Harry Brook to Rachel Daly, our NINE Yorkshire sports stars to watch in 2023

Yes, 2022, was an epic year for British sport, and we tipped some of those stars to further write their name into sporting folklore - hello Pidcock.

But what does 2023 hold?

After the glut of major sporting tournaments last year - the FIFA World Cup, women’s Euros, the RLWC, women’s Rugby World Cup and the ICC Twenty20 - this coming 12 months is a little quieter.

There are though still major tournaments on the horizon - the women’s football World Cup in Australia, men’s Rugby World Cup in France, and the small matter of a home Ashes.

It’s a non Olympic year but there’s a glut of world championships in cycling, athletics and aquatics.

So let’s get into it, here are 10 Yorkshire sports people to follow in 2023.

1 Daniel Bradbury (Golf)

Only turned professional in the summer, but just last month he turned his third start on the DP World Tour into a maiden win at the Joburg Open. It gives the 23-year-old from Wakefield a springboard into 2023, one that will see him play in the Open and try and build on that breakthrough success that was characterised by nerveless front-running.

2 Harry Brook (Cricket)

Chris Waters had a Harry Brook on this list last year. Smart man. Brook exceeded all expectations with the rapid rate with which he struck centuries during his first Test series last month in England’s historic tour to Pakistan. There’s a Test match series in New Zealand next month, before the Ashes in the summer. Brook may have a fight on his hands with fellow Yorkshireman Jonny Bairstow for his spot in the team but my advice would be to play both of them. And that chap called Root.

3 Rachel Daly (Football)

Already a European champion after playing a part in the Lionesses success last summer, the 31-year-old from Harrogate built on that platform when moving back to the Women’s Superleague for this season, when she joined Aston Villa from Houston Dynamo. Traditionally a left-back, Daly has shown her versatility, banging in eight goals to be joint top goalscorer in the league at the halfway point, she could be in line for a big summer at the World Cup in Australia, with Ellen White retired and Mead facing a fitness battle.

4 Morgan Gannon (Rugby league)

The 19-year-old Gannon has made a meteoric rise since making his Leeds Rhinos debut in 2021 and his progress is set to continue under coach Rohan Smith. Originally a back-rower, Gannon has been training at stand-off, hinting at even more of an impact in Super League in 2023.

5 Fran Goldthorp (Rugby league)

The Leeds Rhinos teenager enhanced her burgeoning reputation in England colours on the world stage, showcasing her athleticism and skill to help inspire the next generation. What can she achieve as Rhinos take a huge step forward for women’s rugby league by making matchday payment to players.

6 Jason Hart (Racing)

Rode his first Group 1 on Malton-trained Yorkshire Horse of the Year Highfield Princess in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville and promptly followed it up with two more on the same horse in the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes and the Flying Five at the Curragh. The speedy filly is staying in training next season and looks primed for further glory under Hart.

7 Joanna Mason (Racing)

The granddaughter of legendary Yorkshire trainer Mick Easterby is making a name for herself in the saddle in her own right. Having shed her claim earlier in 2022, Mason made her Shergar Cup debut and rode the winner of the first race - Amanzoe - for William Haggas. In December, she won the £80,000 London Stayers' Final on Pons Aelius at Kempton for top Middleham trainers Mark and Charlie Johnston.

8 Leah Schlosshan (Swimming)

The teenager from Leeds told The Yorkshire Post last summer she was going to the European Junior Championships in Romania to gain experience. Then she went and won gold in the women’s 200m individual medley. A big year awaits as she looks to step up into the senior ranks, with a world championships in Japan.

9 Sam Watson (Cycling)

When Tom Pidcock wheeled into Helmsley in second place in the Tour of Britain in September, not far behind him having attacked with him through home roads of North Yorkshire, was 21-year-old Sam Watson. A few weeks later he rode in the road race world championship, and a few weeks before, he was beaten to the British title by just one man - Mark Cavendish. Watson takes the step up to more senior races with Groupama FDJ in 2023, on that could be a big year for him.