Betfred Women’s Super League final weekend

[Warriors News]

The final round of the Betfred Women’s Super League (BWSL) will take place this weekend (September 9/10) with the League Leaders’ Shield to be presented, and play-off and promotion places all to play for ahead of the competition moving to a new format next year.

From 2024 the top tier will be an eight-team competition including the six clubs from Group One of the current BWSL – Huddersfield Giants, Leeds Rhinos, St Helens, Warrington Wolves, Wigan Warriors, and York Valkyrie. The teams in Group Two will fight for two promotion spots to join them, with the first placed team going up automatically and the other up for grabs via the play-offs.

In Group One, York Valkyrie will become the first BWSL team in history to win the League Leaders’ Shield in successive seasons when they are presented with the trophy after their fixture against Huddersfield Giants on Sunday (September 10, KO 3pm). A win for Lindsay Anfield’s team would complete an unbeaten season as they look towards the play-offs in the quest for their first BWSL title.

Leeds Rhinos will host Wigan Warriors in the first part of a double header at Headingley Stadium on Saturday (September 9, KO 12.15pm) – both sides have effectively guaranteed their play-off place with the Rhinos set for a Challenge Cup Final rematch against St Helens and Wigan facing York Valkyrie should they finish the season in fourth place.

The final fixture in Group One will be contested between Saints and Warrington at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Sunday (KO 1pm).

The Group One semi-finals will take place on Saturday September 23 with both fixtures scheduled to take place live on Sky Sports – venue and timings will be confirmed in due course.

Three teams in Group Two will battle it out for automatic promotion to the top flight on Sunday – Barrow Raiders, Featherstone Rovers and Leigh Leopards are all in contention with a solitary point currently separating the sides.

Rovers will kick the day off when they host Salford Red Devils at the Millennium Stadium (KO 12pm) before Leigh Leopards take on Barrow Raiders at Leigh Sports Village (KO 2pm).

A win for the Leopards would guarantee them the League Leaders’ Shield and promotion to the top tier in 2024, alongside the big guns of the women’s game. Kieron Purtill’s side have suffered just one defeat all season and have continued to impress since partnering with community club Leigh Miners Rangers in 2022.

But Barrow will be keen to spoil the party, knowing a win could secure automatic promotion – although it would also open the door for Featherstone, who have a slightly superior points difference going into the last round of matches.

The two teams who miss out on the automatic promotion spot will have a second chance in the play-offs, which culminate in a promotion-deciding Final on Sunday October 8, before the BWSL Grand Final.

Elsewhere in Group Two, Castleford Tigers take on Bradford Bulls at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle (KO 2pm) where a win for the Bulls would secure their play-off spot.

The teams remaining in Group Two at the end of the play-offs will merge with the Championship from 2024 to sit in tier two of the national pyramid alongside four regional feeder leagues – Midlands, North, Roses and South.

Read Wigan Warriors Women’s Match Preview HERE as they prepare to face Leeds Rhinos at Headingley Stadium on Saturday 9th September.

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