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In 2025, my perception was that Super League was becoming a lower scoring competition by comparison to years gone by. So I decided to dig a little deeper... Round 1 contained two aberrations with Leigh's 1-0 victory at Wigan and St Helens' 82-0 win over Salford, which cancelled each other out. So far in Super League 2025, the average points per game is 39. Of course, with us only being 5 rounds into Super League it is too early to draw conclusions and this total may go up or down. But we can look at the data from previous seasons (which I have sourced from the excellent Rugby League Project). Full disclosure, as data for all seasons is not available I have used the years 2000 - 2004, 2010 - 2014 and 2020 - 2024 as comparators. Is my perception correct that average points totals are decreasing? The answer is yes. Between 2000 and 2004, the average points per game fluctuated between 57.17 and 58.78. Between 2010 and 2014, the average points per game was between 55.02 and 62.4. Fo...

There is a perverse irony that each Super League side played their most important game of the season this weekend, yet (for those at home at least) each one drew their lowest crowd of the season (and one that will probably remain as the lowest crowd of the season). What I love about the Challenge Cup is that the results are meaningful. If you lose, that's one trophy you won't be winning for that season. Lose a match in Super League and it isn't that big of a deal. Take Wigan. They lost to Leigh in round 1 but ultimately in a top 6 play off system that result will make little difference as to whether Wigan retain their Super League title in October. Their loss to Hull FC means as far as one competition goes, there is no making up the ground. I think this year has been a good one for the Challenge Cup. The seeded draw giving lower league clubs a home fixture against Super League opponents in the last round was largely seen as a success . Of course, a good set of ties helps. W...

When it was announced that Super League clubs would enter the Challenge Cup at round 3 and face seeded away ties at lower league or amateur clubs, I was against the idea. This weekend has changed my view. In years gone by, we have seen Super League clubs lay waste to Championship and League 1 sides in the Challenge Cup, in encounters which have served little purpose. Fans agreed and often voted with their feet. So we changed the structure meaning that Super League clubs entered later. This led to Super League teams having a short route to Wembley, more repeat fixtures and the competition feeling less unique. Also, not ideal. The latest idea represented a half way house. My primary concern was that the blow outs that we see when Super League clubs face non-professional opposition would be even worse with the involvement of amateur clubs. I also worried from a safety perspective. The prospect of super human, Super League athletes coming up against people who play the sport on a weekend, ...

After much talk, we have finally learned which sides will take part in Super League in 2025. The news leaked the previous day through various media outlets, meaning confirmation that Wakefield would replace London was not much of a surprise. Some clubs have published the breakdown of their scores, meaning we can learn a little more about the, shall we say, idiosyncrasies of this new system. Halifax are facing enormous financial difficulties and earlier this week confirmed that they face a winding up petition. Despite this, their score for financial performance under the grading system increased by 1 compared to their indicative score. With changes to the criteria made for 2024, Hull FC have lost points as the big screen at the MKM Stadium has a pixel pitch of 20mm. Oldham have lost points because they moved from Whitebank Stadium (akin to a school field) to Boundary Park and their new, far better stadium is less full. Under the specifics of the criteria, Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadiu...

Wednesday 23rd October is set to be one of the biggest days of the year in the Rugby League calendar. Here are some key questions and answers. What is happening on Wednesday? It is the day that the 12 teams who will compete in Super League in 2025 will be announced by the RFL. The decision will be based on a detailed set of criteria, of which on-field performance counts for just 25%. The rest is out of the hands of playing and coaching staff and the burden of making sure that you are a Super League club lies in the hands of club executives. The decision will be announced at 10:30am. Can we predict who is going to be in Super League next year? The margins are so tight and there are so many variables that the public and even journalists are not privy too, making an informed prediction is impossible. Treat any journalistic piece you see over the next few days which claims to predict which sides will be in Super League next year with the language of certainty or even likelihood with  s...

Saturday night's Grand Final saw Wigan defeat Hull KR by 9-2 to retain their Super League title, to win four trophies in one season and to win six consecutive available trophies. The Era of Dynasties It is now fair to say that we are in a Wigan dynasty. And that has started on the back of a St Helens dynasty that saw them win four Super League titles, three League Leaders' Shields, one Challenge Cup and one World Club Challenge. If you watched Saturday night's Grand Final, you may have been forgiven for thinking that Sky Sports had simply re-run the 2023 Grand Final, such was its similarities. The game played out in a near identical manner. Even the scoreline was similar (10-2 in 2023 v 9-2 in 2024). How Wigan Became Immortals So, how did Wigan win it? The obvious answer is Bevan French's brilliance, combined with a precision kicking game from Harry Smith. I would argue that the biggest contributor was defensive steel. Wigan have now gone four full matches without conce...