Following an update to members at this week’s AGM, the North Sydney Bears have now confirmed that the club will not be registering a team in the Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership in 2024. Over the last five years our senior women’s program has experienced immense growth including taking out the coveted award of Minor Premiers in both 2022 and 2023, making this a very difficult and disappointing decision for the club. The HNWP competition structure was changed this year by the NSWRL and in consultation with the NRL will run the season alongside the NRLW competition effectively as a feeder (reserve grade) and pathway program. This change means that the club can no longer attract the high-quality players that we have in the past as they are now contracted to NRLW clubs. This greatly reduces the club’s capacity to recruit a competitive team in a strong competition. Given the success of this program in recent years it was important to again be competitive and this change of structure disappointingly impacts us. Instead, the club has worked hard to strengthen our own female pathway programs including developing an in district local all-girls 7 aside competition, broadening our Tarsha Gale Cup team and introducing our inaugural Lisa Fiaola Cup U17s representative squad in 2024. We look forward to when the opportunity arises to re-enter the HNWP competition in the future.