NRLW Clinician Jess Stoll Calls for Targeted Commercial Investment and Player-Led Health Programs

St George Illawarra Dragons NRLW Head Physiotherapist and The Female Collective Director, Jess Stoll, has urged sports administrators to back athlete-driven health initiatives with direct financial investment, citing player-led frameworks as essential for commercial growth in women’s sport.

Speaking ahead of her upcoming presentation at the Women in Sport Summit 2026, Stoll detailed the development of a landmark player-focused health program within the National Rugby League Women’s (NRLW) ecosystem.

The initiative—conceived alongside organisational lead Sheridan and researcher Mel—translates elite athlete feedback into national clinical practice, adapting frameworks initially pioneered internationally by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

Translating Athlete Demand into National Programs

Emphasising that structural innovation must originate from player feedback rather than top-down mandates, Stoll highlighted how clinician collaboration successfully delivered the NRLW program.

“I think it’s just that, you know, we can have these big ideas and we can actually put them into practice.”

“And a lot of these things, particularly with us in the NRL, is all player driven.

“Like the reason we got together and basically put together this program was because the players wanted it.

“And there were people on the ground such as myself as a clinician, we’ve got Sheridan, who’s obviously from an organisational perspective, and then Mel, a researcher, all coming together to be like, all right, how can we deliver what the players are asking for in a really cool way,” Stoll said.

While acknowledging similar health frameworks exist globally, Stoll noted the strategic significance of executing a coordinated team-sport model at a national league level in Australia.

“Yeah, and I think I think there is a lot of stuff happening out in lots of other organizations, but maybe in almost almost in the shadows.

“They’re sort of doing it solo or they’re sort of coming up against a lot of roadblock blocks for whatever reason.

“But yeah, I would definitely say that this is a pretty new thing particularly in Australia to pull together as an organisational at a national level competition to do.

“There’s things going on overseas, particularly in like the Women’s Tennis Association, which is where we kind of got the idea from in the first place.

“But to bring it back to back home to Australia and actually implement it in more of a team environment rather than an individual sport is pretty cool,” Stoll further explained.

Capital Allocation Imperative for Women’s Sport

Addressing the mindset shift required from executive leadership across national sporting organisations, Stoll stressed that high-performance athlete care demands proactive commercial investment rather than cost-minimisation strategies.

“I think probably two things, like listen to the people on the ground, particularly your players, and don’t be shy about investing in it.”

“Like any business owner, myself included, knows you’ve got to spend money to make money and these players and these people absolutely deserve investment from the ground up,” Stoll stated.

Expanding Grassroots and Leadership Pathways

Reflecting on regional participation growth in Wollongong across amateur, semi-professional, and professional ranks, Stoll reinforced that robust sporting systems build broader societal and career benefits for women.

“I just see everyone doing some version of it, basically.”

“The more people doing it, the better it is for their health. We know how important it is for women that play sports are more likely to be in leadership positions in their careers.

“Like sport is just an amazing platform for so many things.

“And the more people that do it, the better it’s gonna be,” Stoll said.

Looking toward her Summit address, Stoll hopes governing bodies adopt scalable versions of the NRLW model to improve athlete outcomes nationwide.

“Well, it’s that classic thing that we always say in women’s sport.”

“You can’t be what you can’t see,”

“So it’s giving you that example, being like, well, this is what we did.

“It’s absolutely possible.

“These are some insights on how we made it happen.

“Now everyone goes and does the same thing in your own sport, in your own organisation,” Stoll said.

The Women in Sport Summit runs from 19–22 October 2026 at Adelaide Oval, with the Leadership Summit taking place on Wednesday 21 October. Secure a ticket here now!!!