Brave Staveley battling agony in bid for glory

AIMEE STAVELEY has finally opened up on the secret heartache and courage that is behind her stellar career.

The Leeds Rhinos forward, 30, has won just about every honour in the women’s game in the past few years but the fact she is even able to play is astonishing.

She was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis eight years ago and admits there are days when the physical pain is excruciating. The mental battles of a crippling condition that she will always suffer with have also taken her to some dark places.

But Staveley believes the bad hand that fate has dealt her has helped turn her into the fierce competitor she is today.

She said: “The things I have achieved in rugby are totally beyond my wildest dreams. “But I never take any of it for granted and never look too far in front or get my hopes up because I never know when I’ll get an infection or a flare-up or something that will knock me back.”

Staveley (below) – a treble winner with Bradford in 2017, plus a Grand Final and two-time Challenge Cup winner with Leeds – decided to speak out to help other sufferers and this week completed a 100km running challenge to raise money for Versus Arthritis. But she admits it’s taken her eight years to get to the point where she feels comfortable talking about it.

She said: “I never wanted people to know because I didn’t want to be treated any differently. I’ve never wanted to make excuses for myself or for others to make excuses for me.”