´óÏó´«Ã½

Challenge Cup holders St Helens have become the latest club in the Women's Super League to give players match payments from the 2024 season onwards.

Saints have been major players in the women's game since forming in 2017, winning three Challenge Cups and a Super League title.

It means England players such as Emily Rudge, Jodie Cunningham and Vicky Whitfield will now be paid to play.

Cunningham described the decision as "a really proud moment".

"Today's announcement isn't just about what this means to us as individuals. It's about all the young girls that we are making new and better things possible for," Cunningham, the captain and head of women's pathways and performance, said.

"It's for all the women that went before us in women's rugby league that weren't supported and provided opportunities like we are lucky to have now at this great club, and as part of the Women's Super League."

Huddersfield, Leeds, and reigning champions York are among the other clubs to have made the commitment to recompense players financially from this season onwards.

Saints' results, which include victory in the first Challenge Cup final at Wembley in 2023, have in part been down to the talent developed, but also the improvement of standards around facilities, medical care and logistics.

The move to pay players is the latest step in the journey towards a future of full professionalism for the women's game, as players currently juggle full-time jobs around their commitments to train and play.

Chairman Eamonn McManus said the move to pay players was "deserved recognition".

"We have ensured in recent seasons that our women receive top-level coaching, conditioning, and medical support as well as utilising the training and other facilities at the club," McManus said.

"It is now time that we begin to compensate them to reflect the wide-ranging and increasingly positive impact that they bring to the growth and profile of our sport," he added.

Chief executive Mike Rush said: "Today is a proud moment and the first step in rewarding the women who represent this great club. This is the start of a long journey, like in 1873 (when the club was founded).

"Like in 1895 and the broken time payments for the men, the reward of match payments for the women is a starting point for our club.

"This has been a process we have worked on a lot to get to, and we wanted to ensure we have got everything we needed to the correct standards such as our medical provisions, facilities, and even nutrition to have our players be the best they can be. This is a journey and we will continue to do all we can."