THERE may be no York RLFC representation on the pitch in tomorrow's two Rugby League World Cup finals, but there will be in the television studio.

York Valkyrie winger Kelsey Gentles will continue her stint as a BBC pundit during the broadcaster’s coverage of the Women’s final between Australia and New Zealand at Old Trafford (1.15pm).

A knee injury disrupted Gentles’ appearances for York this season, leading her to be invited to punditry appearances on Betfred Women’s Super League matches and later the World Cup.

“I had a couple of TV opportunities earlier in the year, having had a tough year injury-wise,” recalled Gentles.

“When it came to big games that were televised, I’ve not been playing. Tanya (Arnold) gave me the opportunity to be part of the BBC team and I really enjoyed it.

“Late in the year, given my injury, I realised that I wasn’t going to be playing in this World Cup, even if I did get fit in time, as there’s so many girls that play in my position. And it probably wouldn’t have been fair for me to be in the World Cup squad.

“I still wanted to be part of the World Cup, so I got in touch with the BBC, who I worked with earlier in the year, and they snapped me up, which has been a great opportunity.

“It’s been really fun. It is nerve-wracking being on live TV, but I’ve really enjoyed it.

“Danika (Priim), Lois (Forsell) and Tanya are all a little bit older than me, so they look after me and make sure I’m not too stressed.

“There’s a great team there. It doesn’t feel like work, you’re having fun and watching the World Cup.”

Asked to compare the difference between the nerves of playing in major finals and working as a pundit on live TV, Gentles laughed: “It’s much easier on the nerves to play in a game.

“I’m not sure those nerves of live TV will ever leave me, even if I do it for another 20 years.”

For the fourth successive edition, Australia and New Zealand contest the World Cup final, with the former seeking a third straight title.

Australia won all three of their Group ‘B’ matches, beating Cook Islands (74-0), France (92-0) and New Zealand (10-8), all those contests being held at the LNER Community Stadium.

“Watching the Jillaroos in person, you can see that they’re such a professional outfit and they clearly have done a lot of strength and conditioning work,” said Gentles.

“Watching their speed of ruck, they’re clearly used to higher intensity games compared to what we’re used to here.

“Our rucks are two to three seconds slower which adds up on your energy levels when you’re competing against them.

“They’re what we’re aspiring to be and they’re the best in the world for a reason.”

The Jillaroos are the overwhelming favourites with the bookmakers and Gentles feels it is difficult to bet against Brad Donald’s side.

She said: “These two teams are the two best in the world and they’re the best for a reason. I’m sure that the game is going to be outstanding.

“I’m hoping that the final isn’t a blow-out and it wasn’t just the pool game that was really tight.

“Hopefully it will be tight again on Saturday and another game where you can’t call it.

“Australia were massively rattled in that pool game, so they won’t want the Kiwis to get in their heads again on the big stage.

“I really hope that the underdogs can pull it off, but if I was a betting person, I’d go for Australia.”