The NRL’s new television campaign will feature female players for the first time as the focus shifts onto the next generation of superstars.

The theme behind the new marketing pitch is ‘A New Era Begins’, with a focus on the link between clubs and their communities. The clip opens with Cowboys forward Jason Taumalolo preparing to shoulder the weight of his community’s expectations for the coming season before moving through the club heartlands of the 16 men’s teams and, for the first time, the four women’s sides.

Young guns Kalyn Ponga, Josh Addo-Carr, Victor Radley, Jayden Brailey, AJ Brimson, Nick Cotric and Nathan Cleary are among the players featured. Female stars Samantha Bremner, Teuila Fotu-Moala, Georgia Hale and Simaima Taufa also make history by featuring in the advertisement.

“The overarching idea for this year’s launch campaign focuses on the link between clubs and their communities, the uniqueness of each of the 16 clubs and finally the game moving forward into a new era, brought to life through the emerging male and female players that will captivate a new generation of fans,” said the NRL’s head of marketing, Peter Jarmain:

“There are multiple initiatives and activations as part of this campaign, that will be brought to life at key points across the season including a focus on rivalry games, player stories and community content pieces, and a retail layer to drive attendance at key games.”

The NRL campaign premiered on Tuesday night.