Barrow Raiders Ladies have welcomed Darcy Southward to their first team squad on a permanent basis.
Southward has signed for the club’s Betfred Women’s Super League side after coming through the Raiders Ladies pathway.
Having played her club rugby for Egremont Rangers, Southward was initially selected as an U16 Pathway to Performance (P2P) programme player during the inaugural year of the initiative in Barrow, having caught the eye of head coach Amanda Wilkinson.
She went on to impress further, with her skill, flair and work ethic seeing her be selected for the North West Girls Talent Hub and then selected to participate in England RL’s Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) programme, which she continues to participate in.
After moving up to the Raiders Ladies Under 19s, Southward’s standout performances prompted Wilkinson to offer her the opportunity to make her debut for the club’s Women’s Super League team, featuring against both Huddersfield and York.
Southward slotted in seamlessly with the Super League team, producing two great performances which have prompted Raiders Ladies boss Wilkinson to sign her to the Super League team permanently.
“Being given the opportunity to step up means a lot to me, and I’m really happy to be given the opportunity,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to learning from the other players. I’m ready to make the step up and be in a more pressurised and performance-based environment with the Super League team, and feel that being on the DiCE program has set me up for it.”
Wilkinson said: “I’m really excited to be signing Darcy. She has shown so much talent and has a great work ethic.
“It’s absolutely fantastic to see our pathways working, and that they have supported Darcy to realise her full potential of playing rugby league at the very top level.”
Want to be in with a chance of winning our £25,000 jackpot? Join the Raiders Lottery!
