BWSL: Round 4 Preview

Featherstone Rovers will be looking to continue their winning streak in the Betfred Women’s Super League as they kick off this weekend’s games with their match against St Helens on Saturday (13 June, KO 2pm).

Rovers got their first win of the BWSL season under their belt last weekend when they faced off against Barrow Raiders in an entertaining match and will be hoping for another positive weekend.

Sunday’s action gets underway when Huddersfield Giants take on Wigan Warriors. 

The Giants pushed the Saints all the way last weekend in a closely contested match and will be looking to go one step further against the Warriors having narrowly missed out on victory.

Elsewhere, York Valkyrie host Leigh Leopards as both sides look to strengthen their position in the league table.

Returning to the Leopards’ squad this season is former captain Mairead Quinn who took a break last season when she welcomed her first child.

Speaking about her return to the side, Quinn said:

“It’s tough if I’m honest, probably a bit harder than I thought trying to juggle having a baby, having to train and a full-time job.

"It’s a lot, but I’ve got a really supportive family around me which helps me train.

“I thought I balanced my time well between work and rugby before, when I moved over to Super League it was a big commitment, but now having a baby involved is definitely a challenge but one I’m enjoying.”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s clash against the Valkyrie, Quinn added:

“We’ve gone through a bit of a pre-season ourselves we’ve had new coaches involved, we’ve brought new girls in, so we’re still very much gelling.

“We’ve had a tough pre-season in regrouping, but I know York have had a new coach and they’ve got new players so I think they’re very much rebuilding.

“I’ve seen some of the scores and I’ve watched some of the post-match interviews from them and I think they’re still trying to find their groove as a team and likewise so are we, but we’re looking forward to the competition on Sunday”

The Leopards squad have big ambitions for the season ahead, but first on their list is to come together as a squad and rebuild after a tough pre-season with lots of changes:

“As a team we want to regroup, the game has changed so we’ve had to change parts of our game in terms of the speed, making sure we’re a bit smarter and we’ve executed that in the last couple of games.

“We had a tough game against Wigan last week, they’re the best team in the league at the minute, they’ve got some really talented girls there, but, in elements, we really showed that we can compete with them so we know we’re more than capable we’ve just got to focus.

“Personally, after having a year off it’s just trying to get back match fit, trying to give the best performance I can and support the girls where necessary.”

The final game of the weekend sees Barrow Raiders take on Leeds Rhinos in front of a home crowd. 

The Rhinos are flying high on back-to-back wins in the league and will be hoping to get their third consecutive win this weekend.

The Raiders meanwhile are still fighting hard for their first win of the season as the only team yet to get a win under their belt. But their campaign has only just started and there is still plenty of time for them to make their mark in the competition.

Betfred Women's Super League Round 4 Fixtures:

Saturday 13 June

Featherstone Rovers v St Helens (KO 2pm, Post Office Road)

Sunday 14 June

Huddersfield Giants v Wigan Warriors (KO 2pm, Laund Hill)

Barrow Raiders v Leeds Rhinos (KO 2:30pm, Speed Competitions Stadium)

York Valkyrie v Leigh Leopards (KO 2:30pm, York St John)