York Valkyrie were seeking back to back Grand Final wins as they took on a St Helens side who had only lost one game in a season which saw them crowned as minor premiers at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
St Helens were favourites to lift their first Grand Final trophy since 2021 and were handicapped by ten points on the coupon despite losing one of the three encounters between the sides earlier in the season.
It promised to be a tough encounter between the two best sides in the game.
The first score of the game came on ten minutes with Leah Burke breaking the York line and sprinting thirty metres to ground in the left corner. Faye Gaskin was just short with the touchline conversion attempt, but it was a great start for the Saints.
An awful defensive mistake from Saints, failing to gather an Izzy Brennan high kick and kicking the ball into the arms of a grateful Lacey Owen, gifted York a try as the second rower rounded the full back to score under the sticks. Brennan added the conversion to snatch the lead by two points.
After the exchange of tries the game settled into an arm-wrestle.
A high tackle by Gentles on Mottershead gifted Saints a penalty near the posts and Gaskin struck the ball true to level the scores with five minutes to go until the interval.
Two minutes later a ball steal by Gentles allowed Gaskin to kick another goal to edge the Saints back into the lead at 8-6, a lead that they carried to the interval.
Three minutes after the restart another error in the Saints defence gifted possession to York, Partington taking full advantage with a spectacular try in the corner with Emily Partington grounding. Marshall added the touchline conversion for a four-point lead.
Kelsey Gentles crossed the line on fifty-four, but referee Rush sent the decision to the video referee as a NO TRY but on video replay the decision was that she had managed to ground the ball on the line to extend the score to two tries. Marshall kicked the conversion to put York 18-8 ahead,
Chantelle Crowl was held up over the line on sixty-three to prevent the Saints fightback, York winding the clock down.
Defensively, York were sensational in the second half, preventing the best side in the competition over the league rounds from getting into their stride as they secured another Grand Final win, their second on the bounce. They outplayed Saints, forced numerous handling errors with spiralling kicks, and ferociously defended their line for a great win.
York Valkyrie: Hetherington, Roberts, Komaitai, Parker, Partington (T), Rihari, Renouf, Wood, Brennan (1/2 G), Bell, Owen (T), Andrade, Pakulis. Subs: Marshall (2/2 G), Gentles (T), Sharp, Wilton. 18th Man: Stimpson.
St Helens: Salihi, Hook, Stott E, Woosey, Burke (T), Harris, Gaskin (2/3 G), Whitfield, Jones, Crowl, Rudge, Travis, Cunningham. Subs: Williams N, Stott D, Mottershead, Williams M. 18th Man: Sutherland.
Half-Time: 8-6.
Full-Time: 8-18.
Score Progression: 4-0, 4-4, 4-6, 6-6, 8-6 : HT: 8-10, 8-12, 8-16, 8-18 :FT.
Lead Exchanges: St Helens – York – Square – Saints - York.
Referee: Liam Rush.
