With the Women’s Super League season back this weekend, eight different squads of players will go out and give their absolute all for the cause, but only a small number of them will ultimately taste success by lifting the Challenge Cup in June or the Grand Final trophy in October.
And while rugby league is a team game, there is one big personal accolade up for grabs as well – being named Woman of Steel.
Going into the award’s seventh season Rugby League World looks back at the previous winners of this prestigious accolade.
2018 – GEORGIA ROCHE
AT THE age of 17 Georgia Roche wrote her name into the record books when she was named the inaugural winner of the Woman of Steel Award.
Although a half back now, Roche spent her early days at Castleford at loose forward, and it was from there she helped the Tigers to a fourth place finish in the league before losing out to Leeds Rhinos in the semi-final. She was also integral in the Tigers making the Challenge Cup Final – scoring four tries in the semi-final against York.
Although Castleford didn’t lift any silverware that year, Roche’s performances were enough to earn the vote for the award from her fellow Super League players.
She has since gone on to be a proven international star and a Grand Final winner with NRLW side Newcastle Knights, who she joined on a five-year deal after one season with Leeds Rhinos.
2019 – COURTNEY WINFIELD-HILL
DESPITE only taking up rugby league again the previous season Courtney Winfield – as she was known then – certainly found her feet quickly enough and was a vital part of Leeds Rhinos’ league and cup double in 2019.
The Australian half-back, who had mainly focussed her sporting prowess on cricket since last playing league when she was 12, scored the winning try as Leeds beat Castleford to claim the Challenge Cup and then captained them to another victory over the same opposition to claim the Super League crown.
Remaining at Leeds until her retirement following the 2022 World Cup, where she featured for England on residency grounds, Winfield-Hill remains the only Australian to take the award so far. But with more and more players coming from down under to try their hand in Super League, she may not hold that distinction for much longer.
2021 – JODIE CUNNINGHAM
FOLLOWING a year’s hiatus when the Covid-19 pandemic cancelled the 2020 season, St Helens captain Jodie Cunningham became the third winner of the award.
With the game still affected by cancellations due to coronavirus, the decision was made to switch to a panel of experts to select the winner rather than having the players vote as they had in previous years given that some teams hadn’t faced each other all year.
With St Helens completing the treble of League Leaders, Grand Final and Challenge Cup, it was perhaps hardly a surprise that it was a Saints star who took the prize that year.
Always giving everything she has on the field, Cunningham was given the nod ahead of team mate Emily Rudge, who also made the five-player shortlist.
2022 – TARA JANE STANLEY
JODIE CUNNINGHAM was up for the award again in 2022 but with York emerging as real challengers for silverware, a fourth different club in four seasons were celebrating the prize.
Stanley joined her former Castleford Tigers coach Lindsay Anfield at York ahead of the 2022 season and helped the side claim their first major trophy by finishing top of the league – losing just once all season. They also claimed the inaugural Rugby League Nines title in the same year.
The fullback quickly became famed for her speed and devastating side step which both bamboozled and amazed many of the opposition players she went up against.
Stanley’s great form carried forward from the league season into the international set up as she was one of England’s stand out performers at the World Cup and went on to be named in the Team of the Tournament.
2023 – SINEAD PEACH
TWELVE months on from Tara Jane Stanley’s victory, York claimed another Woman of Steel winner when hooker Sinead Peach was unanimously voted as the game’s best player in 2023.
Peach was an ever-present in her first year as the Valkyrie’s captain, often putting in 80 minute performances as the side retained their Leaders’ Shield and claimed a first Grand Final triumph.
It was a case of third time lucky for Peach, who had been shortlisted for the award in the previous two campaigns, further cementing claims that she is one of the most consistent performers in the competition.
Her hopes of retaining the title were halted when she announced her pregnancy ahead of last season, but now back playing and looking to be as influential as ever, her hopes must be high that she can become the first player to take the title on two separate occasions.
2024 – GEORGIE DAGGER
WHEN you are covering the positions left vacant by not just one, but two, former Women of Steel the pressure is definitely on to live up to their achievements – and Georgie Dagger (previously Hetherington) certainly did that.
With Sinead Peach already out and Tara Jane Stanley missing large chunks of the season through injury, Dagger found herself in the unusual situation of having to play two different roles in games – attacking from hooker and defending at fullback. It might have seemed chaotic at times, but Dagger made it work.
A second consecutive Grand Final player of the match award proved just how influential she had been to York once again.
And an extra piece of history – she was also the first mum to win the award too.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 508 (May 2025)
