A new-look Warrington Wolves are aiming to improve their showing in the Women’s Super League this season.
NEW coach, new captain, new players, new focus. That’s the story of 2025 at Warrington Wolves. And it’s all being done in the name of long-term gain.
The first of these changes is the coach. Armani Sharrock stepped down at the end of last season after one campaign in charge, replaced by her assistant Ged Ginty, who has previously coached at Wigan Warriors and across the community game.
The second – captain. Former England international Dani Bound will now lead the team out on match days following the departure of Katie-May Williams. Charlie Magraw has stepped into Bound’s previous role of vice-captain.
And third – with many other players, including prolific try-scorer Sammi Simpson, heading for pastures new, Ginty has had something of a rebuilding job to do. In an otherwise youthful squad, former Wigan hooker Abbie Singleton perhaps tops the list of signings, but others including Emma Knowles and Hannah Goddard have also been in and around top-level Super League environments for the last few years.
But more on all those changes later, because perhaps the most crucial changes for the long-term future of the side have all come off the field, with planning for the future at the forefront of everybody’s minds.
“We’re trying to build the future of this club,” Ginty told Rugby League World.
“Since last season ended we have had some players retire and others have moved on to other opportunities, so there have been several player changes, but we’ve also been focussed on changing a lot of things behind the scenes.
“A lot of work is being done with the Academy and P2P (Pathway to Performance) programmes, and we are looking at how we integrate all of that. When you look at the players we have got coming through the pathways you can see we have some real talent.
“So it’s about how we nurture that and allow those players to grow so that they then slot into the first team when they are ready to do so.
“The Academy and P2P systems are the future of Women’s Super League.
“We are seeing some players coming in from overseas now which is good for the sport, but the longevity of the competition is going to come from today’s youth and local players.
“James Machin, who is our head of women and girls development and our Academy head coach, has put a lot of work into not only creating a very good set-up for these programmes but is also working with the community clubs to give some of their players the chance to train in the professional environment we have here.
“We need to keep doing this to get more girls playing and coming into the sport because that is where the next generation of Super League players and future England internationals will come from.
“We have also recognised that there were a lot of injuries in the first team last season and there is quite a lot being said about knee injuries in girls as well, so we’re bringing in a lot more injury prevention work and monitoring that. But we are also looking at how the girls can get any scans and treatment they need quicker so that we get back onto the road to recovery a lot sooner.
“Another thing we’re doing is working with the men’s first team on a system which will enable us to check on players’ welfare, before and after training as well as after matches.
“We’re bringing in something that has worked well for the men into the women’s section, so while we are performance driven, we’re also wellness driven, because a happier team is obviously going to perform much better than an unhappy team.
“So across the club, we’re working a lot closer with the club’s director of rugby Gary Chambers, Sam Burgess and the other first-team coaches to try and the align the whole club with everyone having a common goal of achieving for all the teams.
“It’s all looking good so far but there is still a lot more to do. But looking at where we are now compared to where we were in November when I took over, there is a huge difference. We just need to keep that momentum going now.”
As for the on-field changes, Ginty is confident that those too will come to the fore as the club looks to improve a seventh-placed finish in a 2024 season that saw them pick up just three league wins all year.
“Last season was really hard for the group and we knew we needed to change things in order to progress so that’s what we’ve done,” continued Ginty.
“We have still got the core of the squad from last season so they have experience of Warrington and they are using that to help the new girls bed into the team.
“The new girls have come in full of enthusiasm and everything we ask them to do, they do at 100 per cent.
“A lot of them have been around a professional environment and have been coached by some very good coaches. They come to us with enthusiasm because for some of them this is their first chance to play Super League rugby, which is what they all want.
“The squad we have built has a mix of experience and youth and we have some very exciting youth talent coming through. We need this for the longevity of this team – we don’t want to be in a position in one or two years where we have a huge number of players retiring and find ourselves back to square one.
“We have to keep this momentum moving forward, where we do have experienced players but at the same time bring academy players through. We have got some really exciting players in that set-up and we want to try and get them into the first team as soon as they’re ready for it.
“So the squad will look different this year, and we will play differently – and hopefully that will be an attractive attacking style of game.
“We all know how difficult last season was for the team, and it is always hard to bounce back a week after a heavy defeat. But they have been through that now and they have felt the pain related to that, so maybe last season was a blessing in disguise.
“We have worked a lot on building up that resilience and using last season’s pain to learn how to move forward going into this season.
“Yes, they have felt that pain, but know how to get ourselves out of it now.
“It has been pretty full-on for me since I took over. My phone rings a lot more, I get more emails and I have a lot more grey hairs than I had, but I’m enjoying it.”
With so many changes afoot, a calm and experienced head will be needed to guide the team on the field, and who better for that than a spine player who has represented England at two World Cups?
That is perhaps why Ginty felt there was no one better for the role of captain than Bound, a Warrington girl who has primrose and blue running through her veins.
Easily the most experienced member of the squad, the hooker’s input will be vital if this group of players is to ultimately up their game and mount any real challenge against the top sides in the competition.
“This club and Warrington is in Dani’s blood,” added Ginty.
“She has played for England so has been in the elite environment for a long time, and since she’s come back in and hit pre-season she’s the sharpest I have ever seen her.
“She has really taken the captaincy role on well and is a real figurehead within the squad.
“We do have several other leaders in the side, but what we need is that real heart that Dani has that she will use to drive forward what we want to achieve.
“She’s also got that calming head that we’ll need on the field, so she really was the obvious choice.”
Hearing this support from Ginty will prove to be a strong confidence boost for Bound, who only made six appearances for the club in the early stages of 2024 before taking some time away from the game to focus on her mental health.
But she is back with the team now and, along with vice-captain Magraw, is ready to lead from the front as the new era at the Wolves gets underway.
“Even when I was away I stayed in touch with the club and it means a lot that Ged has invited me back and then named me as captain,” said Bound, who, after representing England in both the 2013 and 2017 World Cups, could be set for her final year of action.
“I have come back and I’ve said it will be my final year, but who knows? I’ll take it step by step, I’m 31 now and the body is hurting so we’ll see what happens.
“If I do finish and can go out as captain and help to get the club in a position to move forward it will be great.
“I have been vice-captain for a couple of years now so the opportunity to captain my hometown club is a huge honour.
“I know Ged has said that he had no doubt that I was the right one to fill that role this season, and that is always a nice thing to hear from your coach.
“So now I have to go out there and pass on my knowledge of the game to the other girls in a really good way. We’ve had some negativity in the past, but for me, it’s all about being positive and building as a team this year.
“We need to stick together as a team and play for each other. We are putting in the hard work in training and pre-season has been tough.
“Ged is really pushing us on this year and we are getting there. I do not doubt that the girls will go out there and compete in Super League.”
