NRLW secures big exposure amid timeslot challenges

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo is confident timeslot clashes between men's and women's matches will only be a short-term issue after fans were asked to pick between games when the NRLW kicks off this season.

The NRL revealed its women's draw for 2023 on Thursday, with the league expanding to 10 teams and a nine-round regular season.

Gold Coast will host North Queensland in the NRLW season opener on July 22, as one of three matches to be played on the competition's opening day.

Newcomers Cronulla and Canberra will also clash in the opening round, while Wests Tigers' inaugural match will be against Parramatta.

In a significant boost for the NRLW, all 48 matches will be shown on free-to-air TV via the Nine Network, placing it above the likes of the WBBL, A-League Women and AFLW.

Most rounds will include an NRLW double-header, while every team will play at least one match at the same venue as their men's side.

There will also be prime-time Thursday night games in the final two rounds, with the men's finals leaving the spot vacant.

But there are challenges.

The FIFA Women's World Cup has left the NRL with less flexibility in stadiums, while the desire to play most games on weekends has limited the amount of timeslots available.

As revealed by AAP on Wednesday, 15 of the women's games will clash with men's matches, leaving viewers to choose between the competitions.

It marks the first time the NRL has had fans regularly choose between the broadcast of games since 2013, while concurrent Friday night games were played in the men's as recently as 2016 but with split broadcasts.

"We are treating this year as a test run too," NRL CEO Andrew Abdo told AAP.

"It's not set in stone for the next couple of years.

"This particular season we have a couple of challenges. We have the FIFA Women's World Cup and we lose a lot of stadiums. We have more constraints than normal.

"In future years we are going to think innovatively about how we can avoid slot clashes.

"But obviously as the competition grows, you are going to have to find a slot for these fixtures."

Still, the clashes do offer some positives with Nine able to offer free-to-air rugby league throughout both weekend days.

"They are very excited about this and we wanted to make sure it was on the main channel, being promoted in all markets," Abdo said.

"So it's great exposure for our players and clubs."

The announcement comes after Papua New Guinean international Elsie Albert became the latest big-name player to trade clubs on Thursday, moving from St George Illawarra to Parramatta.