āLike what are we instilling in our future if that's who is bringing up our next generation? Julia is the prototype of what you want as a female athlete. Sheās strong, fast, fit and wins every fitness test.
āShe eats well and is the benchmark for others to be.Ā Then you get asked with some of the bigger girls how do they run. Well how about you have a look or even better turn the TV off and keep scrolling. Just ignore it if upsets you that much.ā
Broncos captain Ali Brigginshaw said body shaming were among the negative comments that players constantly read while other jibes towards their gender are also high on the list.
āNo matter if itās in sport or in your workplace, thereās always something if youāre a female. Thereās always a comment around it. Itās not ok for people to shame peopleās bodies,ā Brigginshaw said.
āUs women are very strong, but if youāre having that bad day and you see that comment, you might not be so strong.
āThatās when these trolls think itās ok just to free speech whatever they want. Itās not fair and itās not right.
"We see comments, or people might see comments and theyāre not directed at them so they leave them.
ā[It's important that] anyone who sees a negative comment, whether youāre a family friend, a mum, a player, that youāre reporting these comments. Because itās not fair on any player. Even in the menās space.
āIf you see a comment thatās unfair to any player, what we can do as a rugby league community is shut them down."
Dragons forward Elsie Albert is a constant target on social media with her physique drawing negative attention by people online regularly.
The NRL and Dragonsā social media accounts are often littered with comments towards the PNG star which are either filtered, monitored or removed.
Albert has learned to deal with the comments but has put practices in place to ensure she is not affected by them.
"I've just learned to stay off social media and not listen or read things from people I don't know," Albert said.
"There are a lot of comments out there from people who don't know me but will write something by how I look. It's not nice but I have a lot of support at the Dragons and in PNG.
"I train to be the best player I can be for my teammates and to be the best forward in the game. I play the game to have fun with my mates, not to read comments."
In March, Titans centre Evania Pelite responded through Instagram after screenshots of her breasts circled on social media following an embarrassing on-field moment where her sports bra was pulled from underneath her.
āI felt like I had to address it, I personally thought it was a funny situation but it can be sad if itās someone else, you feel like you have say something,ā Pelite said.
āItās more just around educating people. Like sure share it around, do what you want, but Iām proud of my body, Iām proud of my boobs and think they look great.
"Everyone's different with their body and appearance and while I found it all in good humour there needs to be a level of respect shown to players who may not."
The RLPA have launched their own way of support for Robinson,Ā encouraging fans to show off their musclesĀ using the hashtag #ShowYaMuscles in the lead-up to the NRLW season.
Source: NRL.com
