, or to retain the players they had last season.

The seven-week NRLW pre-season is due to start at the end of May with the competition to kick off in July, so time is precious.

To meet the deadline and chase success, wild money promises are being made by clubs who are scrambling to secure a Jillaroo or two on multi-year deals (now that they've been given the green light) as they try to build a roster without being able to register contracts.

At least one club has been told by a handful of their international players they won’t be returning this season, because the money on offer at a close rival is too good to pass up.

One of the highest profile players in the game has also told her club she won’t be playing for them next season because she has agreed to join a rival.

Her name has been withheld simply because if she has signed anything it’s not legally binding. Where she will play is still completely unclear.

That’s the issue with the letters of offer being presented to players at the moment.

They will mean nothing once the frenzied contracting period opens up, and it’s creating a distressing situation in the women’s game. Clubs can have conversations and make promises to four star halfbacks, for instance, but the reality of the $900,000 salary cap for this season and piecing together a top 24 squad will soon level out the playing field.

Backflips on both sides are guaranteed. Promises will be broken.

While the representative players and international stars are in hot demand across the 10 teams, the depth at each club is being tested too.

Concerningly, there are suggestions some young players without proper representation have been told their state league contracts will be under threat if they sign for a rival NRLW club.

The reality of their contracts being torn up is slim, because a contract is binding for the season. But the threat of losing their place in a state league team is a compelling incentive to sign for an NRLW club for any player contemplating their future at the moment.

At the most basic level, it’s a horrible way to treat young women who are forming the platform for future generations of NRLW, and it threatens to turn players away from the game.

But sadly, it goes to show how desperate clubs are to get an idea of what kind of a roster they will be working with this season once it starts.

All of it has added to a mountain of anxiety on the players who face another week of uncertainty until a deal is finalised, a draw is released and contracting is greenlit for the year.

A month ago it was thought that frustrations couldn’t get any higher. Yet here we are.