Winning doesn't always matter. It is about winning when it matters.

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 four Super League matches in a row. This was unchartered territory for Wigan.

In this miserable run of form, Wigan have won three matches. Against Wakefield and St Helens in the Challenge Cup and against an injury-besieged, newly promoted Bradford side at home.

What lessons can we take from this?

Football is the big sport in the UK to the extent that most sports are seen through the prism of it. For fans of the round ball game, you will likely be engrossed in a Premier League title race where even one draw or loss can end a season's prospects. 

Every game as the season draws to a close means everything to Arsenal and Manchester City. And it is thrilling. The price you pay for this kind of entertainment is that when first place has a sizable advantage, the season turns into a bit of a procession.

By contrast, in Rugby League (as with many other sports in this country and overseas), the preferred approach is to have a play off system and Grand Final. It guarantees a blockbuster, winner-takes-all occasion to end the season but dilutes the meaning of the previous 27 weeks to reach it.

Turning back to Wigan, this season they have scraped past York at home. They have lost at home to both Huddersfield and Castleford. They blew a handsome lead to rivals St Helens on Good Friday to lose in remarkable style.

Yet none of those defeats have meaningfully reduced their prospects of getting to Old Trafford and winning the Grand Final in October. Wigan will win enough matches to put them in a position they will feel comfortable in come play off time.

It is no coincidence that in the midst of their four match Super League losing streak, Wigan won away in the cup to Wakefield.

This was a tie against a side in good form at a stadium where Wigan have struggled recently. This was the only of those five matches where if you lose, a chance at a trophy goes with it. And Wigan played accordingly, battling hard to win a difficult encounter. 

It is also no coincidence that in their two matches against St Helens this year, the one in which a lead was blown was the one where defeat did not see a chance of silverware disappear.

What about Hull KR? How can a side that lost to York go on and beat Brisbane? And how could that same side then lose 6-58 to Leeds in Vegas?

Priorities is the answer. An opening day defeat at York is a touch embarrassing and a slap across the face. But it means little by comparison to the chance to defeat Brisbane and win the World Club Challenge.

Whisper it quietly before our soon to be NRL overlords, but Hull KR's match in Vegas against Leeds meant little compared to the World Club Challenge. The early concession of six Super League points, once again, will have no impact on Hull KR's ability to retain their Super League title.

I draw comparisons between the two sides who are creating a duopoly in the British game and two of their challengers.

Leeds currently sit top of Super League and have started the season fantastically. Yet in the one game where the hopes of a trophy depended on the outcome, they spluttered badly against Wakefield.

That Vegas win against Hull KR would have been so enjoyable for the fans. But this sport is about trophies. And in the game that really mattered, Leeds did not deliver.

The same was true of 2025. Out at the first time of asking in the Challenge Cup and also in the play offs immediately. Even if Leeds hadn't fallen victim to a miracle try from St Helens, their performance in that play off tie was rather insipid.

Leeds may well defeat Wigan on Friday night but it will only be come play off time if we know whether this side can deliver when it matters.

St Helens are current second in Super League and have shown signs of improvement in 2026. And I am sure that Good Friday 2026, scoring four tries in 10 minutes to stun your rivals will live long in the memory.

However, when St Helens met Wigan on Saturday in the Challenge Cup Semi Final; a game of real consequence, they could not lay a glove on their rivals.

The way our sport is structured means that winning each week is not that important and does not correlate to prospects of winning major honours. Leeds fans know that better than anyone following their Super League triumphs in 2011 and 2012.

What is important is winning enough games in Super League to position yourself well and making sure you win the games that matter.

Hull KR and Wigan are currently the best two teams in the UK at doing this. It is why they have faced each other in three of the last four major finals. It is why we have not seen a final without one of these sides in it since 2022.

It is why despite some struggles early in 2026 and lower league positions than both would like, they are still the benchmark and the teams to beat.