Cook Islands Rugby League (CIRL) has announced the indefinite cancellation of the women’s 9s competition for this season.

Rugby League competition coordinator Francis (Franky) Toa said the decision comes after the Lady Bears expressed withdrawing from the 9s competition.

She said the Lady Bears preferred to play a 13s format of games and not a 9s format in this year’s competition.

“Initially, Lady Bears had made their intention clear from the beginning of the season to play 13's, Unfortunately, their opponent the Lady Panthers aren't able to accommodate this due to the shortage of interested players they have.

“Lady Panthers have struggled this year with player recruitment.”
She said CIRL had hoped that this would improve as the season progressed, but it hasn't with Panthers only managing enough numbers for a 9's comp.

“CIRL had amended its rules earlier this year to allow a 9's format in our competition to cater for the shortages in numbers that we are facing with a focus around providing game time for the player as part of her development. 

She said it was a bit of a shame to bow out the women from the season, "just as we are heading into the beginning of finals play, but it is what it is for us and we just move on.”
She added that they would need to plan strategically for a better next season and work with key drivers that are able to influence the movement of rugby league for women as they have seen in past years.

Meanwhile, earlier in the season it was reported that CIRL is facing a shortage of players for the women’s league team in the league 13s championship.

It was earlier reported that there were only three clubs left to confirm at the start of the season- Arorangi Bears, Tupapa Panthers, and the Avatiu Eels women's team.

But both the Tupapa Panthers and Avatiu Eels were struggling with players, while Arorangi Bears had a good number of players because they picked them from the Titikaveka Bulldogs.

To address this issue, the first round of the women’s competition featured the women’s Exhibition Matches, which were friendly games aimed at generating interest and encouraging more women to participate in rugby league.

The hope was that these matches would spark greater involvement in the sport and help bolster the numbers for future seasons.