2006 Super League season

Super League XI
League	Super League
Duration	28 Rounds
Teams	12
Highest attendance	18,358 Wigan Warriors vs St. Helens (17 April)
Lowest attendance	3,046 Salford City Reds vs Harlequins (11 Aug)
Attendance	1,516,342 (average 9,026)
Broadcast partners	Sky Sports
2006 Season
Champions	St. Helens 5th Super League title 12th British title
League Leaders	St. Helens
Man of Steel	Paul Wellens
Top point-scorer(s)	Jamie Lyon (316)
Top try-scorer(s)	Justin Murphy (26)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from National League One	Hull Kingston Rovers
Relegated to National League One	Castleford
← 2005 2007 →

Engage Super League XI was the official name for the year 2006's Super League season in the sport of rugby league in Europe. Bradford Bulls were looking to retain the title they won in Super League X.

The competition kicked off the weekend after the World Club Challenge. This season saw the entry of the Catalans Dragons, who are the first French team to compete since the demise of Paris Saint-Germain at the end of Super League II.

Castleford Tigers were relegated from the Super League on Saturday 16 September after finishing the regular season in 11th place (Catalans Dragons were exempt from relegation and finished 12th, therefore 11th-placed team was relegated).

In the Grand Final St. Helens beat Hull F.C. by 26–4 at Old Trafford, Manchester in front of a crowd of 72,575 which is a record for a Super League Grand Final. At half time the score stood at 10–4 for St. Helens. Saints raced ahead in the second half with several tries. This victory, in addition to their Challenge Cup win and League Leaders' Shield, meant that they had completed the league treble.

The 2006 Super League generated the highest weekly average attendance in the 11-year history of the competition. The average weekly attendance for the regular season stood at 9,026, generated by an aggregate attendance of 1,516,342 supporters. This is an increase on the 2005 season average of 8,887. ^[1]

Events

The lead up to round 18 saw the shock move of Stuart Fielden from Bradford Bulls to Wigan Warriors for a Super League record fee of £450,000. Despite a 30–12 home win over Warrington Wolves, Wigan Warriors remain bottom of the league after round 18.

In the latter part of the season, following round 19, the bottom half of the league table was very close, with 6 teams able to reach the play-offs and 5 still at risk of relegation.

Wigan left the bottom of the table for the first time in three months following round 20 but were still in the relegation position as Les Catalans were exempt from relegation. Warrington ended their bad run of results by beating Huddersfield in the same round.

The next week Wigan climbed out of the relegation zone after beating Salford - their fifth consecutive win. Wakefield Trinity had a chance to put Wigan back in the drop zone but blew a 20–0 lead against Huddersfield to allow them to record a crucial victory. Elsewhere Hull's Richard Horne became the first player in 91 years to score tries in eleven straight games for the club in their victory over Warrington.

Hull's 13 match winning streak came to an end at Harlequins in round 22 but 2nd place rivals Leeds lost to leaders St Helens, who had Jamie Lyon sent off. Wigan's recent revival was halted by Warrington.

In round 23, Wakefield Trinity re-ignited the relegation battle with a win against local rivals Castleford, despite being reduced to 11 men by the end of the game. Leeds lost the battle for second place, and their third league match in a row.

The relegation battle went down to the wire as Wakefield Trinity beat Bradford while Castleford lost to Salford in the penultimate round of the season. The two clubs at risk of relegation, Wakefield Trinity and Castleford, were scheduled to meet in what had become a relegation decider in the last match of the regular season.

St Helens receive the League Leaders' Shield for a second successive year as recognition for finishing top of the competition league table for the regular season. Harlequins secured survival after beating Wigan. Salford secure a top-6 play-off spot for the first time in their history.

At the end of the regular season, Castleford were relegated as a consequence of their 29–17 defeat away to Wakefield Trinity.

Results

Main article: 2006 Super League season results

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	St Helens (L, C)	28	24	0	4	939	430	+509	48	Semi-final
2	Hull F.C.	28	20	0	8	720	578	+142	40
3	Leeds Rhinos	28	19	0	9	869	543	+326	38	Elimination play-offs
4	Bradford Bulls	28	16	2	10	802	568	+234	32 [lower-alpha 1]
5	Salford City Reds	28	13	0	15	600	539	+61	26
6	Warrington Wolves	28	13	0	15	743	721	+22	26
7	Harlequins	28	11	1	16	556	823	−267	23
8	Wigan Warriors	28	12	0	16	644	715	−71	22 [lower-alpha 2]
9	Huddersfield Giants	28	11	0	17	609	753	−144	22
10	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	28	10	0	18	591	717	−126	20
11	Castleford Tigers (R)	28	9	1	18	575	968	−393	19	Relegation to National League One
12	Catalans Dragons (X)	28	8	0	20	601	894	−293	16

Source: Rugby League Project
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners; (R) Relegated; (X) Exempt from relegation ^[5]
Notes:

1. Bradford deducted 2 points for salary cap breaches in 2005. ^{[2] [3]}
2. Wigan deducted 2 points for salary cap breaches in 2005. ^{[3] [4]}

Play-offs

	Elimination play-offs					Qualifying / elimination semifinals					Elimination final					Grand Final
						29 September 2006										11 October 2006
						1	St. Helens	12								St. Helens		26
						2	Hull	8			6 October 2006					Hull		4
	22 September 2006
											Hull		19
	3	Leeds	17
						30 September 2006					Bradford		12
	6	Warrington	18
						Bradford		40
	23 September 2006
						Warrington		24
	4	Bradford	52
	5	Salford	6

Grand Final

Main article: 2006 Super League Grand Final

In the Grand Final St. Helens beat Hull F.C. by 26–4 at Old Trafford, Manchester. At half time the score stood at 10-4 for St. Helens. Saints raced ahead in the second half with several tries. This victory, in addition to their Challenge Cup win and League Leaders' Shield, meant that they had completed the league treble.

See also

• Super League
• 2006 Challenge Cup
• Rugby league in 2006

References

1. ^[ dead link ]
2. "Bulls punished for salary breach". BBC Sport. 14 August 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
3. "New salary cap for Super League". BBC Sport. 21 June 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
4. "Wigan back in mire after penalty". BBC Sport. 11 August 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
5. Orlovac, Mark (10 February 2006). "Catalans banking on home success". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2009.

External links

• Super League XI at wigan.rlfans.com Archived 2008-05-02 at the Wayback Machine
• Rugby Football League Archived 2006-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
• Super League website
• Massey Ratings for RSL