The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are excited to announce that they will field both a men’s and women’s team in this year’s NRL Touch Premiership.
The Bulldogs will join the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Manly Sea Eagles as new clubs in the competition for this season to play alongside existing teams the Brisbane Broncos, Gold Coat Titans, North Queensland Cowboys and New Zealand Warriors.
Touch Football is Australia’s largest social sport, with 700,000 players competing across the country. But the elite version of the game is something else, said NRL Touch Football CEO Jamie O’Connor.
“As I’ve said before, because of the speed of elite Touch Football, the phenomenal footwork, long balls, dives and fast-paced try-scoring, each NRL Touch Premiership gameday is like watching an hour-long Kalyn Ponga highlights reel.”
O’Connor is looking forward to having the Rabbitohs, Bulldogs and Sea Eagles join the competition for 2020. “Touch Football has huge participation and popularity in the regions of all three clubs,” he said.
“Canterbury Touch Association is thriving, with their women’s team winning New South Wales’ elite domestic competition last year, and Bankstown Sports’ men’s team winning the male division. Things look bright for the Dogs this year.”
Bulldogs Chief Executive Andrew Hill was equally excited about being part of a competition that showcases the talents of the best touch players on a major stage:
“Touch Football is an incredibly exciting sport that can be enjoyed by players of any age, gender and skill level."
It is one of the most popular sports in the country and the speed and skills of the game make it great to watch.
We are delighted that local players are now going to be able to represent the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL competition and will receive the full support from our club.
We look forward to all Bulldogs supporters getting behind the team this season.”
The NRL Touch Premiership consists of elite touch football games – a 30-minute men’s game and 30-minute women’s game – played at major stadiums around Australia and New Zealand ahead of NRL fixtures. Branding, including uniforms, aligns with the branding of each namesake NRL club.
The 2020 NRL Touch Premiership draw will be released shortly.
