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Showing posts from December, 2021

Women in sport- Tanya Arnold edition

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Tanya Arnold has paved the way for the new generation of female representation in the sporting media and rugby league. As a southerner, rugby league was something Tanya had to learn and pretty quick when she joined the BBC radio Leeds sports desk “You can’t do sports in this part of the world without rugby league” Rugby league is renowned for being an all-inclusive, welcoming sport and she found this to be true while she found her feet in the sport, Tanya has gone from strength to strength in the sport. “It’s been a fabulous, fabulous sport to work in, its given me more opportunities than I could ever dream of, so I’ve got a lot to thank it for.” When she started her journalism journey there were no female sports presenters on any level, so she did not think it would be a direction her career would take.  (Picture : the super league show facebook) In 2012 she joined the super league show, and she hasn’t looked back. She has seen the growth of the women’s super league from the very begi

Happy new year to our sponsors

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On 6th December the Halifax Panthers Fans Forum reached out to the fans, local businesses to support the team by sponsoring the Fans Forum, players and coaching staff. The idea came about by the Admin Team as they felt that the Fans Forum could give some extra mileage in offering an affordable alternative sponsorship opportunity and to support the Halifax Panthers financially for the 2022 season   The fans forum has been continuously raising money for the club with a target of 10k for the new year and so far have raised over 7k from previous events and this sponsorship initiative will propel them ever closer to that target. The sponsorship was £100 for the full season per player to be used solely on the fans forum pages, the sponsorship was extended to include Simon Grix, Scott Grix and Liam Finn. It proved very popular and the spots were filled in under 24 hours! Generating around £2600 to be collected and donated directly to the club in January 2022. For the £100 sponsors will receiv

Mental health check - state of mind edition

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  Anyone in their lifetime can struggle with mental health issues, even the big strong men and women of rugby league. Players are designed to be strong and tough, but even these individuals struggle whilst playing and in their lives after rugby league. Social media is bigger than ever and is more accessible to showcase not only the positive feedback of performances but also, unfortunately the negative comments that players may face that can impact their mental fitness. Help is out there in the form of mental fitness sessions like Ahead of the Game and Offload fitness programmes I delivered by current and Ex-rugby league players to highlight the struggles of mental health and the importance of speaking out. “One in four people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England with one in six people reporting a common mental health problem (like anxiety and depression) in any given week in England” – Mind.org.uk With around sixty men losing their life to suicide e

Pioneer of rugby league in Ghana - Rachel Ankomah

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  If you are in the twitter rugby league algorithm you will have seen the name Rachel Ankomah in recent weeks. Rachel is the first female rugby league coordinator in Ghana and is a true pioneer for the sport. So much so that she has just received the youth sports personality of the year at the Ghana youth awards. She was recognised as the rugby league hero by the international rugby league in 2020. Sport was always high on Rachel’s agenda, with a back ground in football, hockey, basketball, triple jump, cricket, javelin and volley ball, but how did this young woman find herself in the midst of rugby league, a sport that only took hold in Ghana in 2012 and women’s rugby league not even heard of. With a lack of knowledge for the sport she was approached by Jafaru Mustapha the then CEO of a local rugby union team to be the team manager, where she stayed for two years developing her knowledge. Mustapha approached Rachel again with a new proposition of becoming the team manager of Ghana Sko

Looking ahead to the Betfred women’s super league 2022

ges 2021 is almost done and dusted, the trials are coming to an end and the pre-season is on the way. Women’s Super League is back in 2022 with a new format. With the promotion of Leigh Miners and Barrow Raiders, the Super League will be split into two groups consisting of 6 teams. Group one St Helens Leeds Rhinos Castleford Tigers York City Knights Wigan Warriors Huddersfield Giants It is clear to say that after last season St Helens will be the team to beat in 2022. They have well-documented talent in their squad with the likes of Amy Hardcastle and current Woman of Steel and recently appointed RFL national women’s and girls development manager Jodie Cunningham, can anyone topple the champions? Embed from Getty Images Leeds Rhinos have started their pre-season already, showing they mean business this season. With the addition of former Woman of Steel Georgia Roche, they have their eyes firmly on the prize! York City Knights will be looking forward to a more settled season as the mass