The Australian Rugby League Commission has confirmed the third season of the NRL women's premiership will take place in September after months of uncertainty for players and staff involved.
Leading players from across Australia and New Zealand were told of the news late on Tuesday afternoon by interim NRL CEO Andrew Abdo.
Last year's premiers Brisbane Broncos will join runners-up St George Illawarra, Sydney Roosters and New Zealand Warriors in a four-week competition beginning alongside the men's Telstra Premiership finals series.
The NRL is confident Warriors players and staff will be available to travel to Australia by September, while any speculation that both the Warriors and Roosters were set to withdraw from the competition due to financial restraints appears to have been resolved.
pan66.com understands the competition was due to expand to six regular rounds in 2020, however, with the COVID-19 pandemic creating havoc across world sport, the teams are likely to revert back to the 2018 model where they meet each other once before grand final day on October 25.
It's also expected that games will be played as double-headers alongside the men's finals schedule to help maintain costs after two standalone fixtures were played last year.
"The women's game is a very important element of rugby league," ARLC chairman Peter V'landys said in a statement.
"We are very proud of our achievements in the women's game and we should be providing it the significance it deserves.
"I want to thank the clubs for their commitment to women's sport and the players themselves for their understanding as we worked through this process.
"I also want to thank our broadcast partners Channel Nine and Foxtel for their ongoing commitment to the women’s game."
The confirmation is a major step of acknowledgment for the women's game following confirmation a State of Origin match will be played as a standalone event on Friday, November 13.