England clash reminds Jillaroos how far they've come

Oversized jerseys and chicken schnitzel dinners come to Ali Brigginshaw's mind when she recalls her first game against England.

Brigginshaw is the only Jillaroos player remaining from that 2013 World Cup win who will line up against the old enemy in Las Vegas as part of rugby league's second annual foray into the American market.

The Test match on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) marks the first time a tier-one nation has contested a women's fixture outside Europe or the Pacific.

For Brigginshaw, the historic fixture is a reminder of the progress that's been made in the 12 years since her trip to England.

The NRLW's inception in 2018 signalled widespread growth in the women's game in Australia at all levels, with elite players making a salary of at least $41,800 for the season that runs from July to October this year.

That figure will grow to $50,600 for 2027, with still some way to go to reach parity with the men's competition, where players make at least $145,000 for their admittedly longer season in 2027.

But Brigginshaw remembers much humbler days for Jillaroos, who crammed into the same budget hotel as other teams that had travelled over for the World Cup in 2013.

The Jillaroos shared twin rooms with single beds.

"You were pretty much fighting over a bit of space. Now looking back on it, you laugh," Brigginshaw told AAP.

In 2013, the Jillaroos' jerseys weren't custom-made like they are today and most were too big, so the team had to swap internally to figure out which would fit which player.

There weren't dietician-prescribed meals for the team, so it was either eat at the pub each night, or skip dinner.

Brigginshaw knows that none of it amounts to genuine hardship, and looks back on the tour fondly.

But things feel pretty different staying at the four-star Park MGM on the Las Vegas Strip this week with a strong support crew in tow.

"The program itself has come so far. There's not too many things that we have to stress about," she said.

"I don't want to say everything is laid out on a platter, because that sounds like we're the queens, but it's just we can go over and play footy.

"That's what I love. We don't have to worry about every other thing. We just go to play rugby league."

England loom as the final frontier for the Jillaroos in unequivocally proving their status as the world's best team.

Australia have not faced the English, ranked third in the world, since 2017 - prior to the advent of the NRLW and the Jillaroos' wins at the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Pacific Cup.

Fullback Tamika Upton is wary of the English team, comprised of players from the Women's Super League.

"The girls are playing a lot of footy together," she told AAP.

"Their comp is going from strength to strength."