Player's Guide to QRL Statewide Women's and Girls' Rugby League Ages 16+ 2026

Match length (two equal periods with a 10-minute half-time interval, and time off as indicated by the match official is permitted)

• BMD Premiership: two 35-minute periods.
• Harvey Norman Under 19s and Harvey Norman Under 17s: two 30-minute periods.

Season length

• BMD Premiership: a maximum of 11 premiership rounds, then a 4-week finals series.
• Harvey Norman Under 19s and Under 17s: a maximum of 7 premiership rounds each, then a 2-week finals series.

Competition points: win 2, draw 1, loss 0, bye 2, receiving a forfeit 2, forfeiting 0. A forfeit is recorded as a 40-0 score to the other team for the points table.

Finals: you are eligible for the finals series of the competition in which you played the majority of your games. If you played equal numbers in several levels, you qualify for the lower level.

Match timings may be altered by the QRL Competitions Manager because of travel delays or the heat policy.

Source: 2026 Statewide Competitions Operations Manual, clauses 7.8 to 7.11, 10.3, 10.4 and 23.5 to 23.8.

• Thirteen players per team are on the field at any one time, and each team must list four interchange players on its official team list.
• BMD Premiership, Harvey Norman Under 19s and Harvey Norman Under 17s teams can use up to 10 interchanges in ordinary time. Each team gets a set of official interchange cards numbered 1 to 10.
• To interchange, the interchange player must personally take a card, in ascending numerical order (1st interchange hands over card 1, and so on), to the Interchange Official. Trainers cannot carry or present the card.
• You may only enter once the Interchange Official has accepted your card and the player you are replacing has left the field. You enter from an onside position.
• A maximum of two interchange players can report to the Interchange Official at any one time.
• Interchanges can occur during general play, after scoring or when play is suspended. At scrums, they are only allowed at scrums from a touch line stoppage, and only if the interchange player is already with the Interchange Official.
• Interchanging a bleeding player counts towards the 10.
• A free interchange (not counted) applies if you are fouled by an opponent who is sin binned or sent off and you must leave the field with an injury from that incident, provided it is made without delay.

Source: 2026 Statewide Competitions Operations Manual, section 27.

Temporary suspension (sin bin)

• You leave the field and stay in the sin bin area allocated by the home team until the suspension ends.
• The suspension is 10 minutes of playing time. It starts when the referee signals time-on or play recommences, and pauses if the referee signals time-off.
• It does not include the half-time break. It stops at the end of the first half and resumes at the start of the second half. If play continues after the siren, that time counts towards your suspension until the referee blows time on the half.
• If more than one player is suspended from the same incident, the suspensions are equal and those players return together.
• You re-enter from an onside position after reporting to the interchange official and touch judge.

Permanent dismissal (send-off)

• You must go straight to your team's dressing room and stay there until you have changed out of your playing uniform.
• You cannot return to the players' bench unless it is outside the area bounded by the fence around the playing area.
• The referee lodges an On-Field Incident Report for the dismissed player with the QRL Ground Manager after the match.

Source: 2026 Statewide Competitions Operations Manual, section 9.

• Protective equipment (shoulder pads, arm bands, rib covering, head gear and hip pads) may be worn provided it contains nothing of a rigid nature. Match officials make the final decision on what is rigid.
• Compression garments may be worn if they do not extend below the elbow or knee, outside the neck or collar of the jersey, or past the length of the playing sock. They must be black or an approved colour matching the playing socks. Full-length compression garments are not permitted unless approved by the Competitions Manager or backed by medical clearance or religious advice.
• Boots: studs must be no less than 8mm in diameter at the apex and, if metal, must have rounded edges.
• Jersey: it must be tucked inside the top of the shorts and stay tucked in throughout the match. Extra short jerseys or ones cut above the waist are prohibited.
• You must not wear any item that might prove dangerous to other players. If in doubt, have the match officials approve it before the match starts.

Source: 2026 Statewide Competitions Operations Manual, clauses 11.2 to 11.6.

• Gloves and mittens are prohibited.
• All visible body jewellery must be removed, and non-visible jewellery must be taped before the match starts.
• Power bands and wristbands may be worn but must be covered by tape so that no part of the band is visible.
• If you have beads in your hair, you must remove them or wear head gear that covers them.
• "Knotting" (tying a knot in the jersey) and "bundling" (pulling the jersey into a bundle or tail and taping it) to tighten the fit are prohibited.
• Any non-standard or modified equipment must first be approved by the Competitions Manager (or their nominee) before you use it in a match.
• The referee can order you to remove any item that might be considered dangerous, and you cannot take any further part in the match until it is removed. If the start or restart would otherwise be delayed, you must leave the field to remove it.
• Match officials check all equipment before each match.

Source: 2026 Statewide Competitions Operations Manual, clauses 11.7 to 11.15.

Registration

• BMD Premiership and Harvey Norman Under 19s players register as "Player Tackle" with the Statewide Competition club, which becomes their primary club. They must sign a QRL Player Agreement via DocuSign, and a digital copy must be lodged with the QRL within 10 days of signing, before the player takes the field in any capacity.
• Harvey Norman Under 17s players register as "Player Representative" with the Statewide Competitions club. A player who completes her obligations in the Under 17s and Under 19s and is then considered for the BMD Premiership must first get approval from the Statewide Competitions Manager, then register as Player Tackle with the relevant club and sign a QRL Player Agreement.
• All players must also be registered on the National Registration database (MySideline) before playing in any match, and must complete the State of Origin Eligibility part of their registration.
• You are only correctly registered when you are visible in the QRL's current Game Day Management System.
• BMD Premiership and Harvey Norman Under 19s players can be granted a Portability Permit back to their affiliate clubs. To play in a local league, Under 17s players must register as Player Tackle with the relevant local league club.

Squad sizes: contracts are only accepted for up to 30 players in each of the BMD Premiership, Harvey Norman Under 19s and Harvey Norman Under 17s squads. A player can only be added to a squad if an existing member has a season-ending injury, with medical confirmation and an application to the Competitions Manager.

Source: 2026 Statewide Competitions Operations Manual, section 26.

• Baseline cognitive tests: every player in all Statewide Competitions must undergo two baseline cognitive and concussion tests, through Cognigram and MyMedical (or another platform the QRL directs). One is for long-term player health and one is for match day assessment and return to play. Baseline testing must happen before you take the field in any trial or competition match, and preferably before the Christmas break.
• Education module: you must complete the relevant (junior or senior) mandatory online education module before taking the field in any trial or competition match.
• Wellbeing and education: all players must complete the required online wellbeing and education courses before the competitions start. These are mandatory before round 1, and you will not be considered for selection until they are complete and visible in your MySideline profile. For 2026, all players complete the 2026 Code of Conduct Quiz.
• Registration: you must be registered on the National Registration database (MySideline) before playing in any match, and Harvey Norman Under 19s and BMD Premiership players must also have signed a QRL Player Agreement and lodged it with the QRL.

Source: 2026 Statewide Competitions Operations Manual, sections 5, 26 and 38.

If the referee notices you are bleeding, or that your clothing or equipment is contaminated by blood, the referee stops play, calls time-out and signals the team trainer to attend.

• The trainer assesses whether you can be treated quickly on the field. If so, the referee tells you to drop out behind play and the match restarts immediately.
• If you need treatment off the field, the match does not restart until you have left the field. You can be interchanged, or your team can elect to play temporarily with 12 players.
• If the referee stops play twice for the same player and the same wound, you must be taken from the field for treatment.
• If you leave and are not interchanged, you may return at any time from an onside position. If you were interchanged, you can only return through the interchange official as a normal interchange player.
• A bleeding player who returns without having been interchanged may take a kick for goal. One who was interchanged may not take a kick for goal at that time.
• Stitching or stapling must be done in the team dressing room or shared medical facility, and the wound must then be bandaged or covered.
• If your clothing or equipment is contaminated by blood, you must be free of blood contamination before the referee lets you rejoin play, and until then you must at minimum drop out behind play. All but minor contamination requires replacing the clothing or equipment before you re-enter.
• Spitting is not permitted except in specified controlled areas, and players must not share drink containers.

Source: 2026 Statewide Competitions Operations Manual, section 3.

A player with a suspected concussion is removed from the field through the Head Injury Assessment (HIA) process and must not return the same day unless the attending doctor allows it.

• Your trainer assesses you on the field, including the modified Maddocks questions (what ground, which half, who scored last, what team you played last week, whether your team won the last game). An incorrect answer means you are removed from the field.
• You are also removed immediately after a blow to the head if you lose consciousness, lie motionless or are slow to get up, have balance or coordination problems, are disoriented or confused, lose memory, look dazed or blank, or have a visible facial injury together with any other sign.
• The game day doctor assesses you over a mandatory 15-minute HIA period, including a 5-minute rest, a neurological examination and an online SCAT6. Your team has a free interchange while you are assessed.
• If the doctor diagnoses concussion, you do not return to the field that day. If you are found not to have a concussion, you may return but must be regularly re-evaluated by the Head Sports Trainer.
• If you are unconscious or have neck pain, you are immobilised and treated as a spinal injury.

When in doubt, the doctor is in charge and has the final say.

Source: 2026 Statewide Competitions Operations Manual, Appendix 5.

• You cannot return to the field that day, and you must not return to play or training that day until the club doctor clears you through the QRL Return to Play Sign Off process.
• After the match you are assigned to the care of a responsible adult (a family member, sports trainer or club official) and should not be alone for at least the next 24 hours. The carer is given a head injury sheet and told the warning signs, and should monitor you particularly over the next four hours.
• You should avoid alcohol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication the day after the injury, and must not drive that day.
• The club doctor evaluates you within 36 to 48 hours through the MyMedical HIA follow-up.
• You must complete an online Cognigram After Injury cognitive test to an acceptable level before returning to training and playing.
• You must be symptom free for 10 days before clearance. If your Cognigram results have not returned to normal within 10 days, consideration must be given to referring you to specialist services.
• Return to sport is only after the Return to Play Sign Off medical clearance.

Source: 2026 Statewide Competitions Operations Manual, Appendix 5 (QRL Concussion Management Policy and Procedure).

The QRL Match Review Committee meets at 4.30pm on the first business day after the round (generally Monday). Clubs must submit incidents they want reviewed by 2.00pm that day.

• Charges are issued in writing by email to the coach, operations manager and CEO of the offending player's club by 12.00 noon on the second business day (generally Tuesday).
• You or your club must lodge your election to the charge by 8.30am on the third business day after the match (generally Wednesday).
• If the QRL has not received notification in time, you are taken to have accepted the Committee's decision and taken the Early Guilty Plea.
• Charges that are contested or referred directly to the Judiciary are generally heard on Wednesday evening.

If you are suspended or disqualified, you cannot play in any match until the suspension is served or the disqualification expires, and you must not enter the playing field or area inside the fence before, during or after a match.

Source: 2026 Statewide Competitions Operations Manual, section 22 and clause 9.10.