Following a brilliant Challenge Cup final, the Women’s Super League gets underway this weekend – with a new format.
The division is split into two groups, with the top five sides battling for the league title in Group 1.
Seven others will fight it out in Group 2, including Super League newcomers Barrow Raiders and Leigh Miners Rangers.
We’ve spoken to a player from every club to get the lowdown on Group 2 ahead of the campaign…
BARROW RAIDERS with Venessa Temple
Last season: 2nd in Championship (promoted), Coach: Amanda Wilkinson
How can you improve on last season?
Barrow have just been promoted from the Championship to Super League so that is a massive step up. I think as a group we have improved and strengthened the squad, but it’s going to be a bit of a shock coming up to Super League for them.
What are the team’s key strengths?
The defence is really good. and when we do play the ball we’re good with our moves, they fit really well. We just need to work on not throwing the ball away so much and keeping hold of it sometimes, not being afraid of running straight.
Who are your players to watch?
We’ve got a couple of new players. Claire Hutchinson has come from union, I’ve played union with her and she’s really good and strong. We’ve got a couple of quick backs and Jodie (Litherland), our captain, is a good player of the ball as well. I think a few will stand out and come into their own.
BRADFORD BULLS with Alice Fisher
Last season: 4th in Super League Shield, Coach: Sean Flynn
How can you improve on last season?
We’ve got a new squad this year so hopefully if we build on where we finished last year and get the squad working towards our end-of-season plan, hopefully it will take us forward for the following year.
What are the team’s key strengths?
We’ve just got a really good group at the minute. Everyone communicates well, we all train really well and we all get on.
Who are your players to watch?
Our captain Jess Harrop and vice-captain Amy Boardman.
CASTLEFORD TIGERS with Kaitlin Varley
Last season: 4th in Super League play-offs (voluntarily relegated), Head coach: Matty Faulkner
How can you improve on last season?
The goal is to finish at the top of the second division, with us dropping down. We don’t want to drop our standards so finishing top of that division is really important for us.
What are the team’s key strengths?
We’ve got a lot of pace in our team, so I think on bigger pitches we’ll be able to exploit teams a lot easier.
Who are your players to watch?
Verity Randall has a lot of pace, and Natalia Mia is also a very good player.
FEATHERSTONE ROVERS with Charley Blackburn
Last season: 2nd in Super League Shield, Coach: Marie Colley
How can you improve on last season?
As a team we’re really coming together, and over the Challenge Cup we’ve built a lot of great bonds with our new girls. For us the only way is up after gaining our new girls and working together as a team to build on what we’ve already created.
What are the team’s key strengths?
We’ve always been forward-strong at Featherstone, and the new additions that we’ve got only make us stronger. We have built a lot in our backs as well though, we’ve made additions all around the park.
Who are your players to watch?
Amy Backhouse, one of our second-rowers from Castleford, has been a massive influence on how we’ve played and she’s a massive role model to a lot of us, she’s got a lot of experience. And Chloe Billington in our centres is absolutely outstanding, she’s got magic feet.
LEIGH MINERS RANGERS with Charlotte Hill
Last season: 1st in Championship (promoted), Coach: Nigel Johnson
How can you improve on last season?
Last year we were in a different league, so this year we are just going to have to concentrate on staying in this league. We just need to put 100 per cent into everything we do. Seeing how we play in our first game against Wakefield will give us some indicator of what we need to do.
What are the team’s key strengths?
We’ve got a really strong middle, which I think will give us an advantage. It’s a lot stronger than last year so that hopefully will take us up the field. And everyone will work for each other, which is important for us.
Who are your players to watch?
We have got a few new girls., and Grace Morley scored a lot of our tries last year so she is one to look out for.
WAKEFIELD TRINITY with Saskia Lewis
Last season: 5th in Super League Shield, Coach: Liam Harnell
How can you improve on last season?
We’ve recruited well so that’s definitely going to help our performances, and we’ve put in a big pre-season. We didn’t complete too much last season but this year we’ve definitely upped that, and we’ve been focusing a lot on what we did wrong last year to fix up this year.
What are the team’s key strengths?
I think our defence has been quite good this year, definitely on an improvement on last year. And I think we’ve got a lot of good runners this year. We’ve got hard hitters but players that are fast, and that combination will be really good for us.
Who are your players to watch?
Libby Priestley is a good player for us; she’s a really strong runner, as is Lauren Harvey. Then we’ve got some good wingers and centres out wide so I think overall we’ve got a good team this year.
WARRINGTON WOLVES with Sammy Simpson
Last season: 3rd in Super League Shield, Coach: Lee Westwood
How can you improve on last season?
Last season we got through to the semi-final and got knocked out by Huddersfield. It was a close game that we lost on golden point. That was purely our try-line defence, so that’s what we need to work on this season. We have been working hard in pre-season towards that, and yesterday we played a friendly against Huddersfield and that was another close game where we improved massively on the goal-line defence.
What are the team’s key strengths?
Our forwards in the middle are nice and strong but I would say we’ve got experience in our backs. We’ve got a girl who has played for England as a fullback (Michelle Davis) and a girl who has played for England as a winger (Georgia Sutherland). We’ve got good speed so hopefully our edges are our strong point.
Who are your players to watch?
Our captain Michelle Davis is our fullback, she’s been brilliant.
