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On 18th February 2023, St Helens stood atop the Rugby League world. Four consecutive Super League titles secured. Unprecedented in the salary cap era. Three League Leaders' Shields in the previous five years. The one Challenge Cup by comparison was made to look a meagre return. As Lewis Dodd kicked a drop goal against Penrith to defeat the NRL premiers in their own back yard, St Helens had done it all. Immortality had been achieved. The 2023 Super League season was one week old and the question many were asking was how on earth are St Helens going to be stopped again this year? I was one of those who asked that very question in this 2023 blog post . One line from that post that stands out to me was the open question of how you keep a squad hungry and motivated when there was nothing left to achieve? That famous day on 18th February 2023 was the last time St Helens lifted a trophy. What has followed is a tale of gradual decline. 2023 saw a third placed finish in Super League and sem...

If you are a Huddersfield Giants fan, then you will be familiar with disappointment and dreadful performances. There is an argument that Saturday's defeat to York was as low as it got. Two late tries could not disguise what was a truly abysmal display. With the gap now at six points, Huddersfield look set to finish bottom of Super League in 2026 barring an unexpected upturn in form. An aberration in 2022 aside, Huddersfield have finished no higher than 9th in any year since 2021 and have never as much as threatened a play off push. A far cry from the Huddersfield side of the early 2010's, who were play off regulars, won a League Leaders' Shield in 2013 and came close again in 2015. Huddersfield feel as though they are in a vicious cycle. They play in front of low crowds in a soulless bowl of a stadium. It is therefore far from the most difficult away day for opponents. This is also unappealing to players and coaches when recruiting. Their results get worse and the cycle con...

When you look at contenders for the Super League title, I tend to class them as either the old guard or insurgents. With their recent record of trophy winning, Wigan come under old guard. Even though it was a few years ago now, St Helens' four titles in a row means they also come under the old guard. Meanwhile, teams who have reached the Grand Final like Hull KR, Catalans, Salford and Castleford come under the insurgent category. Leeds are currently top of the Super League table after 16 matches, losing only three times this season. I think we are now beyond the conversation of whether they are contenders; they are. But are Leeds the old guard or insurgents? I'm not sure. On the one hand, Leeds are eight time Super League champions, have won the Challenge Cup four times in the summer era. And that's without mentioning three World Club Challenges and three League Leaders' Shields. That sounds like an established winner, right? On the other, Leeds are approaching 10 years...

There are five names on the Super League trophy. St Helens, Bradford, Wigan, Leeds and Hull KR. Of those, Bradford last won in 2005. Hull KR have won one title, in 2025. What do the remaining sides have in common? The heartbeat of their title-winning sides came from their academy. Leeds' "golden generation" was based on a spine of players like Sinfield, McGuire, Burrow and Peacock. In 2022, 9 of St Helens' Grand Final winning 17 came through their academy. Wigan's title-winning teams have also been littered with home grown talent. Therefore, if we look at what is happening at academy level today, this may give us a glimpse into the future of Super League tomorrow. And at that level something remarkable is happening at Warrington.  Their academy team has not lost a competitive match since September 2024. In 2025, Warrington's academy finished the season unbeaten and went on to win the Grand Final.  It's still early days in 2026, but Warrington have a perfec...

On Saturday, Hull KR will face Wigan in the Challenge Cup Final. This will be third meeting of the two sides in major finals in the last four finals. Only Warrington have broken the duopoly of finalists by making the Challenge Cup Final in 2024 and 2025. But when taking a whole sport perspective, does it matter that we are seeing the same two sides repeatedly contest finals? You can make an argument either way. Hull KR and Wigan have faced each other on five occasions in knockout fixtures since 2023. Saturday’s Challenge Cup Final will be the sixth. So far, Wigan have won three and Hull KR have won two. Can Hull KR square it up on Saturday or will Wigan show they have the edge when it matters, more often than not? If you are of the view that the same final is bad for the sport, we should say from the outset that it is on other sides to get better. Hull KR and Wigan will never and should not be expected simply to get out of the way so other sides can enjoy a day in the limelight. ...

Maybe it is a by-product of getting older. Maybe it is a reflection of a changing society. Maybe it is the fact that opinions that once would have been said across a smoke-filled pub are now written online for all to see. But in society it seems we are far quicker to reach conclusions now than we once were. Save for the walkover against Lock Lane, Hull KR had a 50% record to start the 2026 season, winning three matches and losing three matches. They lost away at York and Catalans and were taken to the cleaners in Vegas by Leeds. They defeated Brisbane in the World Club Challenge and Huddersfield twice, once in the league and once in the Cup. After the defeat to Catalans, Hull KR sat in a miserly 11th place in the league and many were quick to comment that Hull KR may not be the same force in 2026 that they were in 2025. Seven consecutive wins later and Hull KR sit in third place in the league and in their third Challenge Cup Final in four years. At the end of last month, Wigan had lost...