Canberra’s 2023 Citizen of the Year, Katrina Fanning. Photo: Sally Hopman.
Katrina Fanning has often told the story of her battle as a young eight-year-old girl wanting to play rugby league in her hometown of Junee.
The only avenue to play rugby league was in the boy’s competition.
The boys, though, weren’t keen on playing against a girl, nor it would seem, were the administrators as they struggled to make a decision about her prospects to play. In the end, halfway through the season, Katrina was allowed to play with the junior boys.
And with that decision, a legend was born.
When she turned 12, she was told she couldn’t play in the boy’s competition anymore. So, it wasn’t until she moved to Canberra that she returned to playing, this time in an all-women’s competition.
It’s a story worth repeating, given the prevailing focus on the here and now.
Many involved in rugby league today might feel that the opportunity has always been there for women to be paid to play their game of choice, rugby league. To be fair, though, the pay is not a fortune, but it’s progress towards parity with their male colleagues.
Progress has been at a snail’s pace, with the majority of funding in the game going to the men.
Gone are the days when women were happy to be merely participating. The focus in the current day game is all about competing. This is why the modern-day player in the NRLW should pay homage to Katrina Fanning.
The Raiders NRLW presented to the crowd at Canberra Stadium on 19 June 2023. Photo: Ric Condon.
It is not just because she played 26 tests for Australia over a 14-year career, or that she played in the inaugural test against New Zealand in 1995, or that the Canberra Women’s Rugby League competition is named in her honour.
While her career as a player is impressive, her influence within the wider community has been even more impressive.
Katrina is the chairperson of the Australian Rugby League Indigenous Council, she is a Raiders board member, president of the Canberra Women’s Rugby League, and is a driving force in improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Katrina has won many awards, including the ACT Australian of the Year. Photo: File.
There have been awards for her considerable contribution, including the ACT Citizen of the Year, ACT Australian of the Year and the ACT NAIDOC Person of the Year.
There was also an AO in the 2023 Australia Day honours.
And the honours continue to flow.
This week, Katrina will be one of six inaugural female inductees to the NRL Hall of Fame alongside fellow pioneers Tarsha Gale, Nat Dwyer, Karyn Murphy, Veronica White and Tahnee Norris.
As with these significant Hall of Fame inductees, the award is recognition of her on-field skills, as well as her considerable influence and contribution within the broader community.
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