YORK VALKYRIE captain Sinead Peach is now targeting the Challenge Cup after leading her side to a third Super League title in four years.
Peach was the scorer of York’s only try in their 8-6 Grand Final victory over Wigan in September, but has yet to taste success in the Challenge Cup, with the Valkyrie repeatedly falling short at the semi-final stages.
Prior to her time at York, Peach also suffered Challenge Cup Final defeats at Castleford Tigers, but she is confident York are in a good position to finally lift the one trophy that has so far eluded them once the 2027 season gets underway, especially as both Tara Jane Stanley and Tamzin Renouf will be back fit for the opening game.
Stanley returned to action after nearly two years out with a knee injury for the Super Four campaign, but missed the Grand Final after failing an HIA in the semi-final win over Leeds, while Renouf missed much of the final month of the season with a shoulder injury.
“The Challenge Cup always gets us at the start of the year,” said Peach.
“For the last couple of years it’s felt like it’s come a bit too early for us, and going into this year with new coaches, new processes and new positions for some people, we fell short again. But that’s one thing we’re targeting for next year and we’re going to make sure we’re more than ready for the Challenge Cup. We’re not taking our foot off the gas.
“Everyone’s still training in off-season and making sure that we’re ready for the beginning of the season and for that big competition as it’s the one we haven’t achieved as a club yet.
“Having Tara back involved at the beginning of next season will be massive for us as she’s a big part of our squad, as is Tamzin.
“We probably will recruit some new players and we’ll bond them into the group, but if we can keep some real stability in the group from what we’ve built this year can really hit the ground running in those cup games.”
