2019 RFL Women's Super League
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| 2019 Women's Super League | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 14 rounds |
| Teams | 8 |
| Matches played | 59 |
| Champions |  Leeds Rhinos |
| League Leaders Shield |  Castleford Tigers |
| Biggest home win | Castleford Tigers 74–8  Featherstone Rovers (1 September 2019) |
| Biggest away win |  York City Knights 0–80 Castleford Tigers Women (7 April 2019) |
| Woman of Steel | Courtney Hill |
The 2019 RFL Women's Super League known as the Betfred Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons was the third season of the Rugby League Women's Super League for female players in clubs affiliated to the Rugby Football League.
The champions were Leeds Rhinos who beat Castleford Tigers 20–12 in the Grand Final on 11 October 2019.[1] Castleford Tigers won the league leaders shield, a 44–0 win over York City Knights in round 13 put them three points clear of nearest rivals, St Helens, with a round to spare.[2]
For 2019, the number of teams was expanded from seven to eight, with the addition of Wakefield Trinity to the league.[3]
The season comprised 14 rounds, with each team playing each other home and away, commencing on 7 April and ending on 29 September. Following the regular season, the top four teams played off against each other in two semi-finals, with the Grand Final played on Friday 11 October, at the Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens and broadcast live on Sky Sports.[4]
On 15 August 2019 it was announced that Betfred would become the sponsors of the league with immediate effect in a deal that will run until the end of the 2021 season.[5]
The defending champions were Wigan Warriors, who beat League Leaders Shield winners Leeds Rhinos, 18–16 at the Grand Final at the Manchester Regional Arena.[6] Wigan were eliminated from the play-offs after they lost 34–4 to Castleford Tigers in the semifinals.
| Colours | Club | Location |
|---|---|---|
 |
Bradford Bulls | Bradford, West Yorkshire |
|
Castleford Tigers | Castleford, West Yorkshire |
|
Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone, West Yorkshire |
|
Leeds Rhinos | Leeds, West Yorkshire |
 |
St Helens | St Helens, Merseyside |
 |
Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield, West Yorkshire |
 |
Wigan Warriors | Wigan, Greater Manchester |
|
York City Knights | York, North Yorkshire |
Fixtures and results
Regular season standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Castleford Tigers |
14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 625 | 160 | +465 | 26 | League Leaders Shield/Play off semi-finals |
| 2 | St Helens |
14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 522 | 131 | +391 | 25 | Play-off semi-finals |
| 3 | Leeds Rhinos |
14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 410 | 151 | +259 | 21 | |
| 4 | Wigan Warriors |
14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 328 | 224 | +104 | 13 | |
| 5 | Featherstone Rovers |
14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 237 | 450 | −213 | 12 | |
| 6 | Bradford Bulls |
13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 300 | 282 | +18 | 9 | |
| 7 | York City Knights |
13 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 68 | 522 | −454 | 2 | |
| 8 | Wakefield Trinity |
14 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 64 | 634 | −570 | 2 |
Play-offs
semi-finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | |||
| Castleford Tigers |
34–4 | Wigan Warriors |
6 October 2019, 13:00 | Mend-A-Hose Jungle | |
| St Helens |
14–18 | Leeds Rhinos |
6 October 2019, 13:00 | Totally Wicked Stadium | A. Moore |
| Source:[23] | |||||
Grand final
11 October 2019 19:30 |
| Castleford Tigers |
12–20 | Leeds Rhinos |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Lumb, Owen, Gentles Goals: Stanley 0/3 |
report |
Tries: Goldthorp 2, Eatock, Frain Goals: Hill 2/4 |
| Castleford Tigers | Position | Leeds Rhinos |
|---|---|---|
| #1 Tara Stanley | Fullback | #1 Caitlin Beevers |
| #16 Maisie Lumb | Wing | #15 Sophie Nuttall |
| #24 Lucy Eastwood | Centre | #30 Abby Eatock |
| #12 Lacey Owen | Centre | #16 Chloe Karrigan |
| #4 Kelsey Gentles | Wing | #24 Fran Goldthorp |
| #6 Georgia Roche | Stand-off | #6 Hannah Butcher |
| #33 Jasmine Cudjoe | Scrum-half | #7 Courtney Hill (c) |
| #10 Grace Field | Prop | #10 Danielle Anderson |
| #9 Sinead Peach | Hooker | #14 Tasha Gaines |
| #68 Shona Hoyle | Prop | #13 Amy Johnson |
| #28 Hollie Dodd | Second-row | #11 Aimee Staveley |
| #11 Tamzin Renouf | Second-row | #4 Charlotte Booth |
| #13 Rhiannon Marshall | Loose forward | #28 Paige Webster |
| #14 Sammy Watts | interchange | #27 Keara Bennett |
| #8 Emma Lumley | interchange | #19 Elle Frain |
| #31 Frankie Townend | interchange | #8 Danika Priim |
| #44 Emma Slowe | interchange | #22 Elle Oldroyd |
Leeds completed a league and cup double with 20–12 victory over Castleford in the Grand Final on 11 October 2019. In a game televised live on Sky Sports Castleford took an early advantage with two tries in the first five minute; the scorers being Maisie Lumb and Lacey Owen. Leeds pulled a try back through Abby Eatock and these were the only points of the first half with the half-time score being 8–4 to Castleford.
In the second half, it was Leeds who proved to be the stronger side with three tries in close succession, two for 16-year old winger Fran Goldthorp and one for Elle Frain. Leeds captain Courtney Hill converted two of the tries to give Leeds a 20–8 lead. Kelsey Gentles did score a late try for Castleford to make the score 20–12 but it was too late for Castleford to catch up.[24]