'Want to win every game': Leeds Rhinos target more Women's Super League success ahead of York Valkyrie opener

Rhinos face reigning Betfred Women’s Super League leaders York Valkyrie at Headingley on Sunday in a Sky-televised rematch of last year’s Grand Final.

As title holders, Leeds are the team everyone wants to beat, but Forsell insisted: “We go out there wanting to win every game, there’s no pressure - it’s a new season and new players.”

She stressed: “Last season is gone and we still have big ambitions. We didn’t achieve everything we wanted to last year.

“We performed well enough to get the job done in the Grand Final, but we didn’t win as much as we probably could have and it’s an opportunity to put that into practice this year.

“We are learning all the time and that’s credit to the girls, we have got such a great group who are pushing themselves to be better.

“They are really hungry, really passionate and a pleasure to work with so we’re looking forward to a good season.”

Of Sunday’s opener, a curtain-raiser to the men’s clash between Rhinos and Huddersfield Giants, Frosell said: “It’s a massive game and a chance to start the season with a bang.

“The girls have worked really hard through pre-season. Neither team will be the finished article, but they’ll both be wanting to take the spoils on the day and that’s what sport’s all about.

“There’s no better stadium to play at than Headingley, it’s great for us to kick off at home and it being a double-header, hopefully a lot of fans will get there nice and early to support us.”

Long-serving captain Courtney Winfield-Hill has retired, but Rhinos have made some high-profile signings including England star Amy Hardcastle from St Helens, New Zealand World Cup finalist Georgia Hale (Gold Coast Titans) and dual-international Bethan Dainton (Harlequins rugby union).

“They have been great additions,” Forsell said. “We know the class Amy brings on the pitch and she has brought a really nice leadership side as well and a good voice.

“She has played in the biggest games and been at the height of the sport. Her feedback is always welcome and she’s really good with the young girls as well.

“The girls from the Army - Bethan, Kaiya [Glynn] and Jenna [Greening] - have been really good and all of them went well in the Warrington game.

“Georgia was late into pre-season, but she’s a great person and a great athlete and she brings more leadership to our group, so it’s really exciting with the girls we’ve got around.”

Rhinos won 46-4 at Warrington Wolves two weeks ago in their only warm-up match, after a planned game against Wigan Warriors was called off because of a frozen pitch.

Forsell said: “It was an opportunity to see what we need to work on. We played 23 players so there was a lot of rotation.

“It was split into four quarters so it was a bit stop-start and the girls didn’t really get any consistency in terms of combinations, but it allowed us to see enough of what we wanted.

There were loads of pleasing parts and also things to fix up on.”

The women’s side also had an opposed training session against Rhinos’ academy and Forsell added: “I think that and the Warrington game is enough. We’ve had an opportunity to get out there and blow some cobwebs away, it has ticked all the right boxes and we are good to go.”