LEIGH LEOPARDS 20 BARROW RAIDERS 24
CHARLIE BOYER, Sutton Park, Saturday

BARROW sealed their place in next season’s Women’s Super League with a nail-biting victory over Leigh.

After sitting bottom for most of the campaign, the Cumbrian side have leapfrogged the Leopards, who now face a promotion/relegation play-off.

That will be at The Brick Community Stadium in Wigan on Sunday, September 27, against the winners of next Sunday’s Championship Grand Final between Manchester Swinton Lionesses and London Broncos.

Both of Barrow’s wins this season have come in the Shield stage of the competition and against Leigh, enabling them to finish ahead on points difference.

After a cagey opening ten minutes, hooker Leah Cottier was thwarted by strong goalline defence which was finally unlocked moments later thanks to a brilliant floated pass for Sam Norman to stroll her way to the line and open the scoring.

Amanda Wilkinson’s side continued to pile on the pressure, and it paid off midway through the first half thanks to Leah Clough who sliced through the Leigh defence from close range, before Nicole Stewart added two points with a simple conversion in front of the posts.

The home side’s first real opportunity of the game came ten minutes before the break, but neither Freya Turner or Eleanor Dainty could find their way to the line before squandering possession.

Five minutes before the break, Emily Baggaley went on a weaving run from her own half to put the Leopards in a great field position, and with the following play they were over in the corner through Abi Gordon to get on the scoreboard for the first time.

But the Raiders restored their ten-point lead right on the stroke of half-time thanks to another incisive ball which landed perfectly in the hands of Emma Hutchinson, with the winger finding her way home in the corner.

The visitors wasted no time at the start of the second half and were on the scoresheet again almost instantly, Maddie Houghton darting out of acting-half to touch down with Stewart adding the extras.

A golden opportunity to register a second score of the afternoon was given to Leigh following a knock-on deep inside the Barrow half and they took full advantage of it, moving the ball out to the left edge where Freya Turner was on hand to finish, before Charlotte Melvin’s kick from wide out cut the deficit to ten.

Every time the hosts got within touching distance, Barrow managed to pull away again and after going close through Stewart and Jodie Crawford, Hutchinson stretched out to plant the ball down amongst a sea of Leopards bodies and grab her second of the afternoon.

The hosts weren’t out of the game, however, and mounted quite the comeback.

Nine minutes from time, Rebecca Greenfield snuck underneath the Raiders defence and Melvin made it an eight-point ball game from the tee.

Then Hattie Dogus scored in the corner to put the Leopards within four points and shift the momentum in their favour with five minutes to go.

The home side couldn’t find their way through in the dying embers however, despite the pressure they applied on the line, as Barrow held on to book their place in the top tier again.

GAMESTAR: Emma Hutchinson looked threatening throughout and her two tries sealed the victory for the away side.

GAMEBREAKER: Strong defence in the dying embers of the contest from Barrow pulled them through and ensured they will be staying in the top tier in 2027.

MATCHFACTS


LEOPARDS
2 Toryn Blackwood
25 Freya Turner
3 Nicole Barnett
28 Hollie Bawden
1 Hattie Dogus
10 Mairead Quinn
5 Rebecca Greenfield
11 Emily Baggaley
14 Abi Gordon
16 Lucy Johnson
12 Charlotte Melvin
19 Libby Wall
8 Eleanor Dainty
Subs (all used)
13 Storm Cobain
16 Steph Gray
21 Olivia Hill
23 Albany-D Coates

Tries: Gordon (35), Turner (52), Greenfield (71), Dogus (75)
Goals: Melvin 2/4

RAIDERS
19 Blossom Howell
1 Sam Norman
3 Emily Stirzaker
17 Kelly Friend
5 Emma Hutchinson
13 Nicole Stewart
7 Beth Pattinson
15 Jodie Crawford
14 Leah Cottier
10 Jodie Morley
8 Leah Clough
26 Darcy Southward
9 Beth Lindsay
Subs (all used)
11 Lucy Dickinson
18 Megan Mayhew-Beach
23 Kendall Dutton
25 Maddie Houghton

Tries: Norman (10), Clough (20), E Hutchinson (38, 57), Houghton (42)
Goals: Stewart 2/5

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-10, 4-10, 4-14; 4-20, 10-20, 10-24, 16-24, 20-24

Rugby Leaguer and League Express Women of the Match
Leopards: Freya Turner; Raiders: Emma Hutchinson

Penalty count: 8-8
Half-time: 4-14
Referee: Ollie Maddock