Defending Super League Champions Wigan Warriors travel to Castleford on Saturday, and rugby expert Ross Heppenstall assesses each club’s chances before this weekend’s new season.
A New Season Of The Rugby Super League
It would take a brave punter to bet against Wigan Warriors retaining their Super League title this season. Certainly it will take a pretty special side to wrest the trophy from the DW Stadium as the new season kicks off.
Matt Peet’s champions open their campaign with a trip to Castleford Tigers on Saturday evening where history will be made. The match will be the first Super League XXIX game to be screened on the BBC, with Sky Sports having televised the competition almost exclusively since its formation in 1996.
Rugby Super League 2024 Outright prices
– Wigan Warriors 7/4
– St Helens 11/4
– Warrington 15/2
– Leeds 15/2
– Catalans 11/1
12/1 Bar
Wigan Warriors
Wigan were already formidable when they beat Catalans Dragons in the Grand Final at Old Trafford last autumn; they look even stronger now. During the winter, Peet added a raft of impressive signings in Sam Walters, Kruise Leeming, Luke Thompson, Tiaki Chan, Sam Eseh and Adam Keighran.
Walters and Eseh will spend the next few weeks on the sidelines after getting injured in pre-season, but Wigan should open the defence of their crown with a win at Wheldon Road.
Next week’s World Club Challenge at home to NRL champions Penrith Panthers will be an occasion to increase the heartbeat. With a capacity crowd behind them on home soil, Wigan might just have too much for a Penrith side rated as one of the greatest NRL sides in the modern era.
It should be some scrap. It may also take a lot of the Warriors emotionally and physically, so do not be surprised to see their Super League dip slightly in the games that follow.
But only a fool would dismiss Wigan’s chances of keeping the Rugby Super League trophy under lock and key later this year. The Warriors, much like the great Leeds Rhinos sides did, tend to get stronger and peak at the end of the year when it matters most.
St Helens
Last year was an emotional rollercoaster for the Saints.
It began with them beating Penrith in the World Club Challenge and ended with an agonising Super League play-off semi-final defeat at Catalans Dragons. They also lost to Leigh Leopards in a controversial Challenge Cup semi-final, but Saints being Saints, they will challenge for honours again this year.
Club legends James Roby and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook have retired but their squad otherwise remains largely unchanged. Daryl Clark is a shrewd replacement for Roby, and George Delaney is one of the best young forwards in the game and already attracting plenty of NRL interest.
Catalans Dragons
The French outfit have reached the Grand Final twice in the past three seasons and fallen short on both occasions. They have lost Sam Tomkins after he hung up his boots after last year’s defeat to Wigan in the Old Trafford title decider.
He will be sorely missed, not only for his talismanic influence on Steve McNamara’s side but ability to inspire those around him. Other key men have left – such as Mitchell Pearce and Matt Whitley – but the Dragons have made some smart signings and will be up there again this year.
Leeds Rhinos
The men from Headingley finished eighth last season and looked anything but title aspirants. For a club of Leeds’ size, stature and ambition, that was simply not acceptable. Rohan Smith avoided the sack, however, and was instead handed several new signings during the off-season and in Brodie Croft, Matt Frawley, Lachie Miller and Andy Ackers they have a whole new spine.
Mickael Goudemand and Paul Momirovski have also arrived and anything less than a top-six finish, and perhaps even a serious title challenge, will spell huge trouble for Smith.
Warrington Wolves
Sam Burgess’ appointment at the Halliwell Jones Stadium is the biggest story of the season. A man who has created so many headlines, on and off the pitch, during his 35 years on this Earth has rocked up in Super League and been tasked with reviving Warrington’s fortunes.
Let it be remembered that this is a club who have not been crowned champions since 1955 and have been synonymous with underachievement. Burgess is desperate to prove a success in his first head coaching role and has one eye on returning to the NRL to land a job there in the coming year. But first he must take the Wolves into the top six and they should be good enough.
Hull Kingston Rovers
The Robins have emerged as a coming force in recent seasons. With a vibrant ownership, ambition pulses loudly around Craven Park.Desire is both visible and audible in head coach Willie Peters, players such as England star Mikey Lewis, and a fanbase who are one of the most passionate in Super League.
Hull KR made the play-off semi-finals last term and nothing less will do this year, especially with the likes of Oliver Gildart on board.
Leigh Leopards
What Leigh achieved last season was nothing short of remarkable. Adrian Lam’s won the Challenge Cup for the first time in 52 years and also made the play-offs – an incredible effort in their first season after being promoted back to Super League.
Coming close to repeating those feats will take some doing, but with Lachlan Lam and Matt Moylan in the halves they will be a force again, even if the play-offs prove just beyond them.
Huddersfield Giants
Ian Watson is probably favourite to win the sack race this season. He is now in the fourth year at the club and has yet to deliver. The pressure will mount if the Giants do not get off to a strong start and he needs to keep in touch with the play-offs places – but it could all end in tears.
Hull FC
Tony Smith is hugely respected within the game for his achievements at Huddersfield Giants, Leeds Rhinos, Warrington Wolves and Hull KR. He got Huddersfield promoted to Super League, delivered Leeds’ first league title in 32 years, won three Challenge Cups at Warrington and guided Rovers into the play-off semi-finals for the first time in 2021. But he found life very tough going at Hull FC last season and will find it a struggle to make the top six this year.
Castleford Tigers
Positivity drips from Craig Lingard, the Tigers head coach, and he will certainly make his mark at Wheldon Road this season. But last year was a traumatic one for this proud old club as Lee Radford left after three games before Andy Last was sacked.
Danny Ward came in to steady the ship on an interim basis, but turned down the chance to take over permanently. Another challenging year beckons.
Salford Red Devils
Strapped for cash and short on players, Paul Rowley’s men looked ripe for a season of struggle. That is a shame because Rowley is one of the brightest, most impressive coaches in Super League, but has seen a number of his key men sold to ease financial problems.
Expect Salford to play their usual entertaining brand of rugby and avoid the wooden spoon, but off-field issues will continue to lurk in the background.
London Broncos
The men from the capital shocked everybody, perhaps even themselves, when they got promoted to Super League last autumn. After an inconsistent start, the Broncos won nine of their last 12 regular league games last year to earn a place in the play-offs with a fifth-place finish before emerging victorious in the play-offs.
But their IMG grading means they will almost certainly not be playing in Super League next season and they are odds-on to finish bottom anyway.
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