Black Ferns great Portia Woodman-Wickliffe’s quest to play for the Newcastle Knights in the upcoming NRLW season is over because of a conflict of interest.
The 33-year-old – who exclusively revealed to the NZ Herald last year of her desire to play in the NRLW - had agreed to terms with the Knights last year to make the switch, but the NRL - which runs the women’s competition - refused to register the contract because of her ambassador role at the upcoming women’s Rugby World Cup in England.
That role would have seen her leave late in the season to fulfil her commitments and AAP reports Woodman-Wickliffe has since given up hope of making the switch to the 13-woman game.
AAP claims the NRL would have been open to Woodman-Wickliffe completing ambassadorial work, had it fallen outside of the season, but the conflicting schedules made it too challenging.
The NRLW season kicks off on July 3 with the grand final set to take place on October 5, while the women’s Rugby World Cup starts on August 22, ending September 27.
