Super League XXIII

The 2018 Super League season, known as the Betfred Super League XXIII for sponsor reasons,[1] was the 23rd season of Super League and 124th season of rugby league in Britain. It was won by Wigan Warriors, who were crowned champions after beating Warrington Wolves 12-4. It was Wigan's 22nd Championship win and a new record for being champions. They are now 9 titles ahead of the next team.[2]

Super League XXIII
LeagueSuper League
Duration30 Rounds (Followed by 2 rounds of relevant playoffs)
Teams12
Highest attendance64,892
Grand Final (13 October 2018)
Lowest attendance2,248
Salford Red Devils Vs Widnes Vikings (15 June 2018)
Average attendance8,547
Attendance1,166,425
Broadcast partners Sky Sports
BBC Sport
SLTV
Fox League
beIN Sports
Fox Soccer Plus
Sport Klub
2018 season
Champions Wigan Warriors
5th Super League Title
22nd English title
League Leaders Shield St. Helens
Runners-up Warrington Wolves
Biggest home win Warrington Wolves 80–10 Hull F.C. (30 August 2018)
Biggest away win Salford Red Devils 10–60 St. Helens (26 April 2018)
Man of Steel Ben Barba
(St. Helens)
Top point-scorer(s) Danny Richardson (St. Helens) (296)
Top try-scorer(s) Ben Barba (St. Helens) (28)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from Championship London Broncos
Relegated to Championship Widnes Vikings

Twelve teams competed over 23 rounds, including the Magic Weekend, which took place at St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, after which the eight highest entered the Super League play-offs for a place in the Super League Grand Final. The four lowest teams then entered the qualifying play-offs, along with the four highest teams from the Championship, to determine which teams will play again in Super League XXIV.

Leeds Rhinos were the reigning champions going into the season, but after a run of 10 games without a win, they were condemned to The Qualifiers.

This season also saw the first Super League game played outside Europe, as Wigan Warriors faced Hull F.C. at WIN Stadium in Wollongong, Australia on Saturday 10 February 2018, which Wigan won, 24–10.

St. Helens won the League Leaders Shield for a record 6th time. However, they failed to reach the Grand Final after losing their semi final 13-18 to Warrington Wolves. This marked the first time since Huddersfield in 2013 that the League Leaders would not make it to the Grand Final.

Widnes Vikings were relegated to the Championship, after only 3 wins saw them finish bottom of the regular season and condemned to The Qualifiers. To which they only managed to gain 1 win, which was against Halifax.

London Broncos won the Million Pound Game by beating Toronto Wolfpack 4–2 and were promoted to the Super League, returning to Super League 4 years after they were relegated.

Ben Barba was crowned the Man of Steel, beating teammate James Roby and John Bateman of Wigan Warriors.[3]

Teams

Eleven teams in Super League are from the North of England. Five teams hail from the historic county of Lancashire, west of the Pennines: Warrington, St. Helens, Salford, Wigan, and Widnes. Six teams hail from the historic county of Yorkshire, east of the Pennines: Huddersfield, Wakefield Trinity, Leeds, Castleford, Hull KR and Hull FC. Catalans Dragons, located in Perpignan, France, are the only team outside the North of England. St Helens, Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves, and Leeds Rhinos are the only teams to have played in every season of Super League since 1996.

Hull KR were promoted from the Championship after finishing in 2nd place in The Qualifiers for 2017 whilst Leigh were relegated to the Championship after losing the 2017 Million Pound Game to Catalans.

Locations of Super League XXIII teams
Locations of Super League XXIII teams
Locations of Super League XXIII teams in West Yorkshire


Team 2017 position Stadium Capacity City/Area
Castleford Tigers
(2018 season)		 1st (League Leaders/Runners-Up) The Mend-A-Hose Jungle 11,750 Castleford, West Yorkshire
Catalans Dragons
(2018 season)		 10th Stade Gilbert Brutus 14,000 Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Huddersfield Giants
(2018 season)		 8th John Smith's Stadium 24,544 Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Hull
(2018 season)		 3rd KCOM Stadium 25,404 Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Hull Kingston Rovers
(2018 season)		 Promoted Lightstream Stadium 12,225 Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Leeds Rhinos
(2018 season)		 2nd (Champions) Headingley Carnegie Stadium 22,250 Leeds, West Yorkshire
Salford Red Devils
(2018 season)		 7th AJ Bell Stadium 12,000 Salford, Greater Manchester
St. Helens
(2018 season)		 4th Totally Wicked Stadium 18,000 St. Helens, Merseyside
Wakefield Trinity
(2018 season)		 5th Beaumont Legal Stadium 11,000 Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Warrington Wolves
(2018 season)		 9th Halliwell Jones Stadium 15,500 Warrington, Cheshire
Widnes Vikings
(2018 season)		 12th The Select Security Stadium 13,500 Widnes, Cheshire
Wigan Warriors
(2018 season)		 6th DW Stadium 25,138 Wigan, Greater Manchester

Regular-season results
Main article: Super League XXIII results

Regular-season standings
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 St. Helens 23 21 0 2 713 298 +415 42 Super 8s
2 Wigan Warriors 23 16 0 7 573 345 +228 32
3 Castleford Tigers 23 15 1 7 567 480 +87 31
4 Warrington Wolves 23 14 1 8 531 410 +121 29
5 Huddersfield Giants 23 11 1 11 427 629 −202 23
6 Hull F.C. 23 11 0 12 534 544 −10 22
7 Wakefield Trinity 23 10 1 12 581 506 +75 21
8 Catalans Dragons 23 10 1 12 488 531 −43 21
9 Leeds Rhinos 23 8 2 13 431 527 −96 18 The Qualifiers
10 Hull KR 23 8 1 14 476 582 −106 17
11 Salford Red Devils 23 7 0 16 384 597 −213 14
12 Widnes Vikings 23 3 0 20 387 653 −266 6
Source:

Super 8s

Format

After 23 games the league table is frozen, and the teams are split up into two of Super 8s. The teams finishing in the top eight go on to contest the Super League Super 8s, to determine which teams go through to the semi-final play-offs, to compete for a place in the Super League Grand Final on 13 October. Each teams points are carried over from the previous 23 games, and each teams play each other one more time, a total of seven further games per team.

The Super League Super 8s sees the top eight teams from the Super League, play each other one more time (seven games each). Each team's points are carried over from the previous 23 games, and after seven rounds, the top four teams will then make up the play off semi-finals, with the team finishing first (St. Helens) hosting the team in fourth (Warrington Wolves), and the team finishing second (Wigan Warriors), hosting the team finishing third (Castleford Tigers). The winners of these semi-finals will then contest the Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford on 13 October 2018.

Round 1
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Hull F.C. 13–31 Wakefield Trinity 10 August 2018, 19:45 KCOM Stadium Jack Smith 10,301
St. Helens 12–16 Huddersfield Giants 10 August 2018, 19:45 Totally Wicked Stadium Scott Mikalauskas 8,979
Warrington Wolves 56–6 Catalans Dragons 10 August 2018, 19:45 Halliwell Jones Stadium Ben Thaler 8,032
Wigan Warriors 24–22 Castleford Tigers 10 August 2018, 19:45 DW Stadium James Child 10,293

Round 2
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Wakefield Trinity 16–36 St Helens 16 August 2018, 19:45 The Mobile Rocket Stadium Liam Moore 4,295
Castleford Tigers 28–18 Warrington Wolves 17 August 2018, 19:45 Mend-A-Hose Jungle Gareth Hewer 7,142
Huddersfield Giants 24–6 Hull F.C. 17 August 2018, 19:45 John Smith's Stadium Robert Hicks 4,499
Catalans Dragons 6–35 Wigan Warriors 18 August 2018, 17:15 Stade Gilbert Brutus Greg Dolan 6,739

Round 3
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Warrington Wolves 80–10 Hull 30 August 2018, 19:45 Halliwell Jones Stadium Liam Moore 8,101
Huddersfield Giants 16–42 Wakefield Trinity 31 August 2018, 19:45 John Smith's Stadium Gareth Hewer 4,963
St. Helens 10–30 Wigan Warriors 31 August 2018, 19:45 Totally Wicked Stadium Chris Kendall 14,061
Castleford Tigers 36–4 Catalans Dragons 1 September 2018, 19:45 Mend-A-Hose Jungle Greg Dolan 7,658

Round 4
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Wigan Warriors 25–10 Wakefield Trinity 6 September 2018, 19:45 DW Stadium Ben Thaler 9,959
Hull F.C. 8–28 Castleford Tigers 7 September 2018, 19:45 KCOM Stadium Gareth Hewer 10,570
Warrington Wolves 26–24 Huddersfield Giants 7 September 2018, 19:45 Halliwell Jones Stadium James Child 9,076
Catalans Dragons 22–26 St. Helens 8 September 2018, 17:15 Stade Gilbert Brutus Liam Moore 7,190

Round 5
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Castleford Tigers 44–12 Huddersfield Giants 13 September 2018, 19:45 Mend-A-Hose Jungle Ben Thaler 7,279
St. Helens 38–12 Hull F.C. 14 September 2018, 19:45 Totally Wicked Stadium Chris Kendall 9,348
Wakefield Trinity 34–22 Catalans Dragons 14 September 2018, 19:45 The Mobile Rocket Stadium Scott Mikalauskas 4,030
Wigan Warriors 26–6 Warrington Wolves 14 September 2018, 19:45 DW Stadium Robert Hicks 12,372

Round 6
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Huddersfield Giants 6–13 Wigan Warriors 20 September 2018, 19:45 John Smith's Stadium* Greg Dolan 4,197
Castleford Tigers 42–10 Wakefield Trinity 21 September 2018, 19:45 Mend-A-Hose Jungle Gareth Hewer 7,860
Warrington Wolves 14–34 St. Helens 22 September 2018, 15:15 Halliwell Jones Stadium Chris Kendall 10,747
Hull F.C. 20–26 Catalans Dragons 22 September 2018, 17:00 KCOM Stadium M Griffiths 10,467
  • Game moved to Huddersfield, due to Wigan Athletic's fixture with Bristol City, now being played on the same day.

Round 7
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
St. Helens 26–0 Castleford Tigers 28 September 2018, 19:45 Totally Wicked Stadium Scott Mikalauskas 9,813
Wakefield Trinity 23–36 Warrington Wolves 28 September 2018, 19:45 The Mobile Rocket Stadium Marcus Griffiths 4,140
Wigan Warriors 14–12 Hull F.C. 28 September 2018, 19:45 DW Stadium Liam Moore 11,189
Catalans Dragons 22-12 Huddersfield Giants 29 September 2018, 17:15 Stade Gilbert Brutus Greg Dolan 7,304

Final standings
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 St. Helens 30 26 0 4 885 408 +477 52 League Leaders Shield/Playoffs
2 Wigan Warriors 30 23 0 7 740 417 +323 46 Playoffs
3 Castleford Tigers 30 20 1 9 767 582 +185 41
4 Warrington Wolves 30 18 1 11 767 561 +206 37
5 Wakefield Trinity 30 13 1 16 747 696 +51 27
6 Huddersfield Giants 30 13 1 16 537 794 −257 27
7 Catalans Dragons 30 12 1 17 596 750 −154 25
8 Hull F.C. 30 11 0 19 615 786 −171 22
Updated to match(es) played on 28 September 2018. Source:

Playoffs
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue Referee Attendance
Semi-finals
St. Helens 13–18 Warrington Wolves 4 October 2018, 19:45 Totally Wicked Stadium Robert Hicks 12,031
Wigan Warriors 14–0 Castleford Tigers 5 October 2018, 19:45 DW Stadium Ben Thaler 13,461

Grand Final
Main article: 2018 Super League Grand Final

Final
13 October 2018
6:00 pm BST
Wigan Warriors 12–4 Warrington Wolves
Try: Manfredi (2), Davies
 Try: Charnley
Old Trafford, Manchester
Attendance: 64,892
Referee: Robert Hicks
Man of the Match: Stefan Ratchford (Warrington)

Wigan Warriors

Wigan finished 2nd in regular season and seven consecutive wins in the Super 8's saw them secure 2nd place in the table. A 14–0 victory over Castleford Tigers in the semi-final earned Wigan a place in their 10th Grand Final.

This is the first time that a team has won all 7 Super 8's games in a single season, and since this playoff format will be abandoned at the end of the 2018 season, will make this a unique historic feat achieved by Wigan.

Warrington Wolves

Warrington finished 4th to earn an away trip to League Leaders Shield winners St. Helens in the semi finals. Warrington won 18-13 with a late try by Tom Lineham. Warrington will be contesting their 4th Grand Final.

Match details

This match was Shaun Wane's last game as Wigan coach before going to Scotland Rugby Union after 7 seasons as head coach of Wigan.

Teams
Wigan Warriors Position Warrington Wolves
#1 Sam Tomkins Fullback #1 Stefan Ratchford
#21 Dominic Manfredi Wing #2 Tom Lineham
#4 Oliver Gildart Centre #3 Bryson Goodwin
#3 Dan Sarginson Centre #19 Toby King
#2 Tom Davies Wing #27 Josh Charnley
#6 George Williams Stand-off #6 Kevin Brown
#9 Thomas Leuluai Scrum-half #7 Tyrone Roberts
#25 Romain Navarette Prop #8 Chris Hill
#7 Sam Powell Hooker #9 Daryl Clark
#10 Ben Flower Prop #10 Mike Cooper
#40 Joe Greenwood Second-row #30 Bodene Thompson
#14 John Bateman Second-row #12 Jack Hughes
#13 Sean O'Loughlin Loose forward #34 Ben Westwood
#20 Morgan Escare Interchange #17 Joe Philbin
#19 Ryan Sutton Interchange #13 Ben Murdoch-Masila
#12 Liam Farrell Interchange #19 George King
#8 Tony Clubb Interchange #15 Declan Patton
Shaun Wane Coach Steve Price

    Player statistics

    Discipline

    Attendances
    • Statistics correct as of 27 July 2018 (Round 23)

    The Qualifiers
    Main article: 2018 Rugby League Qualifiers

    Format

    The Qualifiers sees the bottom four teams from Super League join the top 4 teams from the Championship. The points totals are reset to zero and each team plays seven games each, playing every other team once. The teams finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd will gain qualification to the 2019 Super League season. The teams finishing 4th and 5th will play in the "Million Pound Game" at the home of the 4th place team to determine who will take the final place to gain promotion to Super League XXIV. The loser, along with teams finishing 6th, 7th and 8th, will be relegated to the Championship.

    End-of-season awards

    Awards are presented for outstanding contributions and efforts to players and clubs in the week leading up to the Super League Grand Final:[4]

    Media

    Television

    2018 is the second of a five-year contract with Sky Sports to televise 100 matches per season.[5]

    Sky Sports coverage in the UK will see two live matches broadcast each week, usually at 8:00 pm on Thursday and Friday nights.[6]

    Regular commentators will be Eddie Hemmings with summarisers including Phil Clarke, Brian Carney, Barrie McDermott and Terry O'Connor. Sky will broadcast highlights on Sunday nights on Super League - Full Time at 10 p.m.

    BBC Sport will broadcast a highlights programme called the Super League Show, presented by Tanya Arnold. The BBC show two weekly broadcasts of the programme, the first to the BBC North West, Yorkshire, North East and Cumbria, and East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire regions on Monday evenings at 11:35 p.m. on BBC One,[7] while a repeat showing is shown nationally on BBC Two on Tuesday afternoons at 1.30 p.m. The Super League Show is also available for one month after broadcast for streaming or download via the BBC iPlayer in the UK only.[8] End of season play-offs are shown on BBC Two across the whole country in a weekly highlights package on Sunday afternoons.[9]

    Internationally, Super League is shown live or delayed on Showtime Sports (Middle East), Sky Sport (New Zealand), TV 2 Sport (Norway), Fox Soccer Plus (United States), Fox Sports (Australia) and Sportsnet World (Canada).

    Radio

    BBC Coverage:

    Commercial Radio Coverage:

    • 102.4 Wish FM will carry commentaries of Wigan & St Helens matches.
    • 107.2 Wire FM will carry commentaries on Warrington Home and Away.
    • Radio Yorkshire will launch in March carrying Super League commentaries.
    • Radio Warrington (Online Station) all Warrington home games and some away games.
    • Grand Sud FM covers every Catalans Dragons Home Match (in French).
    • Radio France Bleu Roussillon covers every Catalans Dragons Away Match (in French).

    All Super League commentaries on any station are available via the particular stations on-line streaming.

    References
    1. "First Utility powers title sponsorship of Super League". Super League. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
    2. "Super League Grand Final: Wigan claim fifth title with victory over Warrington". BBC Sport. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
    3. "Ben Barba crowned Man of Steel". BBC Sport. 8 October 2018.
    4. "Man of Steel on SLTV". Super League. 6 October 2009. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
    5. Sky Sports (31 January 2014). "Super League deal". Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
    6. Sky Sports (18 February 2012). "Rugby League live on Sky". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
    7. BBC Sport (3 February 2012). "BBC's Super League Show returns". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
    8. BBC. "BBC One - Super League Show". BBC. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
    9. "BBC Two - Rugby League: Super League Play-Offs - Highlights". BBC. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
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