Early sessions big help for official NRLW pre-season prep

Day one of the official 2025 NRLW pre-season is here, but behind the scenes, the Titans women's squad have already been busily preparing to redeem their disappointing past season.

With the NRL allowing clubs to hold mandatory training sessions once a month since the beginning of the year, Gold Coast have been hitting the Parkwood paddock since January, eyeing to avenge the way their last campaign finished after reaching the highs of a grand final in 2023.

In extension to the monthly opportunity to be ready for this week, what has impressed coach Karyn Murphy the most is the number of players who have been completing extra training at optional sessions - setting the tone for the seven-week pre-season that is about to commence.

"We’ve been allowed as a game to have one mandatory session per month where we bring the whole squad, but we’ve also held optional sessions each week for those girls who can make it," she told titans.com.au.

"We’ve had a really good uptake on these which has been really pleasing to see, as it allows us to get a crucial few months of conditioning and skills into the girls.

"It's a really quick pre-season, so it has let us hit the ground running today in what is officially day one."

The early preparations have allowed for the Titans mentor to fast-track their game progress with a spine shake-up imminent due to the Evania Isa'ako's (nee Pelite) pregnancy, helping in ensuring they'll be ready for the first ball to be kicked, which happens on July 5 in Townsville.

"From the mandatory sessions we've held since the start of the year, it's allowed us to break it down and hone in on conditioning and skills during the last few months," Murphy said.

"Upon getting the entire group except for our Origin girls in today, we can already begin implementing and putting how we want to play in to practice, which will be hugely beneficial to be ready to go for our first game against the Cowboys in early July."