15 Questions for 2022

Happy New Year! As the calendar turns into 2022 and we welcome a New Year, the thoughts of Rugby League obsessives quickly move to the new season, which begins later this month if you support a Championship club, the month after if you're a Super League fan but a bit longer if your club is in League 1! Here are 15 questions which we think will define 2022.

1) Will St Helens make in 4 in a row?

Only once in Super League history has a side had the chance to win four consecutive titles. The Leeds side of 2010 lost to Wigan in a home semi-final to end their three year grip on the championship. Only Wigan's seven consecutive titles from the late 80's to mid 90's is comparable in terms of consistent success, before the salary cap came into force.

St Helens have lost some key players (Lachlan Coote, Kevin Naiqama, Theo Fages and James Bentley) but their recruitment, on paper, appears excellent. This is supplemented by academy talents Jack Welsby and Lewis Dodd looking set to nail down regular starting jerseys. A lot can and will happen in 2022, but St Helens are still the team to beat.

2) Can Toulouse compete in the top flight?

Last year's promoted side, Leigh Centurions, struggled badly and their relegation was a formality from a very early stage. Toulouse have a decent squad, but is it one that can compete? 

If you look at the sides that are next favourites for the drop; Salford, Huddersfield and Wakefield, they have all recruited well and have stronger squads than last year. This may mean a difficult season for the Super League new boys and you suspect their home form will be crucial and may even determine their prospects.

3) Will Leeds return to the Grand Final?

After a few years in the wilderness, Leeds have been building a competitive side again. They won the Challenge Cup in 2020 and made the play-off semi finals in 2021. With a new half back combination of Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer and top quality captures of James Bentley and David Fusitu'a, they will aim for greater heights in 2022.

Leeds were clearly a level below the top teams in 2021, despite their play off semi final appearance, but the gap seems to be closing. Another Grand Final appearance would still be an over-achievement but cannot be excluded.

4) Will Super League see a new winner?

This is a question that we seem to ask every year. In 2021, Catalans added their name to the 'nearly-men' and came closer than any 'new' side to winning a Grand Final, since Leeds became the last 'new' winner in 2004. Catalans have retained a lot of their talent for 2022. Mitchell Pearce is a direct swap for James Maloney and their squad is arguably stronger with Dylan Napa and Tyrone May joining too. Whether they win or not, 2021 will not be a flash in the pan.

No conversation about a new Super League winner is complete with Warrington! Once more, the cash has been splashed in pursuit of this aim. Six new players are in, eight players have left but most importantly, experienced Super League coach Daryl Powell is now in charge. His reputation is forged of getting the most out of limited resources. Now he has arguably the most resource in the league, which present a new challenge. That brings up nicely on to...

5) How will the new Super League coaches go?

As mentioned above, Daryl Powell has left Castleford, where he worked wonders on a shoestring budget, to join Warrington, one of the league's highest spenders. He leaves a club where expectations are far lower to one that impatiently waits to claim the game's biggest prize. Powell's journey at the Wire will be one of the most interesting to watch in 2022.

He is not the only new name as Matty Peet has been promoted to Wigan's Head Coach. Peet has been on Wigan's backroom staff for a while, following a similar path to Shaun Wane. And that didn't go too badly, did it? After a widening disconnect between fans and club, Wigan have made a concerted effort to re-engage fans in the off-season. However, the on-field product (both in terms of results and attacking flair) where they will be judged.

The final new coach is Paul Rowley at Salford. He has coached in the lower leagues before but finally gets his chance in the hot seat in the top flight. It didn't work out for Richard Marshall but Salford's squad looks far better in 2022.

Meanwhile, Willie Poching takes the reigns at Wakefield after a successful interim spell at the end of 2021 and Sylvain Houles is a 'new' coach in Super League, yet at the same time is also the longest reigning coach of a top flight club, having now reached 10 years in charge of Toulouse. A new challenge, but not a newbie. 

6) Will Featherstone finally get promoted?

Always the bridesmaid...never the bride. Featherstone have lost play off finals in 1998, 2019 and 2021 (along with Championship Grand Finals in 2010, 2012 and 2014 when promotion was not on the line). Aside from a solitary Championship crown in 2011, in the licensing era, Featherstone have always fallen at the final hurdle.

It looks likely that they will battle Leigh for promotion again in 2022. Despite being a part time squad, they have always pushed (and sometimes bettered) full time opponents in the Championship. They will have to do so again if 2022 can be the year that Featherstone finally make the top flight for the first time in the summer era.

7) Will Leigh return to Super League?

Standing in Featherstone's way will be Leigh. The Centurions have recruited Adrian Lam to coach the side and have signed Aaron Smith, Tom Nesbitt (both on loan), Nene McDonald, Caleb Atkins, Tom Amone, Ed Chamberlain, Ata Higano and Joe Wardle. You could make an argument that this squad is stronger than their 2021 Super League side.

Saying that, when Leigh were last relegated, they struggled when returning to the Championship in 2018. When they were promoted in 2020, this was a 'paper exercise' due to the pandemic so only played a handful of matches. Leigh being promoted is not a foregone conclusion, despite being pre-season favourites.

8) Will Cumbrian teams prosper in the Championship?

2021 was an excellent season for Rugby League in Cumbria. Whitehaven made the Championship play offs and both Barrow and Workington were promoted to the second tier. That means all three Cumbrian sides will play in the Championship next season. Cumbrian derbies galore!

With two sides relegated from the Championship, a successful season for Cumbrian Rugby League would see all three sides retain that status for 2023. That being said, it will be a huge challenge, especially for Barrow and Workington to adapt to a higher level once again.

9) Will Cornwall be a success?

November 2021 saw the surprise announcement that Cornwall will be the home to a new side in League 1, in place of Ottawa, who were due to enter instead.

The club are in a race against time to prepare a squad! However, experienced coach Neil Kelly will take charge and their first signing was Super League winner Anthony Mullally. It is expected that local players will make up the bulk of the squad though. Assembling a team that can compete in such a short timeframe is a huge challenge. 

And competing will be their sole aim in 2021. It will be interesting to see how Rugby League's latest effort to expand materialises.

10) Will new TV opportunities grow the sport's profile?

For all of the legitimate criticisms of the governance of the sport, our broadcast portfolio is wider than ever in 2022. Sky Sports will show live Super League, but have lost exclusivity, as Channel 4 will also broadcast 10 live matches. The BBC will show all games from the World Cup live along with Challenge Cup action. Meanwhile, Premier Sports will show a weekly Championship match and all play-offs live. Matches will also be streamed on Our League.

Very few sports have such a wide broadcasting profile and rugby league is now a sport regularly visible on free-to-air television. This presents an opportunity for growing the game's audience, the likes of which we have not had for decades.

11) Will we go a year without a restructure?

We seem to have annual, tiresome debates about restructuring the sport. Many convince themselves that a new structure will cure all of the games ills. I hope 2022 will be the year that we focus on the bigger issues, although I doubt it.

12) Will the World Cup go ahead?

Arguably, the biggest question of all. Australia and New Zealand withdrew in 2021, citing covid concerns (despite their rugby union teams touring Europe at the same time). The reality is that covid was a convenient cover. My concern is that covid is not going away. If Australia and or New Zealand want to use it as an excuse again, they may.

This tournament is huge for the sport in the UK. Never before have 61 matches been shown on free-to-air television in a month. It present a huge opportunity for rugby league in this country and, sadly, all we can hope is that the tournament is not kicked into the long grass by a persistent insular attitude towards the international game.

13) Can Samoa and Fiji become more competitive?

Over the last few years, Tonga have emerged as a genuine competitor for international honours. Now, the other Pacific Island nations are looking strong too. Players like Brian To'o, Junior Paulo, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui (all Samoa), Maiki Sivo and Viliame Kikau (both Fiji) are top class players who are set to represent 'smaller' nations at the World Cup.

When the World Cup draw was made, England would have seen their opener against Samoa as a match they should comfortably win. Now, whilst England remain favourites, a loss would not be an enormous shock. The more international teams that compete, the greater the benefit to the sport.

14) Can either Tonga or England win the World Cup?

If England lose their opening World Cup match to Samoa, then a Quarter Final against Tonga looks highly likely. What a match that would be! Tonga are getting stronger and stronger and are now a side that can beat the best.

Australia's last three World Cup semi finals have all been against Fiji and have all been blow-outs. If the tournament progresses as per the seeding, this time, they will face Tonga at Leeds. We will, finally, have two competitive semi-finals and one where any of the four can legitimately win the tournament outright.

As for England, it's a home World Cup. In 2017, they came so close to Australia in Brisbane and beat New Zealand in a test series the following year. England are far from pushovers and with a fair wind, will fancy their chances.

15) What will the legacy of the World Cup look like?

With the tournament due to finish in November 2022, this may be a question for the years ahead. If the tournament goes ahead as planned, I think we will see big crowds in stadiums and larger than normal viewing figures and profile.

In 2013, England hosted a successful World Cup, then did nothing to build on the success. I hope that the RFL are already thinking not just of how to make the World Cup a success but are preparing a longer term goal to develop the international sport in the years that follow.