| Super League XIV | |
| League: | Super League |
| Duration: | 27 Rounds |
| No Of Teams: | 14 |
| Highest Attendance: | 22,337 Hull F.C. vs Hull Kingston Rovers (10 April) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,988 Celtic Crusaders vs Huddersfield Giants (5 Sep) |
| Attendance: | 1,799,413 (average 8,864) |
| Tv: | Sky Sports Nine Network |
| Season: | 2009 Season |
| Season Champs: | Leeds Rhinos 4th Super League title 7th British title |
| Season Champ Name: | Champions |
| League Leaders: | Leeds Rhinos |
| League Leaders Name: | League Leaders |
| Mvp: |  Brett Hodgson |
| Mvp Link: | Man of Steel AwardsMan of Steel |
| Top Scorer: | Pat Richards (252) |
| Top Try Scorer: | Ryan Hall[1] (29) |
| Prevseason Link: | Super League XIII |
| Prevseason Year: | 2008 |
| Nextseason Link: | Super League XV |
| Nextseason Year: | 2010 |
The Engage Super League XIV was the official name for the 2009 season of Super League.[2] Fourteen teams competed over 27 rounds (including the Magic Weekend at Murrayfield Stadium) after which, the highest finishing teams entered the play-offs to compete for a place in the Grand Final and a chance to win the Super League Trophy. The previous Top six play-offs were extended to eight teams.
Salford City Reds and Crusaders join the twelve teams from Super League XIII, following the implementation of a licensing system.[3] Additionally, it was the Crusaders' first ever Super League season.[4] The Catalans Dragons played at least one game in Barcelona, Spain, to try to expand their fan base in Catalonia region.[5]
The season officially kicked off on 6 February, with a Leeds Rhinos defeat of the Celtic Crusaders.[6] It came to a conclusion with Leeds Rhinos beating St. Helens in the Super League Grand Final on 10 October.[7]
Super League XIV saw the introduction of a licensed Super League. Under this new system, promotion and relegation between Super League and National League One was abolished, and 14 teams were granted licences subject to certain criteria. All twelve teams from Super League XIII were given places, as well as former Super League team Salford City Reds and Crusaders, for whom it was their début season in top-flight European rugby league.
Geographically, the vast majority of teams in Super League are based in the north of England, four teams – Warrington, St. Helens, Salford and Wigan – to the west of the Pennines in Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, and seven teams to the east in Yorkshire – Huddersfield, Bradford, Wakefield Trinity, Leeds, Castleford, Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers. Catalans Dragons are the only team outside of the United Kingdom, Crusaders are the only team in Wales, and Harlequins are the only team to be based in a capital city (London).
Changes to the play-off system:
See main article: 2009 Super League season results.
The play-offs commence following the conclusion of 27 round regular season and involve the eight sides finishing highest. The play-offs open on Friday 18 September, with the Week 1 fixtures being completed over the weekend.[8]
A media conference is scheduled for Sunday 27 September following the conclusion of Week 2's preliminary semi-finals the day before.[8] During the conference the highest ranked winning team from the qualifying play-offs in Week 1 will in announce which team they have chosen to play in Week 3, the next week.[8]
The play-offs will conclude with the 2009 Super League Grand Final on 10 October.[8]
| Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds | 849 | 148 | 127 | 3 | 38007 | 5536 | 8111 | 386 | 273 | 874 | 846 | 1042 | 199 | 8 | 506 | 32 | 32 | 338 | 215 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | St Helens | 748 | 142 | 88 | 4 | 40624 | 5800 | 8708 | 291 | 297 | 750 | 904 | 1088 | 182 | 6 | 504 | 56 | 56 | 371 | 169 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Wigan | 707 | 130 | 93 | 1 | 38164 | 5402 | 8595 | 397 | 299 | 823 | 850 | 1191 | 173 | 4 | 555 | 47 | 48 | 347 | 190 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Wakefield | 701 | 118 | 112 | 5 | 35625 | 5191 | 8038 | 244 | 393 | 931 | 724 | 1014 | 143 | 1 | 581 | 34 | 35 | 296 | 198 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | Huddersfield | 698 | 121 | 107 | 0 | 37761 | 5428 | 9282 | 361 | 324 | 944 | 728 | 936 | 169 | 5 | 573 | 23 | 26 | 373 | 238 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Hull KR | 674 | 118 | 100 | 2 | 37954 | 5469 | 9063 | 198 | 332 | 793 | 703 | 1234 | 140 | 9 | 630 | 30 | 33 | 351 | 172 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Catalans | 658 | 120 | 88 | 2 | 36555 | 5175 | 8627 | 248 | 276 | 750 | 617 | 909 | 138 | 7 | 524 | 40 | 40 | 355 | 253 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Castleford | 657 | 117 | 93 | 3 | 36128 | 5457 | 7786 | 283 | 357 | 910 | 742 | 983 | 148 | 3 | 537 | 37 | 38 | 325 | 206 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Bradford | 653 | 111 | 103 | 3 | 35109 | 5299 | 7957 | 365 | 280 | 762 | 743 | 1019 | 148 | 3 | 460 | 32 | 32 | 360 | 201 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | Warrington | 649 | 118 | 88 | 1 | 36355 | 5069 | 7855 | 325 | 280 | 706 | 752 | 1115 | 153 | 2 | 472 | 37 | 38 | 367 | 173 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Harlequins | 591 | 102 | 91 | 1 | 35590 | 5350 | 8618 | 294 | 315 | 808 | 679 | 1025 | 126 | 4 | 549 | 20 | 22 | 319 | 171 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Hull | 502 | 86 | 79 | 0 | 35322 | 5139 | 8137 | 359 | 336 | 772 | 738 | 972 | 119 | 4 | 556 | 22 | 24 | 302 | 140 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Salford | 460 | 80 | 70 | 0 | 30972 | 4849 | 8827 | 320 | 258 | 638 | 575 | 861 | 98 | 7 | 571 | 19 | 19 | 269 | 223 | 1 | 4 |
| 14 | Celtic Crusaders | 357 | 63 | 52 | 1 | 30222 | 5001 | 8397 | 311 | 249 | 747 | 511 | 962 | 94 | 0 | 554 | 16 | 17 | 340 | 204 | 0 | 3 |
Source: superleague.co.uk.
Awards were presented for outstanding contributions and efforts to players and clubs:[11]
The following table lists all incidents that were reviewed by the Rugby Football League during Super League XIV, which were later deemed "guilty" and resulted in disciplinary action. The offenses were graded, depending on severity, in alphabetical order, "A" being less severe than "B".
| Name of Player | Rnd | Offense | Grade | Suspension | Fine | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chev Walker | 1 | Striking | C | 1 match | £300 | Report | |
| Michael McIlorum | 2 | Dangerous throw | C | 1 match | £200 | Report | |
| Jamal Fakir | 2 | High tackle | C | 1 match | £300 | Report | |
| Ben Westwood | 2 | High tackle | D | 5 matches | £300 | Report | |
| Maurie Fa'asavalu | 4 | "Chicken wing" | C | 1 match | £300 | Report | |
| Keith Mason | 7 | Striking | C | None | £300 | Report | |
| Ian Sibbitt | 10 | High tackle | C | 1 match | £300 | Report | |
| Darrell Griffin | 17 | Grapple tackle | C | None | £300 | Report | |
| Jamal Fakir | 17 | High tackle | C | 2 matches | £300 | Report |
Salary cap:
The 'club trained player rule' entered its second year and made a planned adjustment:[13]
2009 was the first of a new three-year broadcasting agreement between the RFL and BSkyB for Sky Sports to screen matches exclusively live within the United Kingdom.[14] The deal for the 2009, 2010 and 2011 season was worth in excess of £50 million, with media speculation that each Super League club would receive £0.9-£1.2 million in 2009.[12] [15]
Sky Sports' continued coverage in the UK sees two live matches broadcast each week - one on Friday Night at 7:30pm and another at 6pm on Saturdays. Regular commentators are Eddie Hemmings and Mike Stephenson with summarisers including Phil Clarke, Barrie McDermott and Terry O'Connor. Highlights are shown on Boots N' All which is shown on Sky Sports and is rebroadcast on the Internet.
BBC Sport broadcast a highlights programme called the Super League Show, usually presented by Harry Gration. The BBC have elected to broadcast this only to the North West, Yorkshire & North Midlands, North East & Cumbria, and East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire regions on a Sunday. A national repeat is broadcast overnight during the week, the BBC Director of Sport, Richard Moseley, commented that this move was in response to the growing popularity and awareness of the sport, and the large number of requests from people who want to watch it elsewhere in the UK. End of season play-offs are shown across the whole country in a highlights package. Super League Show is available for streaming or downloaded using the BBC iPlayer in the UK.
Orange Sport TV in France shows every Catalans Dragons home match live and also some other matches which are broadcast in the UK live on Sky.
Internationally Super League is shown live on Showtime Sports (Middle East), Sky Sport (New Zealand), NTV+ (Russia), SportKlub (Eastern Europe) and Setanta Sports (USA and Canada) show Super League matches live or delayed each week.
2009 was the first of a three-year deal in which the Nine Network in Australia will show up to 70 live games from Super League over the season.[16] [17]
Super League XIV is covered extensively by BBC Local Radio:
The competition is also covered on commercial radio coverage:
All Super League commentaries on any station are available via the particular stations on-line streaming.
ESPN360 has worldwide broadband rights.
Starting from Thursday 9 April 2009, all of the matches shown on Sky Sports will also be available live online via Livestation everywhere in the world excluding the US, Puerto Rico, UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, Australia and New Zealand. List of Super League games available on Livestation.com
In the United Kingdom, BBC London 94.9, BBC Radio Wales and Radio Warrington cover Harlequins, Celtic Crusaders (home games) and Warrington (home games) respectively.