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Three rounds to go until the Super League playoffs begin, and it is difficult to know whether to keep your eyes fixed on the pitch or off it. Leeds sit top after their impressive win at York on Sunday afternoon ended Wigan’s 48-hour stay at the summit, but the Rhinos are embroiled in a two- or perhaps even three-way battle for the League Leaders’ Shield in 2026.
The Rhinos and Wigan are level on points and have intriguing games against St Helens and Hull KR respectively this week. Should either or both slip up, Warrington could yet come into the picture for a top-two finish but you would be forgiven for your eyes already veering past this coming weekend’s fixtures and to the penultimate round on two fronts.
September arrives and with it the business end of the season, with Leeds and Wigan squaring off in a blockbuster showdown at Headingley that will, in all probability, decide top spot. The playoffs feel like they begin early this year with games of such magnitude – and by the time they meet in West Yorkshire on 5 September, Super League may also be transformed.
The possibility of the NRL investing in the top flight has proven to be the sporting summer’s longest-running saga: but we are now entering the championship rounds. Clubs decided to reject an initial offer from the NRL on Thursday, which would have brought in £7m for each of the next five years in return for equity in Super League.
The feeling is clear: Super League is worth more – but how much more? This is where things get interesting. Some clubs are far more keen to do a deal and land the NRL’s expertise, as well as their money, for not much more. The feeling among the most pro-NRL camps is that without the NRL, Super League will struggle to have a prosperous medium to long-term future. But others are not so downbeat, and insist that Super League should hold out for a lot more money; transformative sums, in fact. The right answer is probably somewhere in the middle, with the reported £7m per year unlikely to change anything other than buffer the losses of club owners somewhat. Super League needs real sea change, not pocket-money level handouts.
We are now also into the final months of Super League being exclusively shown on Sky Sports, with the league’s long-standing broadcaster opting to take only three games per round next year. The location of the other four depends on the NRL deal; if it falls through then Premier Sports – which will show the World Cup this autumn – are interested.
But with the NRL’s backing, a deal with Dazn becomes the favourite – which would yield little in terms of income in the immediate term, but perhaps more further down the track. Clubs will meet again this week and the NRL’s supremo, Peter V’Landys, is heading for the UK in the next fortnight to thrash out a deal. It is now or never; if the NRL walk away this time, they will not return.
However, there is clearly a product worth investing in – as Sunday’s match in York proved. The 66-16 scoreline looks ugly but it is important to remember York were only promoted this season at short notice and given half the central funding – £650,000 – of the other sides due to Super League expanding to 14 teams. That is something whoever is in charge next year must correct.
But York’s first season as a top-flight club has shown there is potential for elite rugby league in North Yorkshire. A full house was present here, a great occasion in the summer sunshine, but the game itself was firmly in favour of the league leaders.
Their attacking triumvirate of Lachie Miller, Brodie Croft and Jake Connor dismantled York to such an extent that at one stage, all plethora of Super League records looked to be in doubt when Leeds led 30-0 after 25 minutes.
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With Wigan still to play, points difference may yet likely be immaterial: but the Rhinos showed little regard for that when picking the Knights apart.
“We didn’t come here expecting to score 66 points so I’m happy with that,” Leeds’ coach, Brad Arthur, said. “I think the mentality of the team drifted a bit in the second half but it does become hard when you’re ahead by so many points. But the spine players like Jake and Lachie did a great job.”
Riley Lumb scored a wonderful hat-trick and the Rhinos looked in impressive form as the serious challenges loom on the horizon. But by the time those challenges do arrive next month, starting with Wigan, Super League’s future looks likely to have changed for ever.
Do the NRL deal, and there is a new journey ahead. Walk away? That in itself prompts a fascinating discussion about where the game goes next.
