CANADIAN centre Petra Woods admits York Valkyrie “took the long way” to make the Women’s Super League play-offs but believes they have the quality to now go a step further and reach the Grand Final.
York travel to Leeds Rhinos on Friday after pipping St Helens to third place on points difference.
Despite losing their first six games in all competitions against other ‘big four’ sides under new coach Leon Pryce, a resurgent team beat Leeds and Saints.
A 14-10 reversal to St Helens in the penultimate round, then Saints’ victory at Leeds, meant York had to defeat unbeaten leaders Wigan Warriors last Sunday to progress.
And that’s exactly what they did, in impressive fashion, with a 26-12 victory at the LNER Community Stadium.
“The girls are buzzing,” said Woods, who has scored five tries in 16 appearances during her first season in England.
“We had a great team bonding event after – me and Ellie (Williamson, teammate and housemate) were hosting. It was one of our teammates’ birthdays, Monique (Donovan).
“We’ve a few international players and we don’t have much family here so we wanted to make it special for her. The timing was perfect after a win against Wigan to get together.”
Making the play-offs was an achievement worth celebrating, although Woods admitted: “We took the long way to get where we wanted to be!
“But we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. That pressure of seeing the Saints score from Saturday made it clear this was a do-or-die match for us if we wanted our season to continue.
“It was so rewarding to see us come together at the most perfect time.
“Leeds is another must-win and we’re excited for that pressure again. We faced it head-on last time.”
Woods credits the coaches plus some returning stars for their revival.
“We were always confident of making the top three, but we’ve recently had the return of strong athletes like (forward) Savannah Andrade and (halfback) Tara Jane Stanley,” she said. “Going into the play-off rounds, they’re going to be important.”