YORK VALKYRIE coach Lindsay Anfield is confident her side can make it third time lucky when they face reigning Challenge Cup holders St Helens at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Sunday.
The two sides met at the same stage of the competition in both 2023, when a last-minute field-goal won it for Saints, and 2024, when York were up against it from the start after a sickness bug ripped through the squad in the build-up, putting players out, while others carried on despite feeling below-par.
But with no such disruption this year, and strong off-season recruitment, Anfield believes her side are in a strong position to put an end to Saints’ dominance in the competition and prevent them from taking a fifth title in a row.
“There are always things you have to work around, but it’s a lot easier of a build-up this year than it was last year,” said Anfield. “We’re in a good pace at the minute so we’re looking forward to the game.
“As much as this tie is important to us and we want to write the wrongs of the last couple of years, we’ve then got Wigan, Leeds and Saints back to back in the league, so it’s making for a really intense month for us, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a run like this as a coach before, so it’s going to be challenging. But we’re relishing it.
“We made a statement last year in terms of our resilience in overcoming what we did to take the Grand Final, but it was clear in the close-season that we wanted to embrace a new style of attack, so we have gone out and got the players to allow us to do that.
“We’ve brought in Ellie Williamson, an out-and-out halfback with a great running and kicking game, Jaz Rampton, a strong-running centre and Izzy Bibby has come in to complement Sinead Peach down the middle. Her support play and pace around the ruck will allow us to be more expansive and be more entertaining.
“It’s early in the season, but what a great way to test what we’ve been doing.”