Betts, Rowe and Hunter nominated at Betfred Women’s Super League awards
- Head Coach Denis Betts up for Coach of the Year.
- Rowe and Hunter nominated for Young Player of the Year.
- Winners to be announced at the Betfred Super League Awards.
Wigan Warriors have a trio of named nominated for the Betfred Women’s Super League Awards with Head Coach Denis Betts nominated for Coach of the Year with Isabel Rowe and Eva Hunter nominated for Young Player of the Year.
There will be a new name on the Woman of Steel trophy this year with three players who have never won the most prestigious individual honour in Women’s Rugby League shortlisted for 2024:
- Faye Gaskin, St Helens.
- Georgie Hetherington, York Valkyrie.
- Lucy Murray, Leeds Rhinos.
Shortlists have also been confirmed today for Coach of the Year and Young Player of the Year.
Amanda Wilkinson of Barrow Raiders and Wigan Warriors Denis Betts have both been shortlisted for Coach of the Year. Both coaches have reinvigorated their teams in 2024 with Barrow ending their first season in the top flight in fifth and Wigan squeezing the gap to the top three to just four points alongside lifting the Women’s Nines trophy.
The third contender is Matty Smith, a former men’s Grand Final and Challenge Cup winner as a player with Wigan, who has steered them to back-to-back victories in the Women’s Challenge Cup Final at Wembley as well as lifting the 2024 League Leaders Shield.
Criteria for the BWSL Young Player of the Year are slightly different to the men’s equivalent, as only players who were 19 and younger at the start of 2024 are considered, recognising the younger average age of players in the Women’s game.
The three contenders are Wigan duo Isabel Rowe and Eva Hunter and Leeds middle Bella Sykes.
17-year-old Rowe has burst onto the scene for the Warriors after being promoted from the Academy ahead of the 2024 season by Denis Betts. She has featured in all 19 games for Wigan this season, scoring 13 tries in all competitions and kicking 40 goals to see her surpass 130-points in her opening season.
Eva Hunter is also shortlisted for the award after an exceptional season for the Warriors. Despite missing some of the season through injury, she has made 10 appearances in all competitions, crossing for 8 tries.
The Woman of Steel voting panel consists of Women’s Rugby League experts and evangelists Tanya Arnold, Jenna Brooks, Lorraine Marsden and Danika Priim joined by the England Women Head Coach Stuart Barrow, and BWSL General Manager Thomas Brindle.
The Coach of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards are determined by a separate panel of performance experts led by Stuart Barrow.
The 2024 Woman of Steel will be crowned at Rugby League’s biggest and most inclusive Awards Night at the Royal Armouries, Leeds on Tuesday 8 October – two days after the Betfred Women’s Super League Grand Final.
