Cardiff Demons have signed off their final season under the name with another successful campaign, finishing fourth in the RFL Women’s National Championship and reaching the knock-out stages of the Challenge Cup for a fourth consecutive season.
The Demons, who will now join the South Wales Jets as their women’s side, recorded nine league wins in their 12 matches, scoring an impressive 526 points, with nearly a fifth of them coming in their 102–0 demolition of Salford Red Devils in August, just four points short of a club record victory.
The Demons’ Challenge Cup run was equally impressive. They began with a 76–6 defeat against eventual winners Wigan Warriors before producing one of the results of the group stage, beating Super League side Featherstone Rovers 24–12 to reach the quarter-finals. It was the fourth season in a row that Cardiff had reached the last eight of the competition.
There were also some outstanding individual performances throughout the Championship season.
Zoe Heeley finished as the Demons’ leading try scorer with 25, which was a club record of tries in a season, putting her just six tries behind club record holder Leanne Burnell.
With the boot, Mary-Ann Gittings was the standout performer, kicking 45 goals and finishing with a team-high 114 points, which again were club records for one player in a season.
Ffion Jenkins, Sara Jones and Katie Carr all reached 50 appearances for the club during a campaign that ended with a semi-final defeat at London Broncos last Sunday.
Formed in 2021, the Demons have established themselves as one of the success stories of the Welsh women’s game. They won the Southern League title in their first two seasons and have continued to compete at the highest levels of the community game, while producing 33 Welsh internationals.
Following their partnership with South Wales Jets, the team will now move forward under this name, bringing together two of the country’s most ambitious rugby league clubs.
South Wales Jets chairman Liam Price said: “Cardiff Demons have created something incredibly special over the last five years. The name has become synonymous with women’s rugby league in Wales, and the players, coaches and volunteers can be immensely proud of everything they have achieved.
“Bringing the Demons into South Wales Jets gives the players an even bigger platform and allows us to build on everything that has already been achieved.
“Importantly, this also creates an exciting pathway for girls coming through the game. The Jets already have girls’ teams, so by bringing the Demons into the club we can now offer a pathway from the age of eight right through into senior women’s rugby league. That is something we are really proud of and something that can make a huge difference to the future of the women’s game in South Wales.”
