St.Helens Women are proud to confirm our new cohort of players joining the Saints as part of the RFL's Pathway To Performance (P2P) Scholarship programme ahead of 2027!
Women & Girls’ rugby league is thriving in St Helens, thanks to the fantastic work of our community clubs, and this is reflected in eight of the twelve places available for the 2026/27 P2P intake being taken by players from community clubs within our town.
Run by Women’s Super League clubs, the P2P programme is designed for female players in Years 10 and 11 as of the academic year starting in September, with each club allowed up to 12 players per age group.
P2P is an opportunity for aspiring players to develop their knowledge and ability, both on and off the field, with WSL clubs such as Saints, while still allowing for development with their community teams as well.
We are now entering our third year of the P2P programme for St.Helens, and welcome our new group as our Under-15s intake, and their hard work with training and development as Saints has already begun.
St.Helens Women are delighted to confirm the girls, who will join the returning second-years, to be part of our Pathway To Performance programme for 2026-27 as follows:
- Arabella Akrigg – Thatto Heath Crusaders
- Maisie Birkett – Haydock Warriors
- Eva Blackburn – Thatto Heath Crusaders
- Leah Dallimore – Haydock Warriors
- Savannah Dowd – Culcheth Eagles (2nd year)
- Layla Hitchen – Thatto Heath Crusaders
- Grace Lester – Thatto Heath Crusaders
- Elisa Omo-Ikilo – Shevington Sharks
- Harriet Price – Blackbrook Royals
- Sofia Reis-Coop – Ince Rose Pantheresses
- Maisey Robinson – Thatto Heath Crusaders
- Isla Schoelzel – Culcheth Eagles
- Alissa Seddon – Ince Rose Pantheresses
After an incredible 2026 campaign winning the Under-14s Premier Division, five players from the Thatto Heath Crusaders team have been selected: Arabella Akrigg, Eva Blackburn, Layla Hitchen, Grace Lester, and Maisey Robinson.
The North West Under-14s Division A-winning Haydock Warriors have two players represented, with Leah Dallimore and Maisie Birkett.
Harriet Price stood out whilst playing for Blackbrook Royals and was selected whilst playing as a Brooker this past season. She will continue her journey with both St.Helens and Thatto Heath.
Ince Rose Panthresses have two of their players joining the Saints, Sofia Reis-Coop and Alissa Sesson, both of whom have also been regular at Saints Community Development Foundation camps in recent years.
Isla Shoelzel joins many of her teammates from Culcheth Eagles who were selected in the 2025/26 cohort. Having initially joined our P2P part of the way through last season, we are thrilled to confirm that Savannah Dowd will go into her second year in the programme, and also proudly represents her community side, Culcheth Eagles.
Elise Omo-Ikilo, who has been playing a year above for the Shevington Sharks Under-15s team for the 2026 season, completes our newest intake.
Jodie Cunningham, Head of Women’s Pathways, commented: “The P2P is the first official stage of the Women & Girls’ professional pathway, and is going into its third year of delivery, having already produced many fantastic young players for the Saints Women’s Academy.
“The quality and numbers of the girls in our community are increasing year on year, making selection incredibly difficult, but I am so pleased with the girls we have coming into the programme, and I’m really excited to see their journey through our pathway.
“We have experienced a lot of success over the years in the Women’s team, and now a large part of that original group of players who founded the Women’s team at our club are coming to the end of their careers, which means the Club is now transitioning into this next generation of players that have been part of the pathways created at St.Helens, and I know from watching these girls that the Club is going to be in a great place for many years to come.”
Take a look at the gallery of our latest additions to our St.Helens Women’s youth development programme below, as they were welcomed to the BrewDog Stadium for their signing night.
