SHE may not yet be ready to feature this weekend, but the prospect of York Valkyrie making their Wembley debut is no less exciting for Tara Jane Stanley.
The fullback is closing in on a return to action after over 18 months out with a knee injury and could face a race against time to be fit for the final should York beat holders wigan Warriors in Saturday’s semi-final.
Having won two Grand Finals and a League Leaders’ Shield, the Challenge Cup has so far eluded York, after suffering heartbreak at this stage over the last four seasons.
There is Wembley experience in the side through, with head coach Leon Pryce having featured in five Challenge Cup Finals, three of those at the national stadium. And according to Stanley, having the former England international share stories of that competition has only ramped up the squad’s determination to succeed this year.
“When Leon talks about the Challenge Cup, the smile on his face shows what it means to win that trophy and it steels us more to want to win to for ourselves,” said Stanley, who is aiming to be back two or three weeks into the league season, which is around the time of the final.
“We just really want to do it for ourselves as well and make him proud.
“It has always been, and will always be, that the Valkyrie want to win everything. We are a very competitive side so that will never change.
“I was showing Monique (Donovan – York’s latest Australian signing) YouTube clips of our past semi-finals and she could believe we missed out by one point, two points and four points before and then in 2024 half the squad came down with norovirus. So the Challenge Cup semi-final really hasn’t been our friend over the past few years.
“So that is definitely something we’re aiming to change this year.”