More than 450 people made their way to Cessnock Toyota Stadium on Saturday to check out action.

The stadium’s manager Brett Keeble said it was one of the most successful events the facility had hosted in his 12 months at the helm.

Mr Keeble said he didn’t get a chance to catch much of the competition, as the canteen was bombarded with people the whole night.

This kind of support is vital to female sport.

Women’s sport does still lag behind its male equivalent in terms of pay, spectator numbers and participation.

But there are things being done to try and change that, including the efforts of the roller derby teams and their fans.

Mr Keeble said that the Thursday night women’s netball competition that runs at the stadium was the most successful competition he had set up in the past year. 

Also in netball, the national league has set down a landmark pay deal for 2017.

The minimum salary will more than double from the previous arrangement, from $13,250 to $27,375.

Netball Australia said they hope this sets an example for others to follow. 

“We wanted to set the benchmark for women’s sport, and we absolutely believe that we have achieved this with the new CPA (Collective Player Agreement),” Netball Australia’s deputy chief executive Marne Fechner said.

In cricket, the NSW Breakers became the first professional domestic women's sporting team in October.

Earlier this month it was announced that the Cronulla Sharks signed Ruan Sims on the first ever rugby league women’s player contract.

It has still got a long way to go to match up to the men, but women’s sport has certainly come a long way.

To ensure it continues to develop, people need to support women’s sport.

There are ways we can do this in our community, such as heading out to watch a local women’s sporting event.

Local businesses can also look at sponsoring women’s teams.

It all helps in growing women’s sport to be the best it can be.