Women’s RL: Grand Final loss still raw for many Leeds Rhinos players

Rhinos begin their Women’s Super League season against promoted Wakefield Trinity at Sports Park, Weetwood, on Sunday (1pm).

It will be their first competitive fixture since hopes of completing an historic treble, in their debut season, were dashed in agonising fashion by Wigan Warriors in the Grand Final.

Leeds finished top of the table and won the Challenge Cup, but an injury-time penalty denied them the league title and that gives them a huge incentive to get off to a flying start this weekend.

“It was devastating,” stand-off Hanna Butcher recalled. “I don’t think I have even watched the highlights.

“It is still quite raw for a lot of us. The aim last year was to get the treble and we just missed out, but we have got high ambitions again this season.

“I don’t think we did too badly last year, but we are going into this one all guns blazing and hopefully we can prove a point.”

This new campaign is likely to be even more competitive with Castleford Tigers, last season’s Cup runners-up, fancied to be among the title contenders.

Butcher is wary of the threat Wakefield will pose after they topped the Championship table in 2018.

She said: “We played them in the Cup last year and they weren’t a bad side then.

“Obviously they will have improved on their fitness and improved their game plan so it will be quite interesting to see how they get on.”

But Butcher, Mears player of the year in 2018, is confident Rhinos have also taken a step forward.

“We’ve got a couple of new players come in from rugby union and they have made a big impact on the team,” she said.

“Also, quite a number of young players have moved up from the under-19s and I think they are going to be the ones to watch. They have really shone in pre-season.”

A girls’ under-12s festival curtain-raiser kicks off at 11am. Admission on Sunday is £5, but free for juniors aged 16 or under.