On a weekend of seismic shocks in rugby league - one the good people of Wigan are likely to want to forget in a hurry - one familiarly refreshing sight was Sinead Peach scoring a try and lifting a trophy for York Valkyrie.

And yet for this stalwart of the women’s game for the past decade, it was arguably the most significant moment of them all.

For in the first part of her career, scoring tries, playing in finals and hoisting trophies was par for the course - firstly with Castleford Tigers and then at York.

But after winning the Grand Final and being named Woman of Steel in 2023, she took the decision to start a family.

Special moment: York Valkyrie captain Sinead Peach celebrates with her son and family after Sunday night's Grand Final victory over red-hot favourites Wigan Warriors.

placeholder image — Special moment: York Valkyrie captain Sinead Peach celebrates with her son and family after Sunday night's Grand Final victory over red-hot favourites Wigan Warriors.

The road back was full of body changes she admits she didn’t fully appreciate, and a momentary lapse of self-discipline that landed her in hot water with the authorities and the court of social media opinion.

All of which made helping York upset the odds by defeating Wigan Warriors in Sunday evening’s Women’s Super League Grand Final, all the more sweeter.

“I don’t know if you can say which is better because any chance you get to win that trophy is a special moment,” said Peach, who scored the Valkyrie’s only try in an 8-6 victory.

“It’s extra special this time that I had my son in the stands watching me.

York's Sinead Peach lifts the Women's Betfred Super League trophy after victory over Wigan. (Picture: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

“And what a great bunch of girls we have, we really are a family, a sisterhood. York really is home for us.”

In 2023, York were favourites to win the Grand Final and duly did so. On Sunday, they were huge underdogs having finished third in the league, forcing them to take the long road to glory, a much longer journey than runaway League Leaders’ Shield winners Wigan had to take.

“We came together just as the Super Fours started,” said Peach, whose team finished the regular season by inflicting a first defeat of the year on Wigan. “We had a meeting, some hard, serious chats, but that’s what we needed. We had that desire, we had the belief in ourselves.

“We’d played Wigan in the Challenge Cup and in the league and got beat quite convincingly both times. When we looked back and watch those performances, that wasn’t us, that’s not what we pride ourselves on. That review was the turning point. We didn’t want our season to continue on that downward spiral.

Sinead Peach of York Valkyrie scores their only try in the Grand Final win over Wigan (Picture: Callum Pilkington/SWpix.com)

"Everyone wrote us off, and those doubters helped us, they gave us fuel, they gave us energy. They gave us the desire to go out and prove everyone wrong.”

Speaking on Monday lunchtime before attending the trophy tour on a boat through York city centre later that day, Peach was rewatching the final on TV.

“I’m in awe of us, I’m in awe of all the extra one per cents we found,” she told The Yorkshire Post.

“I’m still in shock. Watching it back, those one per cents we found in our defence, that’s what won us the game. You want to be that sort of player, give that extra one per cent: running harder than your opposition, defending harder than them.

“It all adds up to success.”

A third Grand Final victory in four years provides a nice arc for the Peach story. Pausing her career to have a child in the off-season after she had just been named Woman of Steel, was a brave move.

But she was determined to get back to the very top of the game.

“I wasn’t expecting coming back from pregnancy would be such a challenge,” admitted Peach, who also juggles playing and motherhood with being a junior coach and champion of the girls section at Hunslet ARLFC.

“That’s probably a bit naive of me to say but your abdominals are ripped in two so when I went back to pre-season and I tried to do a sit-up, I realised it was going to take a lot longer than I thought.

“So you need your own motivation but it’s the people around you as well.

“Don’t get me wrong, 2025 was a tough year, it’s been a process after coming back after childbirth. And I can’t thank my family enough - the lengths my partner goes to to help me, my mum, dad, sister, it really is a team effort. I’m starting to feel a lot like my old self now.”

There was probably a hint of redemption in this year’s play-off success, too, after what happened last year when Peach was banned for “unacceptable behaviour” and “questioning the integrity of a match official”.

Suddenly she was a villain of women’s rugby league, an unfair portrayal of someone who had done so much for the game.

“It was a significant thing in my career, it went viral, but it’s history - even though my mates won’t let me forget about it,” she said. “It’s a story to tell, but it’s in the past and I’m happy to leave it there.”

So what of the future? More glory for York Valkyrie?

“To finish the season off like we have, you get hungry for more,” said Peach. “We’d love a chance at Wembley (Challenge Cup), I’m sure that’s one we’ll be gunning for next year, but for now we’ll rest up, recoup and celebrate this win.”