ADAM CUTHBERTSON has set out his aim to not only strengthen York City Knights Ladies, but also the sporting picture of women’s rugby league.

Knights Men’s star Cuthbertson was appointed as the Ladies’ head of performance last month as part of a series of announcements, which included seven new signings and ex-Castleford Tigers boss Lindsay Anfield becoming director of women’s rugby.

Cuthbertson had previously served as the head coach of Leeds Rhinos Women and assistant coach of England Women.

His passion for the Women’s game is evident and the forward hopes that, given the increased media coverage of the Women’s Super League since its launch in 2017, the league can become more competitive and a better product as a consequence.

“You need to spread the talent to other clubs such as York, like we’ve done, to create that hunger for women’s rugby league,” said Cuthbertson.

“There’s talk about more games being on the BBC and Sky potentially, so when we get to that stage and when we get on that pedestal of it being broadcast to the nation, you need to make sure the game looks good, is played right and there’s not blowouts so that people can’t predict what the score is going to be.

“If that doesn’t happen, then people will start to lose interest, so it’s about creating that even playing field.

“For me, it’s not only about making York stronger, but also about making the Women’s Super League a lot more competitive and well-rounded.”

York look to have made rapid progress this year since the arrival of their new recruits, primarily from former Grand Finalists Castleford, reaching a maiden Women’s Challenge Cup final last weekend.

It marks a huge upturn in fortunes since the 2019 season which saw the Knights win just one league game.

“What I’ve learned is that there’s some really good players at York that are starting to shine now that they’re in and around some of the players that we’ve brought in,” added Cuthbertson.

“It’s great to see those girls really starting to lift their game and it’s starting to make us really competitive in the Women’s Super League.

“The one thing that I want is that, once we get to the end of the year or however long I’m in this role, I want to know that I’ve done my bit to help the growth of the Women’s Super League.

“I think some clubs have had competitive advantages with their facilities and the players they’ve been able to recruit.

“You may have the scores of the past few weeks and there’s been blowouts. For the game to grow, I don’t think that’s healthy.”

Cuthbertson, 36, has one eye on life after playing and is currently studying towards a Masters degree in Sports Directorship. He also has a job outside of his responsibilities with the Knights’ Ladies and Men’s sides.

Asked how he is managing his time at present, Cuthbertson laughed: “Not very well. Working away from the sport has been great and it’s thrown me out of my comfort zone.

“To go onto the high performance side, like with the Ladies, it’s something that I’m aiming to do in the future.

“To be able to do a bit of coaching and a bit of the admin too has been brilliant and hopefully it puts me in a good stead going forwards.”