University of Canberra scholarship a game-changer for ACT Brumbies Gabby Petersen, Grace Kemp and Ash Fernandez

You spend your spare time going to university tutorials - you know, so you can actually learn how to implement things in clinical practice for midwifery - or reviewing training sessions.

Then you find yourself worrying about finding more time for work, because you're wondering "how you're going to pay your car rego the next day".

That's Gabby Petersen's week in a nutshell.

But now a University of Canberra initiative designed to fuel the rise of women's sport is set to ease the financial burden on a trio of Brumbies and help them focus on rugby.

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Brumbies trio Petersen, Grace Kemp and Ash Fernandez have earned women's emerging leaders scholarships at the University of Canberra.

The scholarship program provides financial support for talented female rugby players to ease the burden as they balance tertiary education and a playing career.

University officials say the scholarships - funded by the Lestari Foundation - align with a sport strategy launched in 2021.

"It takes a huge load off the shoulders and off the mind as well," Petersen said.

"Especially when you're trying to concentrate and divide your attention between so many things and not worry about how you're going to pay your car rego the next day. I don't even know how to describe the relief.

"The scholarship being introduced, it adds a whole new element where athletes can afford to put more effort into their training which ultimately improves the whole game."

Scholarships like this form part of a rapidly changing landscape in women's sport.

The Wallaroos will receive centralised part-time contracts from Rugby Australia as the nation moves towards a professional program ahead of the 2029 World Cup.

More than $2 million of additional funding will be injected into the sport for the coming campaign with up to 35 players to be centrally contracted.

Beyond that, the NRL has found common ground with the RLPA on the future of the NRLW, which will become a 20-week commitment.

Teams will be granted a salary cap of $900,000 for this season at an average of $37,500 per player, with the cap to go to more than $1.5 million in 2027.

And women's cricket has changed forever following the advent of the Women's Premier League Twenty20 tournament in India, with Ashleigh Gardner hitting the jackpot when bought for $558,000 at the inaugural auction.

"This is massive. I work four days a week, I do training five days a week in mornings and afternoons, and then I'm at uni one day a week trying to cram everything into one day," Kemp said.

"For girls like Lily Bone, who is in the development squad at the moment, by the time she is my age, she'll be able to be a full-time athlete. Hopefully I'll be able to be a full-time athlete in the next two to three years.

"I'd probably be less tired ... or probably even more tired from all the training. I'd just be able to focus on my footy, which I would love to do at the moment.

"It would give me that opportunity to really knuckle down."

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