As a club, we would like to put into some context the adversity faced over the last week to get the Women’s game against Warrington played this weekend. On Monday, we identified a depleted squad due to injuries, illness, and holidays. We notified the RFL straight away and informed Warrington. We suggested rearranging the game at a mutually convenient time that would suit both parties. Unfortunately, this was not possible from Warrington due to no free weekends in their calendar. We suggested midweek but again this was not possible.
We were informed by the RFL that if we didn’t play, we would be in breach of the rules, which would constitute a heavy fine, a 48 – 0 result, and potential expulsion from the Women’s Super League. Due to this, we were forced to promote four under-19s (three on debut, one playing her second game at this level) and we also had to loan six players in from Bradford to ensure we had players to fulfil this fixture. At this time we needed help, support and understanding, and this will be something that I address with the CEO of the RFL.
All the players who took to the field in the Trinity shirt on Sunday are a credit to themselves, their teammates, and the Club. They worked tirelessly for each other. During the game, we also picked up three injuries in the first half, resulting in only one fit substitute for the remainder of the game.
We are still seeing one-sided results across the Women’s game and this is something the RFL/Women’s Super League needs to look at going forward to ensure more competitive fixtures week in and week out.
Over the last few weeks, we have lost a few players to other clubs. Within the Women’s game, there are no regulations on transfers between teams as this still falls under the same rules as the community game so players can leave at any point, whereas the rules for being unable to field a team are a lot more severe. We have flagged this to the RFL and Women’s Super League regarding players being contacted directly by opposing teams several times, and we are hopeful that something will change to further help the women’s game grow and develop.
We would like to thank Bradford for their support in loaning players to ensure we were able to fulfil this fixture.
As a club, we are fully supportive of the women’s team as we enter the back end of this season, and we will be working hard to ensure we have a positive end to the season.
Michael Carter
Wakefield Trinity CEO