2019 Super League season explained

Super League XXIV
League:Super League
Pixels:200px
Duration:29 rounds
No Of Teams:12
Highest Attendance:20,044
Hull F.C. Vs Hull Kingston Rovers (19 April)
Lowest Attendance:1,133
London Broncos vs Salford Red Devils (27 April)
Attendance:1,468,823; as of 20 September 2019 (playoffs game 2)
Avg Attendance:8,441
Tv:Sky Sports
BBC Sport
Fox League
beIN Sports
Fox Soccer Plus
Sport Klub
Biggest Home Win:St. Helens 62–16 Hull FC (22 April)
Biggest Away Win:Hull F.C. 12–63 Warrington Wolves (29 March 2019)
Season:2019 season
Season Champs:St. Helens
7th Super League title
14th British title
Season Champ Name:Champions
League Leaders Name:League Leaders Shield
League Leaders:St. Helens
Second Place:Salford Red Devils
Mvp Link:Man of Steel AwardsMan of Steel
Top Scorer: Lachlan Coote (247)
Top Try Scorer: Tommy Makinson (23)
Promote:Toronto Wolfpack
Promote From:Championship
Relegate:London Broncos
Relegate To:Championship
Prevseason Link:Super League XXIII
Prevseason Year:2018
Nextseason Link:Super League XXV
Nextseason Year:2020

Super League XXIV, known as the Betfred Super League XXIV for sponsorship reasons, was the 2019 iteration of and the 24th season of the Super League and 125th season of rugby league in Great Britain.

Twelve teams competed over 29 rounds, including the Magic Weekend, which took place at Anfield. After the regular rounds, the top five highest teams entered the Super League play-offs, for a place in the Super League Grand Final.

London Broncos were immediately relegated to the Championship after only being promoted last year, but a bad season saw them win just 10 games out of 29.[1] They will be replaced by Toronto Wolfpack.[2]

Wigan Warriors were the defending champions, but they were eliminated from the competition, after suffering back to back defeats in the semi-finals. First against St Helens in the semi final, and eventually losing out to Salford in the preliminary final.

Toronto Wolfpack won the Million Pound Game by beating Featherstone Rovers 24–6 and were promoted to the Super League, for the first time in the club's history.

St. Helens were crowned champions on 12 October, after a 23–6 victory over Salford, which saw them claim their first championship in 5 years.

Format

Following a vote of RFL clubs in 2018, Super League has implemented a number of changes to the format for Super League XXIV. The Qualifiers were scrapped and the play-offs for the Super League Grand Final changed from a top four to top five play-offs system for the first time in 18 years as it was last used in 2001.[3] [4] For relegation, the Rugby League Super 8s were also scrapped so that the team that finishes bottom of the Super League will be relegated and replaced by the winner of the Championship Grand Final.[5] The Magic Weekend was held on 25 and 26 May at Anfield in Liverpool. Each team will play each other home and away, with an extra game at the Magic Weekend, before a series of 6 "loop" fixtures are played to finish the regular season.

The Super League game between Catalans Dragons and Wigan Warriors, saw a new record crowd of 31,555 fans, and it was the first game to be played at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium on 18 May 2019.

Catalan went on to win the match, 33–16, thus ending a 10-game losing streak against Wigan, and their first win over Wigan since 2015.

For the first time in Super League history, the Derby between St Helens and Wigan was not televised, as Sky Sports opted to televise the relegation battle between Leeds and Hull KR.

St Helens won the League Leaders Shield for the second season running on 3 August when Warrington Wolves were beaten 30-10 by Catalans Dragons, thus ensuring that 2nd placed Warrington, 12 points behind with 5 games left, could no longer catch the Saints.

Teams

Super League XXIV featured twelve teams.[6] This is also the fourth year since promotion and relegation was reintroduced into the competition.[7] London Broncos were promoted from the Championship after defeating Toronto Wolfpack in the final Million Pound Game to compete in Super League for the first time since 2014.[8] They also received special dispensation from the RFL to play their home Super League matches at their Trailfinders Sports Ground, which they share with rugby union's Ealing Trailfinders, even though it is smaller than the RFL's minimum seating requirements.[9] London replaced Widnes Vikings who were relegated last season.[10]

Just prior to the start of the season Wigan Warriors were fined and deducted two competition points for breaching the salary cap in 2017;[11] however, on 6 March following an appeal, the points deduction was suspended, and Wigan were reinstated the 2 points, as long as the club do not breach the salary cap in the following 12 months.[12]

Twelve teams were selected to play in the inaugural Super League season.

Legend
 Reigning Champions
 Previous season League Leaders
 Promoted
Team2018 positionStadiumCapacityCity/Area
Castleford Tigers
(2019 season)
3rdThe Mend-A-Hose Jungle11,750Castleford, West Yorkshire
Catalans Dragons
(2019 season)
7thStade Gilbert Brutus14,000Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Huddersfield Giants
(2019 season)
6th John Smith's Stadium24,544Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Hull
(2019 season)
8thKCOM Stadium25,404Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Hull Kingston Rovers
(2019 season)
10thLightstream Stadium12,225Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Leeds Rhinos
(2019 season)
9thHeadingley Carnegie Stadium22,250Leeds, West Yorkshire
  London Broncos
(2019 season)
2nd in Championship (Promoted)Trailfinders Sports Ground4,000Ealing, London
Salford Red Devils
(2019 season)
11thAJ Bell Stadium12,000Salford, Greater Manchester
  St. Helens
(2019 season)
1st (League leaders)Totally Wicked Stadium18,000St. Helens, Merseyside
Wakefield Trinity
(2019 season)
5thBeaumont Legal Stadium11,000Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Warrington Wolves
(2019 season)
4th (Runners Up)Halliwell Jones Stadium15,500Warrington, Cheshire
  Wigan Warriors
(2019 season)
2nd (Champions)DW Stadium25,138Wigan, Greater Manchester

Results

See main article: article and Super League XXIV results.

Golden Point Extra Time

Golden-point extra-time, shot clocks and a reduced number of interchanges are among the law changes confirmed by Super League for the 2019 season.

On 19 November 2018, it was confirmed that Super League would be adopting golden point during regular season for the first time as of the start of the 2019 season, bringing it in line with the NRL which has been using the system since 2003.[13]

The 12 clubs announced the introduction of golden-point extra-time in November, with games level at full-time, to be decided in two additional five-minute periods. If it remains level after the extra 10 minutes, the match will end as a draw.[14]

Game 1 (Wigan v Hull FC)

The first game to go to golden-point, was the round 3 game between Wigan and Hull F.C. on 24 February 2019. Hull won 23–22, after the scores were tied at 22-all after 80 minutes.[15]

Game 2 (Leeds v Castleford)

The second game to go to golden-point, was the round 8 game between Leeds and Castleford, on 28 March 2019. Leeds won the match 21–20, after a 40m field goal from Brad Dwyer after the scores were tied at 20-all after 80 minutes.[16]

Game 3 (Catalans v Hull FC)

The third game to go to golden-point, was the round 10 game between Catalans and Hull FC, on 12 April 2019. Hull won the match 31–30, thanks to a Marc Sneyd field goal, after the scores were tied at 30-all after 80 minutes. This is Hull's 2nd golden point victory so far this season, Sneyd has scored the decisive field goal in both.[17]

Game 4 (Castleford v Huddersfield)

The fourth game to go to golden-point, was the round 17 game between Castleford and Huddersfield Giants on 7 June 2019. Castleford won the match 27–26, thanks to a Peter Matautia field goal, after the scores were tied at 26-all after 80 minutes.[18]

Game 5 (London v St Helens)

The fifth game to go to golden-point, was the round 17 game between London Broncos and St Helens on 9 June 2019. London won the match 23–22, thanks to a Morgan Smith field goal, after the scores were tied at 22-all after 80 minutes.[19]

Game 6 (Hull KR v Castleford)

The sixth game to go to golden-point, was the round 24 game between Hull KR and Castleford on 4 August 2019. Hull KR won the match 27–26, thanks to a Danny McGuire field goal, after the scores were tied at 26-all after 80 minutes.

This was the 3rd time that Castleford had forced extra time, winning just once

Game 7 (Salford v Hull KR)

The seventh game to go to golden-point, was the round 29 game between Salford and Hull KR on 13 September 2019. Salford won 17–16, after the scores were tied at 16-all after 80 minutes.

Playoffs

The play-off system in use for 2019 was also previously used between 1998 and 2001.

Week 1: Elimination and qualifying finals

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=17%Date and Timewidth=19%Venuewidth=13%Refereewidth=7%Attendance
Elimination final
align=left Warrington Wolves12–14align=left Castleford Tigers19 September 2019, 19:45Halliwell Jones StadiumChris Kendall5,627
Qualifying final
align=left Wigan Warriors18–12align=left Salford Red Devils20 September 2019, 19:45DW StadiumRobert Hicks9,247
Progress to semi-final 2: Castleford, Salford
Progress to semi-final 1: Wigan
Eliminated: Warrington
Source:

Week 2: Semi-finals

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=17%Date and Timewidth=19%Venuewidth=13%Refereewidth=7%Attendance
Semi-final 1
Salford22–0 Castleford26 September 2019, 19:45AJ Bell StadiumBen Thaler6,000
Semi-final 2
St. Helens40–10 Wigan27 September 2019, 19:45Totally Wicked StadiumChris Kendall14,508
Progress to Preliminary Final: Salford Red Devils, Wigan Warriors
Progress to Grand Final: St Helens
Eliminated: Castleford
Source:

Week 3: Preliminary final

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=17%Date and Timewidth=19%Venuewidth=13%Refereewidth=7%Attendance
align=left Wigan4 - 28align=left Salford4 October 2019, 19:45DW StadiumBen Thaler9,858
Progress to Grand Final: Salford
Eliminated: Wigan
Source:

Week 4: Grand final

See main article: 2019 Super League Grand Final.

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=17%Date and Timewidth=19%Venuewidth=13%Refereewidth=7%Attendance
align=left St Helens23  - 6align=left Salford12 October 2019, 18:00Old Trafford, ManchesterChris Kendall64,102
Source:

Player statistics

Top 10 try scorers

RankPlayerClubTries
1 Tommy Makinson St. Helens23
2= Ash Handley Leeds Rhinos22
Niall Evalds Salford Red Devils
4 Regan Grace St. Helens20
Rowspan=25= Kevin Naiqama St. HelensRowspan=218
Blake Austin Warrington Wolves
7= Jermaine McGillvary Huddersfield GiantsRowspan=317
Jonny Lomax St. Helens
Josh Charnley Warrington Wolves
10 Liam Marshall Wigan Warriors16

Top 10 try assists

RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Jackson Hastings Salford Red Devils36
Rowspan=22= Lachlan Coote St. HelensRowspan=222
Theo Fages St. Helens
Rowspan=34= Marc Sneyd Hull F.C.Rowspan=321
Jonny Lomax St. Helens
George Williams Wigan Warriors
7= Paul McShane Castleford Tigers19
Daryl Clark Warrington Wolves
Rowspan=39= Sam Tomkins Catalans DragonsRowspan=318
Lee Gaskell Huddersfield Giants
Josh Drinkwater Hull KR

Top 10 goal scorers

RankPlayerClubGoalsDrop Goals
1 Marc Sneyd Hull F.C.1047
2 Lachlan Coote St. Helens1011
3 Zak Hardaker Wigan Warriors931
Rowspan=24= Krisnan Inu Salford Red DevilsRowspan=2841
Stefan Ratchford Warrington Wolves0
6 Sam Tomkins Catalans Dragons761
7 Kieran Dixon London Broncos750
8 Danny Brough Wakefield Trinity725
9 Ryan Shaw Hull KR630
10 Peter Matautia Castleford Tigers541

Top 10 points scorers

RankPlayerClubPoints
1 Lachlan Coote259
2 Zak Hardaker Wigan Warriors231
3 Marc Sneyd Hull F.C.223
4 Krisnan Inu Salford Red Devils197
5 Kieran Dixon London Broncos190
6 Sam Tomkins Catalans Dragons189
7 Stefan Ratchford Warrington Wolves184
8 Danny Brough Wakefield Trinity157
9 Ryan Shaw Hull KR142
10 Peter Mata'utia Castleford Tigers119

Statistics correct, as of 20 September 2019 (Play off game 2)

Discipline

Red Cards

RankPlayerClub Red Cards
Rowspan=61= Jesse Sene-LefaoRowspan=61
Michael McIlorum
Sam Tomkins Catalans Dragons
Josh Griffin
Brad Singleton Leeds Rhinos
Ben Westwood

Yellow Cards

RankPlayerClub Yellow Cards
Rowspan=21= Jake Connor Hull F.C.Rowspan=23
Pauli Pauli[20] Salford Red Devils /
Wakefield Trinity
Rowspan=92= Ukuma Ta'ai Huddersfield GiantsRowspan=92
Albert Kelly Hull F.C.
Danny McGuire Hull KR
Éloi Pélissier London Broncos
Danny Brough Wakefield Trinity
Jack Hughes
Jake Mamo Warrington Wolves
Willie Isa Wigan Warriors
Romain Navarette Wigan Warriors
11= Paul McShane Castleford TigersRowspan=581
Grant Millington Castleford Tigers
Adam Milner Castleford Tigers
Jason Baitieri Catalans Dragons
Greg Bird Catalans Dragons
Kenny Edwards Catalans Dragons
Michael McIlorum Catalans Dragons
David Mead Catalans Dragons
Sam Moa Catalans Dragons
Brayden Wiliame Catalans Dragons
Aaron Murphy Huddersfield Giants
Adam Walne Huddersfield Giants
Oliver Wilson Huddersfield Giants
Gareth Ellis Hull F.C.
Chris Green Hull F.C.
Jack Logan Hull F.C.
Jamie Shaul
Marc Sneyd Hull F.C.
Scott Taylor Hull F.C.
Ben Crooks Hull KR
James Greenwood Hull KR
Weller Hauraki Hull KR
Danny McGuire Hull KR
Tom Briscoe Leeds Rhinos
James Donaldson Leeds Rhinos
Brett Ferres Leeds Rhinos
Konrad Hurrell Leeds Rhinos
Trent Merrin Leeds Rhinos
Nathaniel Peteru Leeds Rhinos
Kallum Watkins Leeds Rhinos
Kieran Dixon London Broncos
Elliot Kear London Broncos
Olsi Krasniqi London Broncos
Gil Dudson Salford Red Devils
Lee Mossop Salford Red Devils
Jansin Turgut Salford Red Devils
Kris Welham Salford Red Devils
Adam Walker Salford Red Devils
Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook
James Roby
Joseph Paulo
Dominique Peyroux
Tinirau Arona Wakefield Trinity
Ryan Hampshire Wakefield Trinity
Keegan Hirst Wakefield Trinity
Danny Kirmond Wakefield Trinity
Sitaleki Akauola Warrington Wolves
Blake Austin Warrington Wolves
Daryl Clark Warrington Wolves
Mike Cooper Warrington Wolves
Bryson Goodwin Warrington Wolves
Chris Hill Warrington Wolves
Toby King Warrington Wolves
Ben Murdoch-Masila Warrington Wolves
Declan Patton Warrington Wolves
Liam Farrell Wigan Warriors
Oliver Gildart Wigan Warriors
Dan Sarginson Wigan Warriors
  1. Web site: Aaron . Bower . Super League decides to scrap controversial Super 8 format . The Guardian . 11 October 2018.
  2. Web site: Million Pound Game: RFL pick 19:00 kick-off to suit England, France or Canada . BBC Sport . 19 September 2018 . 11 October 2018.
  3. Web site: How the new Super League play-off system will work. 14 September 2018. Love Rugby League. 12 November 2018.
  4. Web site: Gavin Willacy . Enjoy the tortuous Qualifiers one last time before Super League is revamped . The Guardian . 11 October 2018.
  5. Web site: Widnes apologise after Super League relegation . Sky Sports . 22 September 2018 . 11 October 2018.
  6. Web site: Liverpool's Anfield stadium to host Super League's 2019 Magic Weekend. 13 November 2018. Sky Sports. 18 November 2018.
  7. Web site: Joey Grima: London Broncos' Super League relegation expected . BBC Sport . 13 July 2014 . 11 October 2018.
  8. Web site: Wolfpack fall short of Super League promotion after loss to Broncos . CBC . 11 October 2018.
  9. Web site: Danny Ward to keep faith with London Broncos' promotion heroes . Sky Sports . 8 October 2018 . 11 October 2018.
  10. Web site: Harrison Hansen: Widnes Vikings forward signs one-year deal with relegated club . BBC Sport . 1 January 1970 . 11 October 2018.
  11. News: Wigan Warriors: Super League champions receive two-point deduction . . 30 January 2019 . 6 March 2019.
  12. News: Wigan Warriors; Super League champions two-point deduction suspended for 12 months. . 6 March 2019 . 6 March 2019.
  13. Web site: BBC Sport . Super League: Golden-point extra time introduced for regular season from 2019 . BBC Sport . 19 November 2018 . 19 November 2018.
  14. News: Super League law changes: Golden-point extra-time and shot clocks confirmed for 2019 . BBC Sport . 1 January 2019 . 1 January 2019.
  15. News: Super League: Wigan Warriors 22–23 Hull FC . . 24 February 2019 . 24 February 2019.
  16. News: Super League: Dwyer kicks 40m golden point drop goal, to seal Leeds win. . . 28 March 2019.
  17. News: Super League: Sneyd kicks golden point drop goal, to seal Hull a second golden point Extra time win. . . 12 April 2019.
  18. News: Super League: Mata'utia golden point drop goal, seals Tigers victory. . . 7 June 2019.
  19. News: Super League: Broncos stun St Helens with golden-point win. . . 9 June 2019.
  20. Pauli Pauli has been sin binned once for Salford, and twice for Wakefield

Statistics correct as of 20 September 2019 (playoffs game 2)

Man of Steel contenders

(The 5 nominations for the man of steel awards were as follows)

PlayerClub
Liam Watts Castleford Tigers
Jackson Hastings Salford Red Devils
Lachlan Coote St. Helens
Blake Austin Warrington Wolves
George Williams Wigan Warriors

Awards are presented for outstanding contributions and efforts to players and clubs in the week leading up to the Super League Grand Final

The format for choosing the winner of the Steve Prescott Man of Steel award would also change Prior to this season. It was voted on by Super League players, but from this season onwards, it will adopt a similar system to the NRL equivalent the Dally M Medal. A 21-man panel of former players chose the three best players from each weekly round game. 6 points were split between 3 players, with 1st place getting 3 points, 2nd getting 2 points, and 3rd getting 1 point. The leaderboard was public until week 22 in mid-July, when it was then hidden until the Steve Prescott Man of Steel Awards ceremony in October.

Salford'sJackson Hastings was eventually crowned Man of Steel on 6 October 2019.

End-of-season awards

Attendances

Average attendances

ClubHome
Games
TotalAverageHighestLowest
Castleford Tigers 14 101,542 7,253 9,316 5,323
Catalans Dragons 14 143,560 10,560 31,555 7,237
Huddersfield Giants 14 73,133 5,222 6,809 4,451
Hull FC 14 160,694 11,478 20,044 9,830
Hull KR 14 114,587 8,185 12,100 7,065
Leeds Rhinos 14 165,742 11,838 14,085 11,229
London Broncos 14 28,297 2,021 3,051 1,133
Salford Red Devils 14 51,476 3,676 5,393 2,368
St Helens 15 178,639 11,910 17,088 9,090
Wakefield Trinity 14 76,554 5,468 6,785 4,270
Warrington Wolves 15 159,182 10,970 14,211 5,627
Wigan Warriors 16 182,914 11,432 22,050 9,247

Top 10 attendances

Rank Home club Away club Stadium Attendance
1 St Helens Salford Red Devils 64,102
2 Catalans Dragons Wigan Warriors 31,555
3 Magic Weekend: Day 1 30,057
4 Magic Weekend: Day 2 26,812
5 Wigan Warriors St Helens 22,050
6 Hull FC Hull Kingston Rovers 20,044
7 St Helens Wigan Warriors 17,088
8 St Helens Warrington Wolves 17,078
9 St Helens Wigan Warriors 16,508
10 St Helens Wigan Warriors 14,508