York Valkyrie celebrate home return with comfortable win

The former St Helens flyer set the tempo with a 15-minute first-half hat-trick, whilst Fijian centre Komaitai notched her first and second Valkyrie tries in quick succession late on in an impressive home debut.

Lacey Owen, Bettie Lambert, Alex Stimpson and Player of the Match Liv Wood also found the whitewash for Lindsay Anfield’s side, with half-back Charlie Magraw providing Warrington’s only reply.

York move level on points with Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors and St Helens, but a lesser points difference keeps the reigning Betfred Women’s Super League champions fourth.

Anfield made three changes to the side that hammered Huddersfield Giants 50-12 last week, with Lambert, Georgia Taylor and Jas Bell replacing Sian Judd, Carrie Roberts and Stimpson – the latter of whom dropped to the bench.

There was also a home debut for 17-year-old prop Izzy Brennan, who scored her first Valkyrie tries last weekend, whilst Emma Kershaw was given the nod to start at full-back.

The Valkyrie were on the front foot from the off in the North Yorkshire sunshine, with an early error presenting them with their first opportunity inside the opening minute, but Komaitai’s pass to Partington was just in front of the winger on the 10-metre line.

But it didn’t take long for Anfield’s side to break the deadlock, with Owen touching down Bell’s cross-field grubber just to the right of the posts to open the scoring with just four minutes on the clock.

Bell, initially taking up the kicking mantle in place of the injured Tara Jane Stanley, could not convert.

Warrington threatened to hit back after winning a six-again just inside the Valkyrie half, but Partington did well to gather Magraw’s bomb under pressure on her 10-metre line.

However, they made no mistake from their next opportunity in the 12th minute, with Bell’s kick charged down, allowing Magraw to sell the Valkyrie defence a dummy before crashing over just to the left of the posts.

Those proved to be the visitors’ only points of the afternoon, for the half-back was narrowly wide from the tee.

York restored their lead from the kick-off, with a forward pass early in the set handing them a scrum on the 20-metre line.

After initially going right, they switched the play back left, with Partington collecting Komaitai’s bullet pass before racing into the left corner in the first of a devastating 15-minute hat-trick.

Bell was both short and wide from the touchline conversion, failing to convert either of her attempts during the match.

The Valkyrie won the game’s first penalty for interference from the restart, but though Sade Rihari’s twisting run brought them to the 20-metre line, Bell was brought down narrowly short.

Their play was at times clunky, with Komaitai’s pass to Partington ruled forward, but the winger completed her hat-trick on the half-hour.

First, she outpaced a handful of Warrington defenders as she characteristically raced forward from halfway to touch down beneath the posts, before the Valkyrie worked the ball along the line in her direction from a scrum on the 10-metre line.

Brennan, introduced for her home debut midway through the half, converted the former but not the latter to hand York an 18-4 lead.

Minutes later, the hosts should have had their fifth try of the afternoon after Wood’s break, but they lost possession in an almighty scuffle next to the posts.

However, Anfield’s side were not to be denied again before the interval, with Rihari’s delayed cut-out pass freeing Owen, who played in Lambert to cross into the right corner.

Brennan was again short from the tee, but the Valkyrie still held a commanding 22-4 half time lead.

The hosts looked to pick up where they left off after the break after Remi Wilton had brought them inside the 10-metre line, but Stimpson could not gather the final pass as she bore down on the whitewash.

However, the prop did force her way across four minutes into the half, having built on the field position from Brennan’s drive to barge over to the left of the posts.

The youngster converted, and the pair almost combined again three minutes later, but Stimpson was brought down narrowly short, having opted to run on the last tackle.

Partington almost added to her tally on the hour after a neat show of hands, but Kershaw’s pass was in front of the winger.

Anfield’s side though took their next opportunity, with Owen’s burst past halfway setting the tone for Wood to carry on the move, racing from the 30-metre line to cross beneath the posts with 15 minutes remaining.

Ellie Hendry, having been introduced from the bench five minutes earlier, slotted over the extras.

York lost forward Jess Sharp to injury, but did ensure their homecoming had a final flourish.

Komaitai hit a short ball from Wilton, proving too strong for the Warrington defence as she burst across to the left of the posts, before she rounded off the scoring in similar fashion with four minutes remaining.

Brennan converted the former but not the latter, as the Valkyrie headed into their month-long break with a dominant 44-4 victory.

YORK VALKYRIE: Kershaw, Lambert, Owen, Komaitai, Partington, Rihari, Eastwood, Sharp, Wilton, Wood, Taylor, Andrade, Bell.

INTERCHANGES: Sanderson, Stimpson, Hendry, Brennan.

TRIES: Owen (4), Partington (15, 24, 30), Lambert (39), Stimpson (44), Wood (64), Komaitai (71, 76)

GOALS: Bell 0/2, Brennan 3/6, Hendry 1/1

WARRINGTON WOLVES: Nixon, Johnston, Barnett, Simpson, Coates, Bell, Magraw, Latchford, Wilson, Burnett, Williams, Baggaley, Turner.

INTERCHANGES: Condcliffe, Fellingham, Jelves, Johnson.

TRIES: Magraw (12)

GOALS: Magraw 0/1

POINTS SEQUENCE: 4-0, 4-4, 8-4, 12-4, 14-4, 18-4, 22-4, 26-4, 28-4, 32-4, 34-4, 38-4, 40-4, 44-4

HALF TIME: 22-4

YORK’S STAR WOMAN: Liv Wood.

REFEREE: Milo McKelvey