Wigan Warriors clinched the Women’s Super League Leaders’ Shield for the first time after a thrilling 24-20 derby-day victory away at St Helens.

It was first versus second in the first instalment of a women’s and men’s Super League double-header at Totally Wicked Stadium as rivals Saints and Wigan battled it out for top spot at the end of the regular season.

The match was a rollercoaster of momentum shifts, with Wigan striking first after Jenna Foubister latched onto a grubber kick from Rachel Rowe to give the visitors an early lead.

St Helens responded swiftly, capitalising on a handling error to level through Chantelle Crowl before hitting the front for the first time through Dani McGifford’s score, but back came Wigan as Anna Davies crossed in the corner following a powerful break by Mia Atherton.

Rachel Woosey’s try ensured St Helens would lead at the break, though Georgia Wilson’s dummy and finish on the stroke of half-time saw Wigan narrow the gap to 16-14.

The second half began with intensity, as Grace Banks powered over to put Wigan ahead, only for Phoebe Hook’s try to haul Saints level again.

But Wigan’s pressure proved decisive as a towering kick from Foubister forced a costly knock-on from Beri Salihi and, from the resulting scrum, Banks set up Molly Jones for the match-winning try with eight minutes remaining.

Despite a missed conversion, Wigan held firm in the closing stages to seal their third trophy of the season as they set their sights on a fourth in the Super League Grand Final.

‘Consistently the best side’

Wigan Warriors Women head coach Denis Betts: “I’m proud of them anyway. The result here doesn’t make me prouder.

“We’ve worked really hard this year, and they are a really young group, with not a lot of game time together. There’s so much more to do and so much better to get.

“If I’m being honest, I think we have been consistently the best side this year. This means a lot to me. They are a great bunch who love to play. What a great spectacle today. It’s a fantastic day.”

‘Little mistakes cost Saints’

St Helens coach Craig Richards: “Absolutely, it was fine margins. First and foremost, both teams were fantastic. Our effort was through the roof, but effort is no good if we make little mistakes, and little errors here and there allowed them to get back into the game. Then when you’re chasing the game, it is difficult.

“The players will be hurting but it will take nothing to pick this group up. We’ve done it before, we’ll get back on the horse and go again. The goal now is to win a semi-final and get to a final.

‘We want all four’

Player of the Match – Isabel Rowe: “It’s amazing. Start of the season we set out our challenges, we wanted to compete and win titles. We’ve done that this year but it doesn’t stop – we want all four. Eyes on the Grand Final now!”

Watch every Super League game live on Sky Sports. Two matches in each round are exclusively live, with the remaining four fixtures shown on Sky Sports+ via the red button.