This Saturday will decide which teams will compete for the Betfred Women's Super League Grand Final crown as the top four teams go head to head. After York Valkyrie and Wigan Warriors meet at the LNER Community Stadium earlier in the day, Leeds Rhinos Women and St Helens Women clash at the Totally Wicked Stadium at 6pm in what is set to be a blockbusting matchup, live on Sky Sports.

Opposition Report

Having picked up the first piece of silverware on offer in 2023 against the Rhinos last month, St Helens enter this week's game with the intention of adding the Grand Final trophy to their Challenge Cup for the first time since 2021.

A largely unchanged squad at the start of the season took an early hit when they were defeated 26-6 by York Valkyrie, but May's win over Leeds at Headingley started a four-game winning streak to resume normal service for Matty Smith's side. Even without leading try scorer Leah Burke through an ACL injury, former Wigan winger Luci McColm and Academy product Eboni Partington have filled in with 20 combined tries throughout the year, plus England internationals Jodie Cunningham, Emily Rudge, Tara Jones, Shona Hoyle and Faye Gaskin have maintained their form throughout the year to make sure that Saints held onto second place despite a late race with the Rhinos.

Following their second loss of the season to the Valkyrie in July, the Red Vee beat Wigan and Huddersfield before suffering a 34-22 loss to Forsell's side, but Warrington were beaten on the final day of the season to set up a home semi final against Leeds for the second year running. Looking back at St Helens' form in the semi finals, Leeds have sent them home early twice before (2019, 2022), and before that, Wigan managed to sneak a 10-6 win in Saints' debut Super League season in 2018. 2021 saw Derek Hardman's side go all the way though as they defeated Castleford 58-0 in the semi finals to progress and beat the Rhinos in the Grand Final.

Previous Semi Final Meetings

Leeds and Saints have clashed twice in the Women's Super League semi finals before and the Rhinos have progressed through to the Grand Final on both occasions.

The first clash came in 2019 when the visitors to the Totally Wicked Stadium needed a late try from Abby Eatock to snatch an 18-14 result. A tightly contested game saw the home side establish a 14-0 lead but the Rhinos roared back thanks to tries from Char Booth, Courtney Winfield-Hill and Eatock's brace.

Last year, the two clubs met again as Leeds got revenge on the Saints for their Grand Final defeat in 2021.

Again, the Saints ran into the lead, but the Rhinos kept the game close thanks to two tries from Sophie Robinson. Zoe Hornby produced the deciding try on the final whistle to send Leeds on their way to their second Grand Final title. 

Players to Watch

Luci McColm

During her first season in the Red Vee, winger Luci McColm has been one of Saints' go-to try scorers. Including one against the Rhinos at Headingley in their round two win.  The winger has scored all eleven of her tries in eight consecutive starts. Still, after playing in the Challenge Cup Final against the Rhinos, she hopes to be back in the lineup for this week's semi final. 

Faye Gaskin

Half back Faye Gaskin has put her injury woes behind her to return to action in 2023. Multiple injuries kept the half back sidelined for most of 2021 and the entire 2022 campaign but this season, she has proved to be one of Matty Smith's key chess pieces. In the league, she has four tries as well as a penalty try against the Rhinos last time out, but her drop goal against York in the Challenge Cup semi finals was one of the highlight moments of the year.

Shona Hoyle

Another serial try scorer, Shona Hoyle is one of the top scoring players in the Women's Super League. The prop, who has also played across the back row in 2023 too, has played every league fixture in 2023 and has nine tries, four of which have come in the last three games.

More information

Tickets are priced at £5 for adults, £3 for Concessions*, and £2 for Under 16s. (*Concessions are those aged 65+, Young Adults aged 19 to 21 and Youths aged 17 to 18.)

Tickets can be purchased directly from St Helens by visiting https://www.eticketing.co.uk/saintsrlfc with all tickets in the North Stand.

Rhinos fans unable to make it to the game can keep up to date with the latest score across our social channels.