Wakefield Trinity Ladies’ number nine, Abbie Millward, was pleased with “outstanding” performance as we take derby day victory over Castleford.

Following a difficult start to life in the Betfred Women’s Super League Group 2 over the past few weeks, Trinity confirmed their second victory of the season doubling up their Challenge Cup victory over the Tigers back in March.

Looking to make use of their strength, head coach, Charlie Doherty, changed a few things round at the weekend, moving Abby Price into the halves with Saskia Lewis, and offering Millward the opportunity to reinstate her ability from the hooker position.

This seemed to be a stroke of genius, Millward first setting up Nat Romano to go over for her first of the season following a quick dart from dummy-half before passing the ball to Cassy Lawson, which doubled Trinity’s advantage before the break.

” The team preformed outstanding, each player put 110% effort until the last second of the game,” Millward explained.

“Sunday’s match was very important to everyone as we all wanted to win, and that’s what we went and did. Our defence was a big contribution to the victory because we were very strong and didn’t make it easy for Castleford.

“It was very important for us to go into the second-half leading because this gave us the upper hand for the final 40 minutes. The two tries gave us all a huge amount of confidence.”

Following a few departures over the past couple of weeks, Millward was forced to make a bit of a positional change, moving down into the halves, giving Sophia Liu and Alisha Nix the opportunity at nine.

This seemed to suit Millward’s game as she took the opportunity to pull the strings in attack, however, her role at dummy-half was vital in Sunday’s victory, taking the ball to the line, offering the Tigers’ defence plenty to think about.

“It’s amazing to be on the field at nine again, and it felt great to be back with the forwards this week.

“It was an amazing opportunity to play in the halves in the last few games however; where ever I play, it is always a fantastic feeling to be playing with the girls. This change back to 9 gave me the opportunity to play in the middle and play to space.”

“I was also delighted to play a part in the tries. It’s always the best feeling knowing you were a part of the victory, and it will be a big confidence boost knowing that we have scored.”

With their first victory in the bank, Trinity Ladies will look ahead to their next game as Barrow Raiders make the long trip to the Be Well Support Stadium on 17th July, a game Millward has firmly set her sights on.

“The win was very important to the team,” she said, speaking about how the team can build on this victory.

“It has given us a great confidence boost and it will allow us to build on our abilities. This victory will definitely give us the lift we needed to go into the next match against Barrow.”