Lindsay Anfield: "Second time around, they just want to do it again"

Women’s rugby league has made so much progress in recent years.

From games taking place on playing fields and players having to get changed where they could rather than somewhere practical, the advent of Women’s Super League less than 10 years ago has seen the sport make great strides. It’s now played in stadiums including Wembley, in front of ever increasing crowds and TV audiences and gaining more credibility.

York Valkyrie are one of the clubs very much at the forefront of that progress, led by head coach, Lindsay Anfield.

The former England full-back has overseen York becoming the first club to win back to back Super League titles in 2023 and 2024, reach a Challenge Cup final in 2021, and be semi-finalists every year since.

So there are high standards to uphold again in 2025 for Anfield and the Valkyrie.

“It was good to have a bit of a break in the off season,” she says. “Let the girls rest and recuperate and get them back. Now, they’re all rested and ready to go.

“They’ve been working hard and have high standards so I’m really pleased.”

After a tough 2024, with long term injuries to some key players, it took a big effort to retain the Super League title. Anfield says they’ve learnt a lot from the whole experience of being defending champions.

“2023 was the first time we’ve really won anything as a group and I think there was a bit of a sigh of relief at the end of that and the players just wanted to relax.

“They came back in and we had to do a lot of work to get them back to where they wanted to be. But this time, second time around, they just want to do it again now. They just want another really good season. They know what happens when you switch off from training. They’ve been fantastic, I can’t fault them.

“We looked at last year’s performances and we weren’t particularly impressed with ourselves. We won but not in a particularly great fashion. This year we want to play some good rugby, some better rugby and just keep pushing the sport forward in terms of performance.”

With standards going up across the league, and the emergence of Wigan Warriors as a real threat to the “top three,” Anfield is expecting potentially the biggest challenge to their crown yet.

“As much as we can, we try to focus on ourselves, but Wigan have been training really hard.

I know they’ve got some great young players coming through and they’ll definitely be a force this year.

“Then there’s the usual with Leeds and Saints. But that’s not to write off Huddersfield, Barrow, and Leigh coming up. It’ll hopefully be the toughest season yet.”

With a testing start in the league at Wigan, followed by games at home against Leeds Rhinos and St.Helens, Anfield hopes they can kick off their season in the best possible way.

“It’s really important, but having said that, in the past we’ve had really great starts and I think I’ve learned that nothing really counts until the last game. We’ve just got to make sure we build well and peak at the end of the season.”

The Challenge Cup is the main piece of silverware that has evaded the Valkyrie, and after going out in the semi-finals for the last three years, where does that sit in the list of aims for this year?

“We haven’t really thought about winning and losing yet,” says Anfield. "It’s more about getting everyone back in, getting the environment right again and making sure everybody has a great journey this year. That they look back at 2025 and everybody says that was a great time for me.

“In terms of trophies and stuff like that, what happens, happens. But we thoroughly believe that if we get it right in camp, the results will look after themselves.”

Tickets for York Valkyrie's opening home game of the season against Featherstone Rovers in the Betfred Women's Challenge Cup on Sunday 13th April (12pm) are on sale NOW!

The game is part of a double header with York Knights v Doncaster (3pm).

Tickets are priced at £22 for Adults, £17 for Concessions (16 to 21-year-olds and over 65s) and FREE for Under 16s!

To purchase your tickets online please click HERE! Alternatively you can head to the York SMC Ticket Office or call 01904 950950!

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