On a day when Penrith Panthers made history in Australia by becoming the first side to win four successive NRL titles, York Valkyrie decided they were in the mood to write their own slice of rugby league folklore, too.
The development of the Women’s Super League in recent years has brought the emergence of a big four: St Helens, Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors and the Valkyrie. York, by their own admission, have always been a little bit of an outlier in that quartet, given their men’s side play outside Super League and they do not have the backing that the other trio perhaps do.
But what York do have is the WSL title – and the honour of being the first team in the competition’s history to win successive Grand Finals. They were written off before the playoffs this year and knew they would have to go to Leeds and St Helens to defend their title, all without their two star players, Tara-Jane Stanley and Sinead Peach.
Stanley will undergo knee surgery imminently and Peach is due to give birth in the coming weeks – but even without two of the biggest stars in the women’s game, York pulled it off and defied the odds. Their remit has been clear: inspire young girls in a region not synonymous with rugby league to get involved. Roared on by hundreds upon hundreds of travelling supporters here, they certainly seem to be doing that.
“The top three are the big hitters, they’ve got everything they need,” their coach, Lindsay Anfield, said. “But we’re a small club from a non-rugby league area and we’re trying to put it on the map. Hopefully this boosts the game and gets young girls playing rugby league.”
The men’s game will cast its eyes towards IMG this month and the revealing of the gradings that will decide which 12 teams play in Super League in 2025. But IMG should also be focusing some of its resources on women’s rugby league after a day which produced a record WSL crowd and another example of how York are inspiring young girls to pick up a rugby ball in North Yorkshire.
IMG wants to share inspirational stories. So surely the story of Kelsey Gentles, who returned this year from an 18-month lay-off after the birth of her daughter and scored the game-deciding try, is one worth telling? So too that of Georgie Hetherington, the game’s outstanding player here, who deputised in the absence of York’s stars and should win the Woman of Steel this week.
Even on the opposite side, St Helens have stories. Their hooker Tara Jones will transition into a career as rugby league’s first full-time female match official, for example. If IMG wants, it can make the WSL a phenomenon. The league has made enormous strides in recent years and appears to be nowhere near its ceiling.
Both sides played their part in a compelling final which, at half-time, was very much in the balance. At that stage, the Saints led by two points, having opened the scoring courtesy of a wonderful solo try from Leah Burke, the competition’s top try-scorer.
York responded through Lacey Owen but by the break two goals from the boot of Faye Gaskin – told she would never play again three years ago when she fractured a kneecap – had nudged the Saints ahead. They too were in pursuit of history –victory would have sealed a treble – but it would not be their night.
“We never really got going,” their coach, Matty Smith, said. “York are a tough side to beat: the best team won.” He was right. St Helens made too many errors at crucial points and York’s defensive resolve meant the eight points the Saints scored in that first half were never likely to be enough.
The Valkyrie were outstanding after half-time and after an early try from the former Saint Eboni Partington they struck the decisive blow when Gentles forced her way over from close range. That try, which made it 18-8, seemed to break the Saints’ spirit. From there, you always felt it would be York’s day and their chance to write rugby league history.
