Wigan Warriors have completed a clean sweep of trophies in the women’s game this season and Rugby League World caught up with some of their key players to find out how they did it.

“IT’S A fairytale.” 

That’s how Wigan Warriors captain Vicky Molyneux described the feeling after bringing the curtain down on her playing career by leading the side to Grand Final glory against their fiercest of rivals – St Helens.

With the Challenge Cup and Nines trophies already in the bag alongside the League Leaders’ Shield, Denis Betts’ side bounced back from a half-time deficit to complete the clean sweep and add the league title to their collection, and cap off a simply magnificent season for the young Warriors side.

Wigan had been tipped for success from the off, as early-season Challenge Cup games showed off a fearless, fast, strong, and agile side that was unlike anything the league had seen in the past. And while the belief was always within the squad that success could come their way this year, Molyneux admitted that the amount of it was still something of a surprise.

“At the start of the year I don’t think anyone here thought that we’d be sweeping up the trophies this season,” said Molyneux, who retires as a player after seven seasons with Wigan.

She joined the club ahead of the 2019 season, following a spell out of the game to become a mum, and has gone on to make 67 appearances after missing much of the 2022 season with injury, as well as the Covid-hit 2020 campaign. In that time she has crossed for 16 tries.

“I certainly didn’t, but I did know we were there or thereabouts. I do remember saying to someone on the back of pre-season that this was special and that we were on the brink of something. 

“Everyone dug in in pre-season and before the final we spoke about doing it for ourselves because we’re the ones that have put the hard work in, and I don’t think people very often say that they want to do something for them. On the back of that, you saw a really gritty and determined performance from everyone. 

“We put our bodies on the line all year, and I just wanted one trophy to show for that, so to end up with all four is really special. 

“Hats off to the girls because we earned every single one of them, and we genuinely deserve the success we’ve had this year.

“We said in the changing rooms before the final that we knew we were competitive and went close last year. But the aim this year was to be more focused and to do the job in these big games, which we’ve been able to do.

“I might be retiring now, but I won’t be leaving the club. These girls, all the staff, and this club are all a massive part of my life. It’s not just the rugby that I’m going to miss; I’ll miss the adrenaline rush that you get all week leading up to games like this, and then the aftermath if you win them.

“But we have some great players coming through to take this club forward – and that’s part of the reason I’m retiring – I can’t keep up with them anymore.

“I genuinely think this is just the start for them as well. Thinking about what this team can kick on and do over the next couple of seasons is really exciting, and I am just really glad to have played a small part in that.”

One person who always had the belief in what the side could really achieve was Australian signing and former NRLW star Shaniah Power.

The 28-year-old joined the club ahead of the season from North Queensland Cowboys and made an almost immediate impact with strong carries and big hits, and she could tell from very early in her Wigan career that the team was something special and that multiple successes would follow.

“Even early on, after we’d played the big three – York, Leeds and Saints for the first time, I really felt like we were going to do something good this season,” said Power, who made the move to the North West of England alongside her younger sister Tiana.

“I had seen the quality that the girls produced against those sides and how the determination of our young ones and the experience of our old ones were mixing together, and I felt very confident.

“I believed in the girls, and the girls believed in themselves, the club and coaching staff backed us, so we had such a healthy environment around us. It was going to be hard to fail to be honest, so I’m really proud of all the girls, and I’m just glad to be able to accomplish what I came over here to achieve.”

Despite Saints’ best efforts to upset the odds against a Wigan side who have been in rampant form all season, the game was ultimately settled by Anna Davies’ second try of the game just after the hour mark which put the Warriors into a 16-8 lead.

The winger had also opened the scoring after 22 minutes, and her powerful runs and plays out of the back caused Saints trouble all night and gave Wigan a strong platform to work off. All of those contributions saw her named as the official Player of the Match, and end what has, at times, been a frustrating season for her.

After being an ever-present in 2024 and scoring 27 tries in 20 games, Davies has been forced to spend time on the sidelines this year, nursing a string of niggling injuries.

And while her try return record is still impressive – 20 tries in 15 appearances – it has been a very different campaign for the 30-year-old, which makes the outcome of it all the more satisfying.

“The final is the culmination of the season, so although we have had a brilliant year, it wouldn’t have been the same if we hadn’t topped it off with the Grand Final,” admitted Davies.

“In the last few weeks before the final it wasn’t really clicking down my edge, but we worked really hard on that because we knew it needed to be better, so to be able to go out there and execute what we’d been practising when it really mattered was great seeing it ball click together puts and end to a lot of this season’s frustrations.

“At the start of the year I had tendonitis in my glute and then in my hip flexor, so I struggled a bit and took a while to get going. Because last season was such a good year for me, aspirations placed on me were high, but it just wasn’t clicking. But because of how the year has gone, I feel like I’ve learnt a lot more – it might not have been as flashy, but I feel like I am a smarter player.

“But it is not about me, it’s about the team and watching these young girls develop. At times last year they maybe relied on me in the backs, but they’ve hardly needed me this year, and when I wasn’t playing, they still did really well.

“Denis is all about learning, and as a squad, we still have a lot to learn, so we know we can be better. We all want to do that and keep taking this club forward.”

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 514 (November 2025)