Big names return as Leeds Rhinos gear up for Women's Super League play-offs
Forward Ella Donnelly has gone the extra mile for Leeds Rhinos’ women’s side this year.
A doctor in the armed forces, Donnelly joined Leeds from Army Rugby League ahead of last season. Despite the “challenge” of balancing rugby and work, Donnelly has become a mainstay of the team and is hoping a “testing year”, personally and for the squad, will bring its rewards at the business end.
“It has been a bit of an odd year for me because I was based down south in Litchfield for six months and driving to and from Leeds for training every Tuesday and Thursday, spending six hours in the car around my normal day job,” Donnelly reflected. “It has been a testing year, but you just kind of get on with it.”
Rhinos, who are beginning to see some star names return from injury, visit Huddersfield Giants on Sunday before completing the regular season at home to York Valkyrie seven days later. They have already secured a top-four spot and could still mathematically catch York for third place, though Valkyrie will be out of reach if they win at Barrow Raiders this weekend.
The hosts couldn’t raise a team for last week’s scheduled visit to Warrington Wolves so Rhinos - who beat the same opposition 110-0 at AMT Headingley three months ago - were awarded a 48-0 win. Warrington have now withdrawn from the competition, but last week’s cancellation left Leeds anxious to get back into action ahead of the York game and play-offs.
Donnelly said: “It will be good to put what we’ve worked on into practice. We’ve got Huddersfield and then York, which are big games and I think we are a different team now than we were at the beginning of the season.
“We had a lot of changes and lots of young ones come up [from the academy]. They have done really well and we’ve had quite a lot of players out with long-term injuries so it is good to see some of those coming back in.”
Leeds are more used to battling for top spot, but Donnelly insisted there are good signs from a tough campaign. “It has been an interesting season, but there’s been lots of positive changes going forward,” she said.
“The academy has really boosted the team this season. I am one of the older players, I’ve only been in Leeds for a couple of seasons, but seeing all the young girls come through is so promising for the future. They have done really well adapting to the bigger stages and increased pressure of the games.”
England centre Caitlin Beevers has recovered from a serious knee injury and is set to make her first appearance for more than a year this weekend. Pre-season signing Lacey Owen comes into the squad for her Leeds Super League debut and Keara Bennett, Connie Boyd and Jess Sharp are in line for a return to the 17.
Leeds Rhinos (at Huddersfield Giants): from Stead, Beevers, Nuttall, Howard, Walker, Sykes, Bennett, Northrop, Brown, Murray, Bruce, Donnelly, Glynn, Greening, Whitehead, Frain, Boyd, Blakey, Bryer, Owen, Sharp.
Kick-off: Sunday, 2pm, at Laund Hill.