2008 Super League season explained

Super League XIII
League:Super League
Pixels:90px
Duration:27 rounds
No Of Teams:12
Highest Attendance:21,283
Hull F.C. vs Hull Kingston Rovers (20 July)
Lowest Attendance:2,112
Harlequins vs Castleford Tigers
(20 July)
Attendance:1,674,809
(average 10,338)
Tv:Sky Sports
Season:2008 Season
Season Champs:Leeds Rhinos
3rd Super League title
6th British title
Season Champ Name:Champions
League Leaders:St. Helens
League Leaders Name:League Leaders
Mvp Link:Man of Steel AwardsMan of Steel
Top Scorer: Pat Richards (269)
Top Try Scorer: Ade Gardner (26)
Licence Period:2009–11 Super League licences
Awarded:Celtic Crusaders
Salford City Reds
Prevseason Link:Super League XII
Prevseason Year:2007
Nextseason Link:Super League XIV
Nextseason Year:2009

Engage Super League XIII was the official name, due to sponsorship, for the 2008 Super League season by Engage Mutual. Twelve teams competed for the League Leader's Shield over 27 rounds (including Millennium Magic), after which the top 6 finishing teams entered the play-offs where they competed for a place in the Grand Final and the chance to win the Super League Trophy.

The Castleford Tigers took the place of the Salford City Reds who finished last in the Super League in 2007 and were therefore relegated.

The season kicked off on Saturday 2 February, with Leeds Rhinos playing Hull Kingston Rovers at Headingley Carnegie. This was the only game played on this weekend, due to Leeds' 2008 World Club Challenge fixture with Melbourne Storm on Friday 29 February. Leeds won the close-fought game 20-12.

The interest in events on the pitch was matched by those off it with the lead up to and the announcement of which teams were to be awarded Super League licences for 2009–11.

Teams


TeamStadiumCapacityCity/Area - Bradford Bulls (2008 season)Grattan Stadium, Odsal27,000Bradford, West Yorkshire
Castleford Tigers (2008 season)The Jungle11,750Castleford, West Yorkshire
Catalans Dragons (2008 season)Stade Gilbert Brutus12,000Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Harlequins (2008 season)Twickenham Stoop12,700Twickenham, London
Huddersfield Giants (2008 season)Galpharm Stadium24,544Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Hull F.C. (2008 season)Kingston Communications Stadium25,404Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Hull Kingston Rovers (2008 season)"New" Craven Park9,471Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Leeds Rhinos (2008 season) (Reigning Champions)Headingley Carnegie Stadium22,250Leeds, West Yorkshire
St Helens R.F.C. (2008 season)Knowsley Road17,500St Helens, Merseyside
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (2008 season)Belle Vue12,600Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Warrington Wolves (2008 season)Halliwell Jones Stadium14,206Warrington, Cheshire
Wigan Warriors (2008 season)JJB Stadium25,138Wigan, Greater Manchester

Rule changes

Operational rules

Refined salary cap regulation to prevent clubs over-spending:

To provide a bigger pool of talent for the Great Britain team:[2]

Season Summary

Media

Television

In 2008, Super League games were broadcast exclusively live by Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.[4]

Sponsorship

Engage Mutual, a financial services provider, agreed a deal with the Rugby Football League to extend their title sponsorship of the Super League competition for up for three years.[5] The agreement continues title sponsorship until the end of the 2010 season and gives Engage Mutual an option for the 2011 season.[5]

Statistics

Source:[6]

Attendance

The average attendance for the regular season in 2008 was 10,338 (a Super League record) this was up from 9,855 in 2007 which was previously the record. The regular season attendance aggregate was also the highest ever for Super League at 1,674,809 up from 1,537,326 for 2007. For the seventh consecutive season since 2001 the regular season average attendance and aggregate attendance had increased from the previous year.

Tries

No.PlayerClubPT
1Ade GardnerSt Helens R.F.C.2628
2Scott DonaldLeeds Rhinos2421
3Luke DornCastleford Tigers2619
=3Pat RichardsWigan Warriors2519
5Semi TadulalaBradford Bulls2317
=5Clint GreenshieldsCatalans Dragons2717
=5Danny McGuireLeeds Rhinos2117
8Kirk YeamanHull2316
=8Chris HicksWarrington Wolves2716
10Paul SykesBradford Bulls2515
=10Justin MurphyCatalans Dragons1415
=10Brent WebbLeeds Rhinos2515

Points

No.PlayerClubPTGFGwidth=5%Pts
1Pat RichardsWigan Warriors25191151307
2Thomas BoscCatalans Dragons2671181265
3Kevin SinfieldLeeds Rhinos2641191255
4Sean LongSt Helens R.F.C.2381042242
5Chris HicksWarrington Wolves2716700204
6Danny BroughWakefield Trinity Wildcats254860188
7Chris ThormanHuddersfield Giants215831187
8Danny TickleHull255810182
9Paul DeaconBradford Bulls183821177
10Ade GardnerSt Helens R.F.C.262800112

Red cards

No.PlayerClubDate(s)
1Richie MathersWigan Warriors203/08/2008; 15/08/2008
2Michael McIlorumWigan Warriors118/07/2008
=2Tevita LatuWakefield Trinity Wildcats114/03/2008
=2Darrell GriffinHuddersfield Giants116/03/2008
=2Maurie Fa'asavaluSt Helens R.F.C.106/04/2008
=2Louie McCarthy-ScarsbrookHarlequins112/07/2008
=2Ben WestwoodWarrington Wolves106/04/2008
=2Luke RobinsonHuddersfield Giants115/06/2008
=2Adam MoggCatalans Dragons112/07/2008
=2Ned CaticCastleford Tigers106/09/2008
=2Paul SykesBradford Bulls106/07/2008
=2Nick ScrutonLeeds Rhinos120/06/2008
=2Gareth HockWigan Warriors125/07/2008

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Super League rule changes . Sky Sports. Phil Jackson . 2007-12-30 . 2009-07-24.
  2. News: New salary cap for Super League . BBC . BBC Sport . 2007-06-21 . 2009-07-24.
  3. Web site: Competition structure . Super League (Europe) . 2009-07-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090723201335/http://www.superleague.co.uk/page.php?id=346 . 2009-07-23 . dead .
  4. Web site: engage Super League ups TV game . SportBusiness . 2008-04-03 . 2009-07-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120225073744/http://www.sportbusiness.com/britsport/166556/engage-super-league-ups-tv-game . 2012-02-25 .
  5. Web site: Engage Mutual extend Super League sponsorship . SportBusiness . 2008-07-02 . 2009-07-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091224213456/http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/167413/engage-mutual-extend-super-league-sponsorship . 2009-12-24 .
  6. Web site: engage Super League . www.superleague.co.uk . 2009-02-03 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090129200447/http://superleague.co.uk/statistics_player.php . 2009-01-29 .