2019 Super League season

Super League XXIV
League	Super League
Duration	29 rounds
Teams	12
Highest attendance	20,044 Hull F.C. Vs Hull Kingston Rovers (19 April)
Lowest attendance	1,133 London Broncos vs Salford Red Devils (27 April)
Average attendance	8,441
Attendance	1,468,823; as of 20 September 2019 (playoffs game 2)
Broadcast partners	Sky Sports BBC Sport Fox League beIN Sports Fox Soccer Plus Sport Klub
2019 season
Champions	St. Helens 7th Super League title 14th British title
League Leaders Shield	St. Helens
Runners-up	Salford Red Devils
Biggest home win	St. Helens 62–16 Hull FC (22 April)
Biggest away win	Hull F.C. 12–63 Warrington Wolves (29 March 2019)
Man of Steel	Jackson Hastings
Top point-scorer(s)	Lachlan Coote (247)
Top try-scorer(s)	Tommy Makinson (23)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from Championship	Toronto Wolfpack
Relegated to Championship	London Broncos
← 2018 2020 →

Super League XXIV, known as the Betfred Super League XXIV for sponsorship reasons, was the 2019 iteration of and the 24th season of the Super League and 125th season of rugby league in Great Britain.

Twelve teams competed over 29 rounds, including the Magic Weekend, which took place at Anfield. After the regular rounds, the top five highest teams entered the Super League play-offs, for a place in the Super League Grand Final.

London Broncos were immediately relegated to the Championship after only being promoted last year, but a bad season saw them win just 10 games out of 29. ^[1] They will be replaced by Toronto Wolfpack. ^[2]

Wigan Warriors were the defending champions, but they were eliminated from the competition, after suffering back to back defeats in the semi-finals. First against St Helens in the semi final, and eventually losing out to Salford in the preliminary final.

Toronto Wolfpack won the Million Pound Game by beating Featherstone Rovers 24–6 and were promoted to the Super League, for the first time in the club's history.

St. Helens were crowned champions on 12 October, after a 23–6 victory over Salford, which saw them claim their first championship in 5 years.

Format

Magic Weekend, at Anfield, 2019

Following a vote of RFL clubs in 2018, Super League has implemented a number of changes to the format for Super League XXIV. The Qualifiers were scrapped and the play-offs for the Super League Grand Final changed from a top four to top five play-offs system for the first time in 18 years as it was last used in 2001. ^{[3] [4]} For relegation, the Rugby League Super 8s were also scrapped so that the team that finishes bottom of the Super League will be relegated and replaced by the winner of the Championship Grand Final. ^[5] The Magic Weekend was held on 25 and 26 May at Anfield in Liverpool. Each team will play each other home and away, with an extra game at the Magic Weekend, before a series of 6 "loop" fixtures are played to finish the regular season.

The Super League game between Catalans Dragons and Wigan Warriors, saw a new record crowd of 31,555 fans, and it was the first game to be played at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium on 18 May 2019.

Catalan went on to win the match, 33–16, thus ending a 10-game losing streak against Wigan, and their first win over Wigan since 2015.

For the first time in Super League history, the Derby between St Helens and Wigan was not televised, as Sky Sports opted to televise the relegation battle between Leeds and Hull KR.

St Helens won the League Leaders Shield for the second season running on 3 August when Warrington Wolves were beaten 30-10 by Catalans Dragons, thus ensuring that 2nd placed Warrington, 12 points behind with 5 games left, could no longer catch the Saints.

Teams

Super League XXIV featured twelve teams. ^[6] This is also the fourth year since promotion and relegation was reintroduced into the competition. ^[7] London Broncos were promoted from the Championship after defeating Toronto Wolfpack in the final Million Pound Game to compete in Super League for the first time since 2014. ^[8] They also received special dispensation from the RFL to play their home Super League matches at their Trailfinders Sports Ground, which they share with rugby union's Ealing Trailfinders, even though it is smaller than the RFL's minimum seating requirements. ^[9] London replaced Widnes Vikings who were relegated last season. ^[10]

Just prior to the start of the season Wigan Warriors were fined and deducted two competition points for breaching the salary cap in 2017; ^[11] however, on 6 March following an appeal, the points deduction was suspended, and Wigan were reinstated the 2 points, as long as the club do not breach the salary cap in the following 12 months. ^[12]

Wigan

Salford

St. Helens

Warrington

Hull

Hull KR

Castleford

Huddersfield

Leeds

Wakefield

London

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Locations of Super League XXIV teams

Catalans

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Locations of Super League XXIV teams

Twelve teams were selected to play in the inaugural Super League season.

Legend
	Reigning Champions
	Previous season League Leaders
	Promoted

	Team	2018 position	Stadium	Capacity	City/Area
	Castleford Tigers (2019 season)	3rd	The Mend-A-Hose Jungle	11,750	Castleford, West Yorkshire
	Catalans Dragons (2019 season)	7th	Stade Gilbert Brutus	14,000	Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
	Huddersfield Giants (2019 season)	6th	John Smith's Stadium	24,544	Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
	Hull (2019 season)	8th	KCOM Stadium	25,404	Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
	Hull Kingston Rovers (2019 season)	10th	Lightstream Stadium	12,225	Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
	Leeds Rhinos (2019 season)	9th	Headingley Carnegie Stadium	22,250	Leeds, West Yorkshire
	London Broncos (2019 season)	2nd in Championship (Promoted)	Trailfinders Sports Ground	4,000	Ealing, London
	Salford Red Devils (2019 season)	11th	AJ Bell Stadium	12,000	Salford, Greater Manchester
	St. Helens (2019 season)	1st (League leaders)	Totally Wicked Stadium	18,000	St. Helens, Merseyside
	Wakefield Trinity (2019 season)	5th	Beaumont Legal Stadium	11,000	Wakefield, West Yorkshire
	Warrington Wolves (2019 season)	4th (Runners Up)	Halliwell Jones Stadium	15,500	Warrington, Cheshire
	Wigan Warriors (2019 season)	2nd (Champions)	DW Stadium	25,138	Wigan, Greater Manchester

Results

Main article: Super League XXIV results

Golden Point Extra Time

Golden-point extra-time, shot clocks and a reduced number of interchanges are among the law changes confirmed by Super League for the 2019 season.

On 19 November 2018, it was confirmed that Super League would be adopting golden point during regular season for the first time as of the start of the 2019 season, bringing it in line with the NRL which has been using the system since 2003. ^[13]

The 12 clubs announced the introduction of golden-point extra-time in November, with games level at full-time, to be decided in two additional five-minute periods. If it remains level after the extra 10 minutes, the match will end as a draw. ^[14]

Game 1 (Wigan v Hull FC)

The first game to go to golden-point, was the round 3 game between Wigan and Hull F.C. on 24 February 2019. Hull won 23–22, after the scores were tied at 22-all after 80 minutes. ^[15]

Game 2 (Leeds v Castleford)

The second game to go to golden-point, was the round 8 game between Leeds and Castleford, on 28 March 2019. Leeds won the match 21–20, after a 40m field goal from Brad Dwyer after the scores were tied at 20-all after 80 minutes. ^[16]

Game 3 (Catalans v Hull FC)

The third game to go to golden-point, was the round 10 game between Catalans and Hull FC, on 12 April 2019. Hull won the match 31–30, thanks to a Marc Sneyd field goal, after the scores were tied at 30-all after 80 minutes. This is Hull's 2nd golden point victory so far this season, Sneyd has scored the decisive field goal in both. ^[17]

Game 4 (Castleford v Huddersfield)

The fourth game to go to golden-point, was the round 17 game between Castleford and Huddersfield Giants on 7 June 2019. Castleford won the match 27–26, thanks to a Peter Matautia field goal, after the scores were tied at 26-all after 80 minutes. ^[18]

Game 5 (London v St Helens)

The fifth game to go to golden-point, was the round 17 game between London Broncos and St Helens on 9 June 2019. London won the match 23–22, thanks to a Morgan Smith field goal, after the scores were tied at 22-all after 80 minutes. ^[19]

Game 6 (Hull KR v Castleford)

The sixth game to go to golden-point, was the round 24 game between Hull KR and Castleford on 4 August 2019. Hull KR won the match 27–26, thanks to a Danny McGuire field goal, after the scores were tied at 26-all after 80 minutes.

This was the 3rd time that Castleford had forced extra time, winning just once

Game 7 (Salford v Hull KR)

The seventh game to go to golden-point, was the round 29 game between Salford and Hull KR on 13 September 2019. Salford won 17–16, after the scores were tied at 16-all after 80 minutes.

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	St. Helens (C, L)	29	26	0	3	916	395	+521	52	Semi Final
2	Wigan Warriors	29	18	0	11	699	539	+160	36	Qualifying Final
3	Salford Red Devils	29	17	0	12	783	597	+186	34
4	Warrington Wolves	29	16	0	13	709	533	+176	32	Elimination Final
5	Castleford Tigers	29	15	0	14	646	558	+88	30
6	Hull F.C.	29	15	0	14	645	768	−123	30
7	Catalans Dragons	29	13	0	16	553	745	−192	26
8	Leeds Rhinos	29	12	0	17	650	644	+6	24
9	Wakefield Trinity	29	11	0	18	608	723	−115	22
10	Huddersfield Giants	29	11	0	18	571	776	−205	22
11	Hull KR	29	10	0	19	548	768	−220	20
12	London Broncos (R)	29	10	0	19	505	787	−282	20	Relegated to Championship

Source:
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners; (R) Relegated

Playoffs

The play-off system in use for 2019 was also previously used between 1998 and 2001.

	Qualifying play-off DW Stadium					Qualifying semi-final Totally Wicked Stadium					Preliminary final					Grand Final Old Trafford
						1	St. Helens	40								St. Helens		23
							Wigan Warriors	10								Salford Red Devils		6
	2	Wigan Warriors	18								Wigan Warriors		4
	3	Salford Red Devils	12			Elimination semi-final AJ Bell Stadium					Salford Red Devils		28
						Salford Red Devils		22
	4	Warrington Wolves	12			Castleford Tigers		0
	5	Castleford Tigers	14

Week 1: Elimination and qualifying finals

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Attendance
Elimination final
Warrington Wolves	12–14	Castleford Tigers	19 September 2019, 19:45	Halliwell Jones Stadium	Chris Kendall	5,627
Qualifying final
Wigan Warriors	18–12	Salford Red Devils	20 September 2019, 19:45	DW Stadium	Robert Hicks	9,247
Progress to semi-final 2: Castleford, Salford Progress to semi-final 1: Wigan Eliminated: Warrington
Source:

Week 2: Semi-finals

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Attendance
Semi-final 1
Salford	22–0	Castleford	26 September 2019, 19:45	AJ Bell Stadium	Ben Thaler	6,000
Semi-final 2
St. Helens	40–10	Wigan	27 September 2019, 19:45	Totally Wicked Stadium	Chris Kendall	14,508
Progress to Preliminary Final: Salford Red Devils, Wigan Warriors Progress to Grand Final : St Helens Eliminated: Castleford
Source:

Week 3: Preliminary final

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Attendance
Wigan	4–28	Salford	4 October 2019, 19:45	DW Stadium	Ben Thaler	9,858
Progress to Grand Final: Salford Eliminated: Wigan
Source:

Week 4: Grand final

Main article: 2019 Super League Grand Final

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Attendance
St Helens	23 – 6	Salford	12 October 2019, 18:00	Old Trafford, Manchester	Chris Kendall	64,102
Source:

Player statistics

Top 10 try scorers Rank Player Club Tries 1 Tommy Makinson St. Helens 23 2= Ash Handley Leeds Rhinos 22 Niall Evalds Salford Red Devils 4 Regan Grace St. Helens 20 5= Kevin Naiqama St. Helens 18 Blake Austin Warrington Wolves 7= Jermaine McGillvary Huddersfield Giants 17 Jonny Lomax St. Helens Josh Charnley Warrington Wolves 10 Liam Marshall Wigan Warriors 16 Top 10 try assists Rank Player Club Assists 1 Jackson Hastings Salford Red Devils 36 2= Lachlan Coote St. Helens 22 Theo Fages St. Helens 4= Marc Sneyd Hull F.C. 21 Jonny Lomax St. Helens George Williams Wigan Warriors 7= Paul McShane Castleford Tigers 19 Daryl Clark Warrington Wolves 9= Sam Tomkins Catalans Dragons 18 Lee Gaskell Huddersfield Giants Josh Drinkwater Hull KR Top 10 goal scorers Rank Player Club Goals Drop Goals 1 Marc Sneyd Hull F.C. 104 7 2 Lachlan Coote St. Helens 101 1 3 Zak Hardaker Wigan Warriors 93 1 4= Krisnan Inu Salford Red Devils 84 1 Stefan Ratchford Warrington Wolves 0 6 Sam Tomkins Catalans Dragons 76 1 7 Kieran Dixon London Broncos 75 0 8 Danny Brough Wakefield Trinity 72 5 9 Ryan Shaw Hull KR 63 0 10 Peter Matautia Castleford Tigers 54 1 Top 10 points scorers Rank Player Club Points 1 Lachlan Coote St. Helens 259 2 Zak Hardaker Wigan Warriors 231 3 Marc Sneyd Hull F.C. 223 4 Krisnan Inu Salford Red Devils 197 5 Kieran Dixon London Broncos 190 6 Sam Tomkins Catalans Dragons 189 7 Stefan Ratchford Warrington Wolves 184 8 Danny Brough Wakefield Trinity 157 9 Ryan Shaw Hull KR 142 10 Peter Mata'utia Castleford Tigers 119

Statistics correct, as of 20 September 2019 (Play off game 2)

Discipline

Red Cards Rank Player Club Red Cards 1= Jesse Sene-Lefao Castleford Tigers 1 Michael McIlorum Catalans Dragons Sam Tomkins Catalans Dragons Josh Griffin Hull F.C. Brad Singleton Leeds Rhinos Ben Westwood Warrington Wolves

Yellow Cards Rank Player Club Yellow Cards 1= Jake Connor Hull F.C. 3 Pauli Pauli [Note 1] Salford Red Devils / Wakefield Trinity 2= Ukuma Ta'ai Huddersfield Giants 2 Albert Kelly Hull F.C. Danny McGuire Hull KR Éloi Pélissier London Broncos Danny Brough Wakefield Trinity Jack Hughes Warrington Wolves Jake Mamo Warrington Wolves Willie Isa Wigan Warriors Romain Navarette Wigan Warriors 11= Paul McShane Castleford Tigers 1 Grant Millington Castleford Tigers Adam Milner Castleford Tigers Jason Baitieri Catalans Dragons Greg Bird Catalans Dragons Kenny Edwards Catalans Dragons Michael McIlorum Catalans Dragons David Mead Catalans Dragons Sam Moa Catalans Dragons Brayden Wiliame Catalans Dragons Aaron Murphy Huddersfield Giants Adam Walne Huddersfield Giants Oliver Wilson Huddersfield Giants Gareth Ellis Hull F.C. Chris Green Hull F.C. Jack Logan Hull F.C. Jamie Shaul Hull F.C. Marc Sneyd Hull F.C. Scott Taylor Hull F.C. Ben Crooks Hull KR James Greenwood Hull KR Weller Hauraki Hull KR Danny McGuire Hull KR Tom Briscoe Leeds Rhinos James Donaldson Leeds Rhinos Brett Ferres Leeds Rhinos Konrad Hurrell Leeds Rhinos Trent Merrin Leeds Rhinos Nathaniel Peteru Leeds Rhinos Kallum Watkins Leeds Rhinos Kieran Dixon London Broncos Elliot Kear London Broncos Olsi Krasniqi London Broncos Gil Dudson Salford Red Devils Lee Mossop Salford Red Devils Jansin Turgut Salford Red Devils Kris Welham Salford Red Devils Adam Walker Salford Red Devils Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook St. Helens James Roby St. Helens Joseph Paulo St. Helens Dominique Peyroux St. Helens Tinirau Arona Wakefield Trinity Ryan Hampshire Wakefield Trinity Keegan Hirst Wakefield Trinity Danny Kirmond Wakefield Trinity Sitaleki Akauola Warrington Wolves Blake Austin Warrington Wolves Daryl Clark Warrington Wolves Mike Cooper Warrington Wolves Bryson Goodwin Warrington Wolves Chris Hill Warrington Wolves Toby King Warrington Wolves Ben Murdoch-Masila Warrington Wolves Declan Patton Warrington Wolves Liam Farrell Wigan Warriors Oliver Gildart Wigan Warriors Dan Sarginson Wigan Warriors

1. Pauli Pauli has been sin binned once for Salford, and twice for Wakefield

Statistics correct as of 20 September 2019 (playoffs game 2)

Man of Steel contenders

(The 5 nominations for the man of steel awards were as follows)

Player	Club
Liam Watts	Castleford Tigers
Jackson Hastings	Salford Red Devils
Lachlan Coote	St. Helens
Blake Austin	Warrington Wolves
George Williams	Wigan Warriors

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

The format for choosing the winner of the Steve Prescott Man of Steel award would also change Prior to this season. It was voted on by Super League players, but from this season onwards, it will adopt a similar system to the NRL equivalent the Dally M Medal. A 21-man panel of former players chose the three best players from each weekly round game. 6 points were split between 3 players, with 1st place getting 3 points, 2nd getting 2 points, and 3rd getting 1 point. The leaderboard was public until week 22 in mid-July, when it was then hidden until the Steve Prescott Man of Steel Awards ceremony in October.

Salford's Jackson Hastings was eventually crowned Man of Steel on 6 October 2019.

End-of-season awards

• Coach of the year: Justin Holbrook
• Foundation of the year: Warrington Wolves
• Hit Man: Danny Houghton (1259 tackles)
• Man of Steel: Jackson Hastings
• Metre-maker: Tommy Makinson (3,803 metres)
• Fans' Entertainer: Jackson Hastings (Salford Red Devils)
• Spirit of Super League Award: Jamie Jones-Buchanan (Leeds Rhinos)
• Top Try Scorer: Tommy Makinson (23)
• Young player of the year: Matty Lees

Attendances

Average attendances Club Home Games Total Average Highest Lowest Castleford Tigers 14 101,542 7,253 9,316 5,323 Catalans Dragons 14 143,560 10,560 31,555 7,237 Huddersfield Giants 14 73,133 5,222 6,809 4,451 Hull FC 14 160,694 11,478 20,044 9,830 Hull KR 14 114,587 8,185 12,100 7,065 Leeds Rhinos 14 165,742 11,838 14,085 11,229 London Broncos 14 28,297 2,021 3,051 1,133 Salford Red Devils 14 51,476 3,676 5,393 2,368 St Helens 15 178,639 11,910 17,088 9,090 Wakefield Trinity 14 76,554 5,468 6,785 4,270 Warrington Wolves 15 159,182 10,970 14,211 5,627 Wigan Warriors 16 182,914 11,432 22,050 9,247

Top 10 attendances Rank Home club Away club Stadium Attendance 1 St Helens Salford Red Devils Old Trafford 64,102 2 Catalans Dragons Wigan Warriors Camp Nou 31,555 3 Magic Weekend: Day 1 Anfield 30,057 4 Magic Weekend: Day 2 Anfield 26,812 5 Wigan Warriors St Helens DW Stadium 22,050 6 Hull FC Hull Kingston Rovers KCOM Stadium 20,044 7 St Helens Wigan Warriors Totally Wicked Stadium 17,088 8 St Helens Warrington Wolves Totally Wicked Stadium 17,078 9 St Helens Wigan Warriors Totally Wicked Stadium 16,508 10 St Helens Wigan Warriors Totally Wicked Stadium 14,508

* As of 12 October 2019

References

1. Bower, Aaron. "Super League decides to scrap controversial Super 8 format". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
2. "Million Pound Game: RFL pick 19:00 kick-off to suit England, France or Canada". BBC Sport. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
3. "How the new Super League play-off system will work". Love Rugby League. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
4. Gavin Willacy. "Enjoy the tortuous Qualifiers one last time before Super League is revamped". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
5. "Widnes apologise after Super League relegation". Sky Sports. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
6. "Liverpool's Anfield stadium to host Super League's 2019 Magic Weekend". Sky Sports. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
7. "Joey Grima: London Broncos' Super League relegation expected". BBC Sport. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
8. "Wolfpack fall short of Super League promotion after loss to Broncos". CBC. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
9. "Danny Ward to keep faith with London Broncos' promotion heroes". Sky Sports. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
10. "Harrison Hansen: Widnes Vikings forward signs one-year deal with relegated club". BBC Sport. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
11. "Wigan Warriors: Super League champions receive two-point deduction". BBC Sport . 30 January 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
12. "Wigan Warriors; Super League champions two-point deduction suspended for 12 months". BBC Sport . 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
13. BBC Sport (19 November 2018). "Super League: Golden-point extra time introduced for regular season from 2019". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
14. "Super League law changes: Golden-point extra-time and shot clocks confirmed for 2019". BBC Sport. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
15. "Super League: Wigan Warriors 22–23 Hull FC". BBC Sport . 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
16. "Super League: Dwyer kicks 40m golden point drop goal, to seal Leeds win". BBC Sport . 28 March 2019.
17. "Super League: Sneyd kicks golden point drop goal, to seal Hull a second golden point Extra time win". BBC Sport . 12 April 2019.
18. "Super League: Mata'utia golden point drop goal, seals Tigers victory". BBC Sport . 7 June 2019.
19. "Super League: Broncos stun St Helens with golden-point win". BBC Sport . 9 June 2019.