'22 in review - A look back at the last year

On 1st January 2022, we looked at 15 questions that we thought may define the year to come. As we enter the final week of this year, let's look back at the answers to those questions!

1) Will St Helens make it four in a row?

The answer was an emphatic yes. St Helens made Super League history and turned dominance to dynasty in 2022. If anything 2022 saw St Helens improve further, topping the Super League table after the regular season, something they had not done in their previous two title-winning efforts.

The losses of Lachlan Coote and Theo Fages and injuries to Lewis Dodd, Alex Walmsley, Mark Percival amongst others was not enough to stop the Saints charge. The worry for the other clubs is that they appear no weaker in 2023. They may even be stronger.

2) Can Toulouse compete in the top flight?

Toulouse certainly were a competitive side. They played some good rugby, beat some top sides and enjoyed a decent winning run in the summer months. All of this was in vein as they faced relegation.

11th placed Warrington finished on 18 points. This meant avoiding relegation was a near-impossibility. Only once in Super League has an 11th placed side finished with more than 18 points, that was Castleford in 2006 (who faced relegation due to Catalans' exemption). 

Toulouse were not afforded such an exemption and made an immediate return to the Championship. I doubt this will be the last time we see Toulouse in Super League though...

3) Will Leeds return to the Grand Final?

Many tipped Leeds for a successful 2022 but their terrible start to the season gave the impression that a relegation fight looked more likely than a Grand Final tilt.

Rohan Smith's mid-season appointment appeared to be the catalyst for change as Leeds sneaked into the play offs courtesy of a dramatic last minute, final-day winner against fellow play off challengers Castleford.

A typical Leeds play off surge ensued, returning the Rhinos to the Grand Final for the first time since 2017. They didn't have enough to challenge St Helens on the night. Leeds fans may have cause to be optimistic for 2023 with a full Rohan Smith pre-season behind them.

4) Will Super League see a new winner?

No. And, to be honest, it never really looked likely in 2022 with St Helens and Wigan leading the way all season.

Salford did make another play off semi-final playing a brand of exhilarating rugby under Paul Rowley. They pushed St Helens to the brink in an away play off semi final but it was ultimately a familiar job for the trophy engravers.

5) How will the new Super League coaches go?

Daryl Powell - Terribly
Matty Peet - Very well
Paul Rowley - Successful
Willie Poching - Sacked

By his own admission, Daryl Powell's Warrington had an awful 2022. The joint-worst finish that the club has achieved in Super League despite a high salary cap spend. Recruitment that hasn't clicked. And now a huge overhaul of the playing staff. Powell has been afforded patience but a poor start to 2023 may see that patience wear thin.

Matty Peet won the first trophy available to him - the Challenge Cup in May. Wigan weren't at their best in the Cup final but found a way to win. And in those big matches, that's what it's all about. The Super League season ended in disappointment but this was a far cry from Wigan's miserable 2021 season.

Paul Rowley has turned Salford into everyone's second team. The skill and flair with which they play has left fans leaping from their seats. Brodie Croft won the Man of Steel award and the club were rightly left asking 'what if' after their play off semi final defeat. A masterful appointment.

Wakefield finished in 10th place in Super League with 10 wins. Quite what else Willie Poching was expected to achieve is beyond me but he has been shown the door despite a good season. 

6) Will Featherstone finally get promoted? & 7) Will Leigh return to Super League?

It all started so well for Featherstone in 2022. An early season win over Leigh gave them hope that this would be the year that they shake the bridesmaids tag. They faded badly though, with their season culminating in a play off defeat against Batley. Brian McDermott departs and Sean Long arrives. The next man in the hot seat to try and claim that elusive prize.

As the season went on and Leigh's spending spree increased, it became a formality that Leigh would get promoted. It would have taken a miracle to stop them and that didn't materialise. 2023 sees Leigh's third crack at Super League, we'll see if they can stay the course this time.

8) Will Cumbrian Rugby League prosper in 2022?

On the whole, it did. Newly promoted Barrow not only survived but made the play offs! They also enjoyed pushing eventual finalists Huddersfield to their limit in a televised Challenge Cup tie. Barrow also saw a welcome surge in crowds.

Whitehaven also enjoyed their moment in the sun with a plum home cup match against St Helens. They held their own for 20 minutes and the final scoreline was no disgrace. They failed to make the Championship play offs this time though, which may disappoint, as they went backwards from 2021.

Workington endured a torrid season and an immediate return to League 1, after being anchored to the bottom of the table for the entire season.

9) Will Cornwall be a success?

They only won the singular game against West Wales and may be frustrated that it came away from home! Cornwall posted regular crowds of over 1,000 - which is excellent for League 1. From tiny acorns...

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

In my view, this was one of the successes of the season. Channel 4's fresh and enthusiastic coverage brought Super League to a new audience. The BBC's coverage of the World Cup was something that we have never had before. This was a major contributing factor to the publicity of the wheelchair game especially.

2022 was the year that Championship coverage returned to our screens too via Premier Sports. And, as always, our primary broadcast partner Sky Sports brought weekly action from both sides of the globe.

It hasn't been an explosion of publicity. But our wide-range of broadcast partners has benefited the sport, without question.

11) Will we have another year without a restructure?

Of course not! This is rugby league after all!

12) Will the World Cup go ahead?

It seems a long time ago now that Australia and New Zealand torpedoed the tournament in 2021! Thank goodness, it did!

13) Can Samoa and Fiji become more competitive? 

Wow! Yes! I think very few would have pictured Samoa in the World Cup final! The glass ceiling was broken and a small pacific island made it to the biggest of occasions. They have brought an immense amount of pride to their country. Where Tonga led the way in 2017, Samoa have followed.

On a strict view of performance, Fiji regressed. They made the semi finals in 2008, 2013 and 2017 but only the quarter finals in 2022. That doesn't tell the story of a brave quarter final defeat where they were unfortunate to fall to New Zealand. On the field, this was no regression!

14) Can Tonga or England win the World Cup?

For England, it was the same old story. Strong performances in the first few weeks of the tournament, including a thumping win over Samoa at St James' Park gave us a wave of optimism.

England saved their worst performance of the tournament for the semi final and were edged out in golden point by Samoa. That's not to undermine Samoa's achievement who were deserved winners in their own right.

Samoa also sent their pacific neighbours Tonga home too. This was one of the game's of the tournament at Warrington in the quarter final.

15) What will the legacy of the World Cup be?

For the men's game, we now have more teams than ever who can compete at the top level in the international game. The problem for England? All of these other teams are in the pacific. Getting sides to fly across the world to face us may be trickier now when they have many competitive nations (relatively) on their doorstep.

For the women's game, we have shown there is an appetite and ability for the sport to stand on its own two feet. A near full house for England's semi final against New Zealand at York and a record crowd for England v Brazil at Headingley was evidence for this. The less positive? The gap between the English's game and the NRLW was laid bare and it's going to get bigger.

For the wheelchair game, this game was shown to the new audience. There are new clubs appearing arising following England's thrilling final win over France.

The question of legacy won't truly be answerable for a while. We were told there would be a confirmed international calendar by the end of the year, which hasn't materialise. We have heard tales of regular international calendars for years and it's hard not to be sceptical.