Former England captain Andrea Dobson is hoping for the perfect farewell as she prepares to pull on her boots for one last time.
The 34-year-old Featherstone Rovers forward will hang up her boots after their Super League Shield Final against Huddersfield Giants on Sunday.
She has spent the last 13 years with Featherstone Rovers and has admitted that while she could play on, now feels like the right time to bring the curtain down on a career that saw her make her international debut for Great Britain when she was just 16 years old.
“I don’t think it will be until I am out there or afterwards that it will really sink in that it is my final game,” added Dobson, who hasn’t had a season off since she first picked up a rugby ball 22 years ago at the age of 12.
“I have had a long career in the game, but I don’t think it’s something you really fully appreciate until you sit back and reflect on it.
“Some players have played on until they’re 36 or 37, so I don’t feel that old. But I have done it for so long now and played competitively for a long time now and I am really feeling it.
“The 18 months we had off through Covid did me no favours. With not being involved with England any more I didn’t have access to a gym, so just kept myself fit through running and cycling. But coming back into contact left me picking up a lot of niggling injuries, which has never really happened before.”
Featherstone’s game against the Giants in the first game of a double header being played at Emerald Headingley Stadium on Sunday, with the Super League Grand Final between League Leaders St Helens and reining champions Leeds Rhinos taking place afterwards.
The action gets underway at 12noon and any members and/or season ticket holder of the four teams involved can claim up to two free tickets, with only a £1 booking fee to pay for each ticket. Clubs will email eligible members with a promo code that can be redeemed at www.eticketing.co.uk/rugbyleague.
Women’s Super League Fixtures
Shield Final
Featherstone Rovers v Huddersfield Giants 12:00
Grand Final
St Helens v Leeds Rhinos 15:00 (TV)
Both at Emerald Headingley Stadium
The above content is also available in the regular weekly edition of League Express, on newsstands every Monday in the UK and as a digital download. Click here for more details.
