“DO not have misplaced confidence.”

That is the message that director of rugby Lindsay Anfield has delivered to her York City Knights Ladies squad ahead of Sunday’s Grand Final against Leeds Rhinos (3.30pm).

York completed the double over Leeds during the 2022 Betfred Women’s Super League season, bouncing back from the narrow 28-26 loss they suffered to the Rhinos earlier in the year in the Betfred Challenge Cup semi-finals.

Having already won the League Leaders’ Shield, the Knights will head to the Totally Wicked Stadium-held final enter as favourites, but there will no be no complacency from Anfield’s side, the boss insists.

“It does give us confidence,” she said of the past results against the 2019 champions. “But we’ve said to the players, ‘Don’t have a misplaced confidence’.

“In one of the games we played against them, Courtney (Winfield-Hill) wasn’t available, which was a big loss for them.

“And the game that won us the League Leaders’ (Shield), that was our game to win. It was like a final for us and it essentially wasn’t for them.

“You can’t really read too much into those results. We just need to make sure that we turn out a performance that’s worthy of a Grand Final.”

Leeds progressed to the Grand Final on the back of a tightly-fought 14-6 semi-final win over St Helens at Headingley Stadium earlier this month.

“People were writing Leeds off in that game against Saints but, having come up against them so many times, you know that you can never write them off,” Anfield added.

“They’re a resilient bunch who keep turning up for each other. Having Courtney and other key players, they’re always going to be dangerous.

“We’ve got to make sure that we’re not complacent. We’ve beaten them twice, they’ve beaten us once, so it’s pretty even. We’ve got to make sure that we bring our A-game.”

While Leeds are in a fourth consecutive Grand Final, this is York’s first time competing in the women’s game’s showpiece event.

Asked whether that past experience will have an impact during the 80 minutes, Anfield replied: “No, I don’t think so. Leeds have got a lot of players that have been in these types of occasions before, but so have we.

“Our players are really hungry to get that top piece of silverware in the Grand Final and we’ve got to be confident given the season we’ve had and the way that we’re playing.”

Anfield arrived at York in May last year and, after some heavy recruitment, has rapidly turned the club’s fortunes around.

Having finished second-from-bottom in 2019, the Knights now stand on the brink of the Shield and Grand Final double.

“It’d be amazing, particularly given the support that we’ve had from the club and the city,” enthused Anfield on the prospect of winning a first Grand Final title.

“Hopefully we can fulfil the ambitions that the club have got. This is where we want to be, competing in these top games and performing and playing good rugby in them.

“After the season that we’ve had, for us as really tight-knit bunch, I think it’d do us justice to get a win at the weekend.”