The Super League is in its 30th season and of course it’s going to be 12 months of celebration. Do you want to get to know the sport but don’t know where to start? Let us help you…
First of all, what is the Super League?
Super League is the highest European championship of rugby league. Beginning in 1996, 11 Rugby Football League Division One clubs and the new Paris Saint-Germain team joined forces to usher in the era of summer rugby and bring the sport into a new era.
There have been 29 editions of the competition to date, with 2025 marking the 30th anniversary of the Super League.
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A look back at Wigan Warriors’ journey to a second successive Super League title as they made it an unprecedented quadruple
Out of the 24 clubs playing in the Super League so far, ONLY FOUR Wigan Warriors (8), St Helens (9), Bradford Bulls (7) and Leeds Rhinos (8) won the grand final prize at the end of the year.
Talk about ownership!
Get them from the side. What are the ground rules?
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Watch some exclusive footage as Wigan Warriors players, staff and fans celebrate their Super League Grand Final victory over Hull Cree at Old Trafford.
Let’s put sports in the simplest terms, shall we?
Rugby league is a 13-on-13 code of rugby where each team gets six tackles to try to score before the ball is passed to the opposing team.The match lasts 80 minutes and is divided into two 40-minute halves.
Each team then has a bench of four players who can be substituted during the match.
Unlike football, the clock stops for injuries, penalties and tries.
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Wigan Warriors lifted the Super League trophy after beating Hull Cray at Old Trafford.
The experience is worth it four pointswith further conversion to addn two points. Free kicks also cost money two points. A goal is worth extra one unit.
Among the 13 players, there are four main roles: forwards, defenders, defenders and midfielders.
Attackers are mainly focused on moving the ball forward and collecting as many meters as possible. The backs look to attack the wings. The hooker is there to control the ball play (when the player is tackled and the ball is distributed). The halfback controls the distribution of the ball.
In short, 13 players have six chances to go down the field and cross the try line. Simple, right?
Fight for victory. how many teams are there?
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Check out the top five for St Helens 2024 season
Over the years, there have always been 12 clubs in the Super League, and it will be no different in 2025.
Castleford Tigers, Catalans Dragons, Huddersfield Giants, Hull FC, Hull KR, Leeds Rhinos, Leigh Leopards, Salford Red Devils, St Helens, Warrington Wolves, Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors will battle it out from February to become champions in October.
Over the years there have been 12 other clubs who have had their chance in the top flight: London Broncos, Bradford Bulls, Widnes Vikings, Halifax Panthers, Sheffield Eagles, Crusaders, Oldham, Paris Saint-Germain, Gateshead Thunder, Workington Town, Toronto Wolfpack Olympic.
Although the Super League is often promoted as a north of England competition, it has certainly had some international reach.
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Check out Hull KR’s top five of the 2024 season as they reach the Grand Final for the first time
Knockouts. Race for points: The Super League format…
The Super League competition is almost a hybrid between Premier League football and the knockout format.
Thus, 12 teams compete in 27 rounds of the regular season, with the top six advancing to the playoffs.
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George Williams sent Warrington Wolves into the Super League play-off semi-finals with a superb goal against St Helens.
From there, the top two teams get the week off, the third-place team plays sixth and the fourth-place team plays fifth.
The lowest-ranked team from the playoff matches will then play the regular season winners, called the League Leaders Shield winners, and the second-place team will play the higher-ranked team.
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Hull KR fans sing ‘A Little Respect’ before their Super League semi-final against Warrington Wolves.
The winners of those two matches will then compete in the Grand Final to be crowned Super League winners.
No drop?! Welcome to IMG Criteria
The Super League is in its (kind of) franchise era.
Super League teams will not be determined by promotion or relegation from 2025. Instead, the 12 teams will be those who score the most points across a range of criteria, including fans, on-pitch performances, finances, stadium and community.
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John Wilkin gives his thoughts on Wakefield Trinity, who have replaced London Broncos in Super League next year after gaining A-grade status as part of the sport’s restructuring.
The IMG rating system has a recommended score of 20 points for clubs, with a minimum score of 15 points to be a Class A club and 7.5 points to be a Class B club.
The idea is that the A-class clubs automatically enter the Super League, and the best-performing B-class clubs then make up the remaining 12 clubs in the competition.
As the rating scores improve, and one day there are more than 12 clubs with A-grade status, the top league will expand, as is the case with franchise sports such as the NRL and NFL.
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Wigan Warriors’ Harry Smith and Liam Marshall take on Hull KR’s Jack Brown and Jack Broadbent in this nine-dart challenge.
Big boys vs. underdogs. Whose team should win?
There is a side heading into 2025 on the back of a huge bullpen, Wigan Warriors.
The Warriors absolutely dominated in 2024, claiming all four major trophies on offer: the Grand Final, World Club Challenge, Challenge Cup and League Leaders’ Shield.
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Joe Cullen wants to get to Las Vegas to watch Wigan stars Liam Marshall and Harry Smith take on Warrington Wolves at the Allegiant Stadium in 2025.
St Helens, Warrington Wolves and Grand Final runners-up Hull KR will be among the teams looking to unseat Wigan, but Matt Peat’s side look set to slow down.
In other words, Wigan are in their ‘Manchester United under Fergie’ moment and everyone wants to stop them firmly in their tracks.
2025 Super League – key dates and what to look out for
March 1 Wigan Warriors vs Warrington Wolves in Las Vegas
April 17-19. 8th round – competitors’ round
May 3-4. Magic Round (St. James Park, Newcastle)
July 24 August 31 – Round 20 – split round over two weekends
September 4-7. Round 25 – Opponents Round matches changed
September 18-21. Round 27 – final round of regular season (dates and times tbc)
September 26-27. Elimination Playoffs
October 3-4. Semi-final
Saturday October 11. Grand Final (Old Trafford)
Sky Sports This season will again show all Super League games live, including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches shown each week in 2018. Sky Sports+
