Two True Blues who helped lay the foundations for women’s Rugby League both at state and international level – Tarsha Gale and Katrina Fanning AO – have been honoured by being among the first female inductees to the NRL Hall of Fame.
Gale and Fanning will be acknowledged alongside former NSW players Ben Elias and Les Boyd at next Wednesday’s (21 August) Hall of Fame dinner, where the 14th Immortal will also be named.
“I’d like to congratulate the NRL for this recognition because It must never be forgotten the work our pioneering female players, like Tarsha and Katrina, did to make sure the women’s game stayed on the Rugby League radar,” said NSWRL Chief Executive David Trodden said.
“Yes, the journey to bona fide acceptance may have taken a little longer than any of us wanted, but the women’s game is here to stay and getting bigger and better every season.
“In NSW this year we had 29,686 female participants, which is a 14 per cent increase on 2023.
“I’d also like to point out that among the other inductees next Wednesday Nat Dwyer, Tahnee Norris, and Veronica White all played for NSW before moving to Queensland.”
Tarsha Gale was named captain of the very first NSW side in 1999 playing Queensland in what was then known as the Women’s Interstate Challenge.
She is recognised for that by being Player #1 on the Sky Blues roll of honour, which lists all players names on a tribute wall at the NSWRL Centre of Excellence (COE).
It seemed only fitting then that the major NSWRL Under-19s pathways competition for players in NSW-ACT seeking to reach the greatest heights in the women’s game, would be named the Tarsha Gale Cup – which it was in 2017.
Gale was halfback in the inaugural Australia-New Zealand Test match in 1995.
She captained Australia 11 times in her 15 games for the Jillaroos and has been a constant advocate for greater participation, better funding and promotion for the women’s game.
Fanning played for NSW in 2002 and was capped 24 times for the Jillaroos, joining Gale in that inaugural Test against the Kiwi Ferns.
After her playing days were over she stepped into Rugby League administration roles as manager of the Indigenous Women's All Stars team, Chairperson of the Australian Rugby League Indigenous Council, and President of the Canberra and Australian Women's Rugby League Associations.
The Canberra women’s Premiership is named the Katrina Fanning Shield in her honour, and she is currently a director on the Canberra Raiders board.
In 2014, she was named Canberra Woman of the Year, and ACT NAIDOC Person of the Year. And in 2020 the proud Wiradjuri woman was ACT Australian of the year.
