Super League 2019 - Your team's highlight and lowight - PART 2 (London - Wigan)
Highlight: London won 10 games in
2019 and amassed a points total that would have saved them in any other Super
League season. Home wins against the defending champions Wigan and two home
wins over eventual champions St Helens showed that London were not the whipping
boys many thought.
Lowlight: London fought for all
they were worth and against the odds managed to take the relegation battle to
the final day but could not secure that final win against Wakefield and
suffered relegation.
Salford
Highlight: An incredible late
season surge which took Salford to the Grand Final. The highlight has to be the
semi-final win over Wigan. It wasn’t just a win. It was a comprehensive rout
over the defending champions, leaving over 4,000 Salford fans at the DW Stadium
almost rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
Lowlight: Whilst Salford did have
some disappointing early season results, it is the loss of players like Jackson
Hastings, Jake Bibby and Josh Jones to bigger-spending rivals for 2020, which
is the greatest disappointment.
St Helens
Highlight: This one is easy.
After years of semi-final and final heartbreak, St Helens finally got over the
final and became Super League champions to secure only their second major
trophy in 10 years. It was no less than what was deserved after winning the League
Leaders’ Shield by a record margin.
Lowlight: St Helens’ season
lowlight came in the Challenge Cup. They went into the Cup Final as huge
favourites but once again came up short, foiled by a well-executed Warrington
gameplan, which removed their air of invincibility.
Wakefield
Highlight: Surviving. Wakefield
finished 5th in 2017 and 2018 but missed out on the top 4 play offs.
In 2019, the play off expanded to five teams and Wakefield were nowhere near.
The relief of staying up was clear on the face of Chris Chester as they
defeated London on the final day. They will hope that 2019 was simply a blip.
Lowlight: Winning 1 game out of
10 between early May and mid-August which turned Wakefield from play-off
contenders to relegation battlers.
Warrington
Highlight: Warrington’s highlight
for 2019 was lifting the Challenge Cup, picking up their first major piece of
silverware since 2012. They were given little hope at Wembley, especially
playing with only one half back. But a discipling, regimented and patient performance
supplemented by an excellent kicking game showed that Warrington can win big
matches.
Lowlight: An abject end of season
which saw them win one of their final eight matches. This culminated in an embarrassing
home play off defeat to Castleford in front of a sparse crowd. Steve Price has declared
the season a success because of the cup win. Chief executive Karl Fitzpatrick
has publicly said that it was not.
Wigan
Highlight: The back end of the
regular season. After a Magic Weekend defeat to Warrington, Wigan won 12 of
their next 13 games, spearheaded by a young pack. Whilst they faded in the play
offs, the emergence of the likes of Morgan Smithies and significant recruitment
will encourage Wigan for 2020.
Lowlight: The start of the
regular season. This included defeats to St Helens (twice), London,
Huddersfield, Hull FC, Warrington, Castleford and Wakefield all by the middle
of April. This was compounded by the embarrassment of Shaun Edwards walking out
of his coaching contract for 2020 before it had even begun.
Thank you for reading. Any comments
on this piece, especially anything that you agree or disagree are most welcome.
See you in 2020!
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