Women's Super League Grand Final: York City Knights v Leeds Rhinos

Sam Hulme's disappointment summed up Leeds' frustrations after 2021 defeat

Leeds Rhinos' Grand Final disappointment of 2021 is just one of many motivations going into Sunday's Women's Super League decider with York, says boss Lois Forsell.

St Helens won the 2021 final to deny Forsell and her players the title.

However, Saints were beaten by Leeds in the semis to set up Sunday's date with York at St Helens' stadium.

"It's a long off-season if you walk away from a final not victorious," Forsell told BBC Radio Leeds.

"The girls will still remember that, but they're taking it training session by training session, game by game.

"They won't read too much into that, it's about focusing on the now and job at hand and the hard work that's gone in."

Forsell and opposite number Lindsay Anfield will make history as the first all-female coaching match-up in this competition.

Familiarity with big games

Leeds' position as one of the elite clubs in the Women's Super League has been built through winning trophies and featuring in major finals.

They won back-to-back Challenge Cups between 2018 and 2019, were treble winners in 2018 and double winners with the Women's Super League crown in 2019.

However, that 2019 success was their last trophy, as defeats by Saints in Grand Final and Challenge Cup showpieces have followed since.

York by contrast are a side still in their infancy, having heavily recruited a new side following Anfield's arrival in 2021, with several of her successful Castleford team following her to the LNER Stadium.

"It's good that our girls are familiar with being there," Rhinos boss Forsell added.

"They've been there, they know what to experience. But I wouldn't read too much into that with York.

"They've got a lot of girls who have played in Grand Finals with other teams."

York bond a powerful factor

York's team spirit was evident in their semi-final win over Wigan

Anfield's recruitment has seen a side of England-standard talent gel remarkably swiftly, with further tweaks and additions made.

Hollie Dodd was one of the Castleford stars who have added to the mix, and she is one of three Knights players up for Woman of Steel along with Tara Jane Stanley and Sinead Peach.

Savannah Andrade came in from Bradford, and has been another key figure for the Knights having previously won league and cup at the Bulls.

"We're just so tight and close together and it feels like we've been together for ages," she told BBC Radio York.

"I don't think we realise what level we're at having been together for such a short time."

The ramped-up expectation and focus on a Grand Final, added to the wider exposure for the women's game, means players and coaches are under greater scrutiny from the media.

It can be a distraction for players just trying to get into gameday mode.

"You've just got to keep focused," Andrade added.

"If you go in there with a different mindset, you'll probably play different, and we just want to play as well as we have been doing for the rest of the season.

"It doesn't feel any different training, we don't want to look at it as a high pressure game or different to any of our other games because that's when we could crack."

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