Posted by RLPA
Top four clubs to play for revealed in 2025 Players’ Pulse
The Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) has expanded its annual player survey results in the 2025 Players’ Pulse to reveal the Top Four work places for players in both the NRL and NRLW competitions.
Key highlights of the 2025 edition of the Players’ Pulse include:
- Elite rugby league’s most conclusive cultural player demographics
- Agent sponsorship data for players
- A concussion focus in health & safety
- Men’s industry averages for club ranking and the Top Four clubs
- Women’s industry averages for club ranking and the Top Four clubs
- Impactful observations for the men’s game, including industry perceptions of the player voice
- Impactful observations for the women’s game, including protected hours.
In a demonstration of the players’ engagement with the survey and its process, a record number of over 800 NRL and NRLW players completed the RLPA’s annual member survey during the 2025 seasons. The Players’ Pulse survey involved over 100 questions on a range of topics from workplace environments and sponsorship deals to social media and racism.
The 2025 survey represents the RLPA’s largest data set to date and builds on the benchmarks set in the 2024 Players’ Pulse edition.
In 2024, the RLPA released a new grading system for clubs in both the NRL and NRLW competitions with only the top club in each revealed. In this edition, this grading has been expanded to the Top Four clubs in each competition to celebrate the work place successes of more clubs.
The de-identified grades of the other clubs have been included in the Players’ Pulse for the first time as well. Each NRL and NRLW club was presented with their individual club results before public release, allowing the RLPA to work collaboratively with the work places of our members to improve grades year on year.
The 2025 Players’ Pulse also reveals that the concussion blind spot at training is, unfortunately and worryingly, increasing, with men’s and women’s players experiencing more suspected concussions and more players continuing to train without receiving a medical clearance.
“The RLPA is proud to release its second edition of the Players’ Pulse, allowing the association to use benchmarks that give greater insights into our player data,” said Clint Newton, CEO of the RLPA.
“This player data is crucial to our ongoing work with clubs to ensure that elite rugby league work places continue to improve and set the standard for professional sport in our region. We would like to thank the NRL and NRLW clubs for their willingness to work with players.
“However, we believe there are still many areas for improvement that the NRL and clubs need to take more seriously, with suspected concussions at training at the top of that list.”
“The Players’ Pulse is a critical tool for the RLPA, especially in the lead up to the next CBA negotiations. Given the size of this data collection and the players’ trusted engagement in the process, the Players’ Pulse has become one of the most important documents for the industry every year.
Tim Watsford, the CEO of St George Illawarra Dragons, spoke about the value his club places on the Players’ Pulse and how it will use the data to make improvements.
“Player feedback and continuous dialogue is essential to understanding the challenges faced across our game,” said Tim Watsford.
“The RLPA player survey gives us important insights into what our players and clubs are experiencing day to day. At the Dragons, we’re committed to examining every angle to improve within our playing group, our high-performance systems, and the broader club environment.
“This, together with ongoing assessment, helps guide us toward being better, stronger, and more connected as an organisation.”
Lina Caccamo, the RLPA General Manager of Strategy and Innovation, says the 2025 Players’ Pulse has been further entrenched in the rugby league industry through its key insights.
“The Players’ Pulse continues to shine a light on areas of the players’ workplace that our members feel are important, deserve to be championed or need improvements,” said Lina Caccamo.
“With the second release of the Players’ Pulse, the rugby league industry is now able to build on the insights year on year, creating benchmarks that will benefit our members and therefore the clubs, the product and ultimately the fans.”
“Our members still require improvements across some areas if elite rugby league wants to entrench itself as the undisputed code to play for both aspiring and current professional athletes. We are pleased with how many clubs have engaged with the RLPA on their results and the Players’ Pulse as a trusted resource which has resulted in tangible improvements for players.
“However, the highlights in 2025 reveal that work needs to be done to allow players to better maximise the commercial return of their own intellectual property and for the female game to continue advancing minimum standards essential to the sustainable, professional careers they deserve.”
TOP FOUR NRL WORK PLACES FOR PLAYERS:
- Penrith Panthers
- Parramatta Eels
- Melbourne Storm
- Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
TOP FOUR NRLW WORK PLACES FOR PLAYERS:
- Sydney Roosters
- Parramatta Eels
- Gold Coast Titans
- Brisbane Broncos
ABOUT THE PLAYERS’ PULSE:
The RLPA’s Players’ Pulse is a snapshot of data taken from the players’ association’s annual member survey of NRL and NRLW players.
Made public for the first time in 2024, the Players’ Pulse represents the collective voice of elite rugby league players and serves as a crucial tool for understanding the evolving needs of our members.
The survey is completed anonymously by our members. The players’ association reserves the right to keep sensitive information confidential to protect the interests of our members and maintain integrity in the RLPA’s advocacy efforts.
The RLPA views the Players’ Pulse as crucial new initiative in our mission to empower players and advocate for a fair and thriving elite rugby league environment. As the Players’ Pulse evolves, the RLPA plans to expand its scope, ensuring that the voices of our members remain at the forefront of industry decision making.
