It's great to see girls getting involved in rugby league, as seen in the tag rugby matches played before the match and at half-time on Sunday.

Great Britain are quite a force in the female world rugby league scene. They have beaten the Aussies several times in the past few years, although they still struggle quite a bit with the Kiwis.

The tag rugby set-up in New Zealand is massive, especially in the schools, and they play from a really young age so by the time it comes to making the transition to full-contact they are already very skilled and they are used to handling the ball.

I think the women's game has got a future in this country. I have watched a couple of games with GB ladies and some of it was quite skilful.

Girls in this country can play mixed rugby until under-12 level before the physical differences start to take control.

It's quite entertaining to watch and it gives girls another opportunity to try a new sport. If they don't like the full contact game, they can still play tag, but if they like it they can target progress into the under-21 team, the open-age regional squads and then there's full Great Britain honours to be gained.

Girls and women playing can only be good for the game. The more people there are playing, then hopefully the more people are going to watch and the more people watching means more clubs with financial security.

There tends to be quite a lot of female supporters at games. It depends on where you have been brought up. If you come from a rugby league family where your father played or a brother played then you're more likely to watch it as you grow up.

Former York scrum-half Danny Brough has been getting a regular place in the Hull FC line-up and it proves that there can be a pathway from the lower divisions into Super League.

He's quite a competent player anyway but he has taken his chance at Hull. You could say he's also had a bit of luck when Richard Swain broke his arm and he got his opportunity but he's held his place and done well.

The training regime is completely different at Super League level. You go from training two or three times a week on a night to full time training which will have a lot more content to it.

We get quite a lot done with our guys at the Knights but in Super League you get weight sessions, speed sessions, conditioning sessions, skills sessions, more video work and better feedback because there's more staff.

It's good for some of the younger players to see how people like Danny Brough have done. Peter Fox is a Leeds player and Ian Kirke is training full-time at Leeds at the moment most of the week and he's handling it quite well, as we thought he would.

It shows that if you work hard enough at your game there can be a route to National League One, Super League or beyond.

There is a lot of talent in the National Leagues. A lot of players in the lower leagues have come down after being up at Super League or NL1, but there are still a lot of young players coming through.

It is difficult to make the transition if you haven't had that higher level connection because the Super League players have been full time since the age of 16. However, if you're dedicated enough and you are a good enough player, there is a potential path there.

Updated: 09:44 Wednesday, July 06, 2005