Super League Rugby News
The stars of the St Helens side that created Super League history on Saturday say there is no reason their dominance cannot continue for years to come.
The Saints became the first side in the modern era to win four successive league titles when they defeated Leeds 24-12 at Old Trafford.
Continue reading...Mark Percival’s try, Saints’ fourth, made sure his club became the first club in the Super League era to won four titles in a row
11 mins. Leeds are playing themselves in the game after that early blow, but on the fifth Sutcliffe slips over inside the Saints have it back. St Helens progress quickly towards the Leeds line, but Johnny Lomax is hauled to the ground attempting to run it on the final tackle.
8 mins. Rhyse Martin rips the ball one-on-one to win possession back for Leeds in the Saints 20m, but in their rush to move it right Liam Sutcliffe can’t grip the ball and it’s lost forward. Lost opportunity for the Yorkshire side.
Continue reading...Rugby league immortality is now tantalisingly within reach for St Helens. Never before in the Super League era has a team won four consecutive league titles; in the entire history of the sport, dating all the way back to 1895, it has been achieved only once. There have been occasions this year when one has wondered if the all-conquering Saints would have to settle for three in a row.
But next Saturday at Old Trafford, St Helens will aim to assert their grip on a trophy that they have held for more than 1,000 days. They were made to work incredibly hard by Salford, who were in pursuit of a first league title since the mid-1970s. But in the end, the expected outcome came to fruition and St Helens did what they always seem to do: find a way to win.
Continue reading...Leigh are odds-on favourites to win promotion in the Million Pound Game but the playoffs often throw up a surprise
By Gavin Willacy for No Helmets Required
Having romped through the Championship regular season, Leigh Centurions are expected to stroll to the playoff final and win the Million Pound Game. Having scored a whopping 1,306 points in winning 26 of their 27 games this season, Leigh are unlikely to falter. If they do, it is assumed that second-placed Featherstone – the only team who have beaten Leigh all season, in a winter mud bath in February – will take advantage. But, however unlikely it sounds, Halifax, Barrow, Batley or York could replace Toulouse Olympique in Super League next season. That is the jeopardy when only one team is promoted and it is done entirely on a playoff system.
Victory over London Broncos at Wimbledon on Sunday saw Barrow clinch fourth place, an extraordinary achievement in their first season back in the Championship. Only one point separates Barrow, their playoff opponents Batley, and sixth-placed York. This weekend York will go to Halifax, who only won two more games than Batley and Barrow in the league. There’s little between them.
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