Cross-code talents could be forced to choose between a Wallaroos jersey and an NRLW premiership mission with Test coaches declaring: "we want the girls who are excited about rugby".
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Clubs like the ACT Brumbies and Canberra Raiders are happy to share talent at a domestic competition level, with players able to finish a Super W campaign before starting an NRLW pre-season.
But pre-season programs for the rapidly expanding NRLW competition are on a collision course with Wallaroos Test matches which could leave some rugby stars at a fork in the road.
Brumbies No. 8 and potential Raiders signing Grace Kemp, who has played for the Wallaroos, could be caught in the crossfire ahead of Australia's first Test against Fiji on May 20.
"Realistically, they've got to choose rugby," Fava said.
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"At the end of the day, it's great to have that opportunity to have different sports chasing you, but we want the girls who are excited about rugby and how they can develop in rugby.
"If that's the pathway they want to choose, there's nothing we can do about it. We've got to put our attention into the girls who are here and want to be developed within this game."
Wallaroos coaches picked an initial squad on Tuesday night but are waiting on a handful of injury updates before they reach out to selected players on Sunday.
Brumbies duo Faitala Moleka - a rising star at flyhalf - and fullback Ash Bishop are two of the new faces in the Wallaroos' players of national interest squad, with the door ajar for them to force their way into a Test squad this year.
"It is a difficult process, there's no doubt. We've got a contracting model which allows us to pick up the top 30, so we know they're secured," Fava said about retaining rugby's best talent amid NRLW poaching raids.
"It's those peripheral girls that do well in the competition and haven't been aligned with the Wallaroos in the national contracting opportunity. We've got to identify them and get them into our PONI squads, and get them into the national squad as quickly as possible."
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Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
