WARRINGTON Wolves’ Women’s head coach Ged Ginty hopes his squad’s hard work in pre-season will pay off as his charges prepare to take on the Cardiff Demons in the Challenge Cup this weekend.
The Wire entertain the Welsh side at the Asics Stadium, Victoria Park, on Sunday and Ginty is ready for the team to show what they are made of.
Despite defeats to St Helens and Barrow Raiders in pre-season friendlies, he is confident the girls have bought into the philosophy of playing with freedom that his coaching team has been instilling throughout the winter.
But he does know that the Demons won’t make life easy for his charges come kick off.
Ginty said: “Cardiff are a tough side. They are very physical and have a lot of girls form a rugby union background that will bring different challenges than some of the other teams we have played in the friendlies.
“But our girls have really bought into what we are trying to do as well and they know the style we want to play is an attractive style of rugby.
“They have got a lot of freedom to do that and are now getting the confidence to do it as well.”
And with a visit to the Totally Wicked Stadium to face Saints in their second Challenge Cup group game on April 12, Ginty is fully aware of the need to take on board the lessons learned over the past few weeks.
He said: “The friendlies taught us that the things we are working on are starting to click.
“Attacking-wise, we created chances, but we do know there’s a lot of work to do just to make sure those fine elements are right.
“Defensively, we know there are areas we need to work on, so the pre-season games have been a good test and we’ve taken that all away and worked on that in training.”
Ginty is fully aware that the cup competition for the women’s game comes at a time in the season when most teams haven’t been tested competitively, and that this presents its own challenges.
He said: “We, as a team, want to do well and want to progress in the Challenge Cup. But everybody wants to get to a final – especially at Wembley – but we will take each game as it comes, put every effort in and make sure we learn and grow from that first game.”
Ginty inherited a Warrington squad decimated by injuries, departures and retirements after a disappointing 2024 campaign but believes the recruitment over the winter has gone well.
He said: “We still had some existing, very experienced players but we have built on that by bringing in some good quality girls who are enthusiastic and have worked hard in pre-season.
“This has allowed us to see what we are doing well and what areas we still need to work on. We need to use this to progress in competitive games.”
The good news is that Ginty believes he has a strong squad of players to pick from for both games.
With some girls close to a return from niggling injuries and concussion – the only long-term absentee is winger Rebecca Nixon who faces the season on the sidelines after suffering cruciate ligament damage in the final game of last season against Huddersfield Giants – Ginty is looking forward to the challenge of picking his first 17-strong squad this Sunday.
He said: “We know St Helens will be hard next week but this week we are going with one of our strongest squads and have to make some tough decisions because a lot of the girls are ready to be in that 21.
“Unfortunately, we have to whittle that down to 17 but that can only be a very healthy situation to be in which is good.
“We’ve got a couple of players with concussions who are close to returning but they are not going to be available this weekend.
“We have a couple of players who just need to be given the OK to play but from a long-term perspective we’ve got Rebecca who will be out for the season but is still very much part of the squad and around to give support to the girls.
“We are in a healthier position than we were a couple of weeks ago and the girls who took knocks in the friendlies are on their way back.”
And he had nothing but praise for his new captain – and last season’s vice-captain – Danni Bound, who will lead her team out in a competitive game for the first time this weekend.
He said: “Danni has been fantastic performance wise. As a leader on the pitch, she has been amazing so I’m looking forward to her being captain in her first real competitive game and enjoying the moment.
“I’ve no doubt, based on Danni’s willingness to want to do well, that she will be up there pushing for player of the match.”
Warrington Wolves take on the Cardiff Demons at the Asics Stadium, Victoria Park, Warrington, this Sunday, April 6, kick off 2pm.
