All Betts are on - the 2024 Betfred Women's Super League so far

Rugby League World editor Lorraine Marsden assesses the Betfred Women’s Super League season so far...

WHISPER it quietly, or shout it from the rooftops - either way Wigan Warriors could be on the brink of something special. Not since their win in the inaugural Super League Grand Final in 2018 have the Warriors been seen as genuine title contenders once again. Granted they have been knocking on the door for the last couple of seasons, yet there has still been a noticeable gap between them and the leading trio of St Helens, Leeds Rhinos and York Valkyrie.

But all that has changed since the arrival of Denis Betts. The Wigan club legend joined the women’s outfit as head coach ahead of this season and has since openly admitted that he knew very little about the women’s game at the start of his new journey. But what he did know was that he wanted to create an environment where his players could fulfil their potential.

And according to Warriors Woman Rachel Thompson, Betts – the former second rower who made 367 playing appearances for the club over two spells - has done just that:

“Denis has been great with all the girls,” Thompson explains. “His experience in the whole game is probably not something most of the girls have had the benefit of before so it is very new to them, and even those who have been playing for a long time are continually learning from him.

“He’s never coached women before so he is always learning too and when you have an environment where everyone is working hard and willing to learn, it’s going to be successful. And that’s what we’ve created at Wigan.”

Betts - who also took charge of the club’s men’s team for 38 games in 2004 and 2005 in between the departure of Mike Gregory and the arrival of Ian Millward - saw his, and his team’s hard work rewarded in a significant week of action in late July.

The Warriors finally picked up a first win over one of ‘the big three’ - defeating York 18-10, before getting their hands on a trophy with a win in the final of the Women’s Nines.

After conceding just two tries in the group stage wins over York and Huddersfield, they went on to beat Cardiff Demons 40-0 in the semi-final and then picked up a 21-0 victory in the final – a repeat of the same competition’s conclusion 12-months earlier, which Leeds won 21-8.

“The Nines came at the right time for us,” Thompson adds. “We’ve been building all season and then on the back of the win against York the week before we went into it with a lot of confidence. Winning it didn’t shock us because we’ve felt something like that was coming and we had a lot of fun out there.”

The Nines was the second trophy contested for this season, with the first going the way of Wigan’s arch-rivals St Helens, who claimed the Betfred Challenge Cup at Wembley in June.

Once again it was a repeat of the 2023 final against Leeds Rhinos, who were hoping to put on a much stronger performance this time round after the disappointing 22-8 defeat the previous year.

But it wasn’t to be for the Rhinos who went into the final following an emotional time for everyone involved with the club due to the death of Rob Burrow less than a week earlier.

Faye Gaskin, who has announced she will retire at the end of the year, Phoebe Hook, Luci McColm and Chantelle Crowl all scored for Matty Smith’s Saints as they made it four Challenge Cups in a row with a 22-0 win.

St Helens are also in prime position to regain the League Leaders’ Shield, which they last held in 2021, after a 10-6 win over York at the end of July.

That victory put them two points clear at the top of the table with only teams in the bottom half still to play. By contrast, Wigan, Leeds and York all still have to face each other in the final three rounds of the season.

Leeds have once again been a team to watch and have had one of the tightest defences in the league for most of this season.

But at times, especially against St Helens in both League and Cup competitions, have not always made the most of the chances their attacking play has created. This is something they will need to fix up ahead of the Play-Offs or they could be faced with more final heartbreak.

York could also lose their grip on the Super League title after receiving a major blow before the league season had even started, when reigning Woman of Steel Sinead Peach announced her pregnancy back in April.

Add to that a spate of injuries and illness and York have lacked some of the firepower that saw them go unbeaten in the league in 2023. They have already lost to each of the other sides in the top half of the table, but with some of those injury victims now returning to action, Lindsay Anfield’s side will certainly still have a say in the outcome of the season.

Huddersfield Giants made some impressive signings ahead of the new season, and alongside Warrington Wolves are leading the chase behind the top four. At the same time, Featherstone in particular have struggled with the step up to the top league following their automatic promotion to an expanded Super League last season.

Barrow, led by Amanda Wilkinson, who coached Wigan to that debut Super League title, were also promoted ahead of this season. They have fared slightly better, picking up a couple of wins before the break for the Nines and making some of the top teams work hard for their wins over them.

While it remains clear that there is still a gulf between the leading pack and the rest of the teams in the division, the progress Wigan have made over the last year can surely show all clubs that the correct investment in the right areas can reap rewards.

Away from club action, late June saw England return to action for the first time since last November’s win over Wales with a 42-0 win over France in Toulouse.

Coach Stuart Barrow handed international debuts to Georgie Hetherington (York), Anna Davies (Wigan), Isabel Rowe (Wigan), Katie Mottershead (St Helens) and Bella Sykes (Leeds) and they didn’t look out of place alongside seasoned professionals such as Amy Hardcastle, Jodie Cunningham, Shona Hoyle and Emily Rudge.

England’s next game looks set to be a match against Australia in Las Vegas and it is a trip everyone will no doubt want to be involved in.

With that March fixture taking place before a ball has been kicked in 2025, individual form at the back end of this season is likely to earn the spots in the squad, which in turn is likely to see increased intensity in what remains of this campaign.

So buckle up, we’ll be in for quite a ride before the Grand Final on October 6th.

An extract by Lorraine Marsden from the Betfred Super League Magic Weekend programme, available to order online now.