GRACE BANKS may have been named as Player of the Match in Saturday’s 42-6 Challenge Cup final victory over St Helens, but she was quick to dedicate the accolade to her forward pack, who once again were in top form as the Wigan Warriors juggernaut rolled on.
The 19-year-old fullback, who was given the same prize after the semi-final victory over Leeds, put in another great performance that was as impressive in defence as it was in attack, topping things off with a great long-range try.
“I’m obviously over the moon about winning Player of the Match, but I feel like a lot of the girls deserved it,” Banks said after the game.
“It’s a team sport, not an individual one, and I couldn’t have got this without the forwards grafting in the middle. That’s what a lot of the game was today, the forwards just grafting and grafting.
“Everyone knows that Saints forwards are a big pack and the England forwards, but I feel like ours outshone theirs today.”
The try and the personal accolade may not have happened, though, had Banks succumbed to a hand injury sustained in the first half.
But she insisted on playing on, a decision praised by her coach Denis Betts.
“There was a point where Grace might have had to come off the field,” added Betts.
“She might have broken a bone, so we need to go and have it x-rayed this week, but she didn’t want to come off, she wanted to play on.
“The doctor said he thought Grace had a real problem, but she was like ‘I do this all the time, it’s alright’ and then she ended up going out there and being Player of the Match.
“That’s energy, determination and a commitment to the group, so she can give herself credit.”