2021 Super League season

Super League XXVI
League	Super League
Duration	25 rounds
Teams	12
Matches played	139
Points scored	5,931
Highest attendance	16,319 Wigan Warriors St Helens (20 August)
Lowest attendance	1,000 [upper-alpha 1] Catalans Dragons 20–16 St Helens (22 May) Catalans Dragons 48–0 Wigan Warriors (29 May)
Broadcast partners	Sky Sports BBC Sport Fox League Fox Soccer Plus Sport Klub
2021 season
Champions	St Helens 9th Super League title 16th British title
League Leaders Shield	Catalans Dragons
Runners-up	Catalans Dragons
Biggest home win	Catalans Dragons 64–0 Leigh Centurions (30 August)
Biggest away win	Castleford Tigers 6–60 Leeds Rhinos (28 May)
Man of Steel	Sam Tomkins
Top point-scorer(s)	James Maloney (226)
Top try-scorer(s)	Ken Sio (19)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from Championship	Toulouse Olympique
Relegated to Championship	Leigh Centurions
← 2020 2022 →

Super League XXVI, known as the 2021 Betfred Super League XXVI for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the Super League and 127th season of rugby league in Great Britain.

The 2021 season was originally scheduled to begin on 11 March 2021, however, on 14 January 2021, it was announced that all clubs had agreed to push the start date back by two weeks, to increase the chances of fans being able to attend matches. ^[1]

St Helens were the reigning champions going into Super League XXVI, after successfully retaining their title against Wigan Warriors, in the Grand Final.

Super League XXVI also saw the return of the Magic Weekend, which took place at St James' Park in Newcastle, after it was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[2]

Upon the expulsion of Toronto Wolfpack the previous season, a vacancy was available for the 2021 season. Six eligible Championship clubs; Leigh Centurions, Bradford Bulls, York City Knights, London Broncos, Featherstone Rovers, and Toulouse Olympique all applied, with Leigh being promoted following a unanimous decision by an independent panel. ^[3]

Catalans Dragons won the League Leaders Shield for the first time in the club's history and also became the first non English team to reach their first ever Grand Final. ^[4]

St Helens won their 3rd Grand Final in a row, (9th title overall), after narrowly beating Catalans Dragons 12-10 at Old Trafford on 9 October 2021.

Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic

The sport continued to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first five rounds of matches were all played behind closed doors, and it was only from mid-May that spectators were allowed in the grounds, with attendances limited to 10,000 or 25% of the ground capacity. The Rugby Football League anticipated that COVID-19 would have an effect, and made two important changes to the organisation of the season.

Firstly, the league table would be decided by win percentage rather than competition points. ^[5] Secondly, a set of protocols were introduced, allowing for matches to be postponed, if a team had seven or more players from the senior squad unavailable, due to either close contact or a positive COVID-19 test. ^[6]

Rule changes

As in 2020, scrums will not be formed and instead, minor ruck infringements by the defending team, will result in a repeat set of six tackles for the attacking team. Dual registration will not be allowed, but loans will be, with the minimum load period reduced to fourteen days. ^[7]

Teams

Leigh

Wigan

Salford

St. Helens

Warrington

Hull

Hull KR

Castleford

Huddersfield

Leeds

Wakefield

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Locations of Super League XXVI teams

Catalans

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Locations of Super League XXVI teams

Legend
	Reigning Champions
	Previous season League Leaders
	Promoted

	Team	2020 position	Stadium	Capacity	City/Area
	Castleford Tigers (2021 season)	8th	The Mend-A-Hose Jungle	12,000 [8]	Castleford, West Yorkshire
	Catalans Dragons (2021 season)	4th	Stade Gilbert Brutus	13,000 [9]	Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
	Huddersfield Giants (2021 season)	7th	John Smith's Stadium	24,121 [10]	Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
	Hull FC (2021 season)	6th	KCOM Stadium	25,400 [11]	Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
	Hull KR (2021 season)	11th	Hull College Craven Park Stadium	12,225 [12]	Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
	Leeds Rhinos (2021 season)	5th	Emerald Headingley	21,062 [13]	Leeds, West Yorkshire
	Leigh Centurions (2021 season)	4th (2019 Championship)	Leigh Sports Village	12,000	Leigh, Greater Manchester
	Salford Red Devils (2021 season)	9th	AJ Bell Stadium	12,000 [14]	Salford, Greater Manchester
	St Helens (2021 season)	2nd (Champions)	Totally Wicked Stadium	18,000 [15]	St Helens, Merseyside
	Wakefield Trinity (2021 season)	10th	Beaumont Legal Stadium	9,333 [16]	Wakefield, West Yorkshire
	Warrington Wolves (2021 season)	3rd	Halliwell Jones Stadium	15,200 [17]	Warrington, Cheshire
	Wigan Warriors (2021 season)	1st (runners up)	DW Stadium	25,133 [18]	Wigan, Greater Manchester

Fixtures and results

Main article: Super League XXVI results

Super League Europe announced in February 2021 that the matches in round 2 would be played to support retired player Mose Masoe in his rehabilitation from a serious back injury suffered during a game in 2020. ^{[19] [20]}

In the round 3 game on 16 April 2021 between Hull KR and Huddersfield, Ben Crooks of Hull KR, scored a try after only seven seconds, a new record, after Sam Wood missed the ball from the kick off allowing Crooks to score. Hull KR went on to win 25–24. This achievement beat not only beat the previous fastest score in Super League (St Helens' Tim Jonkers scored after 14 seconds against Wakefield Trinity during the 2002 season) but also the fastest try scored in the NRL, which was set in 2017 (Kirisome Auva'a scored after 11 seconds for Parramatta Eels against Brisbane Broncos). ^[21]

Golden point extra time

If a match ends in a draw after 80 minutes, then a further 10 minutes of golden point extra time is played, to determine a winner (5 minutes each way). The first team to score either a try, goal or drop goal during this period, will win the match. However, if there are no further scores during the additional 10 minutes period, then the match will end in a draw.

Game 1 (Catalans v Hull KR)

The first game to go to golden-point, was the round 1 game between Catalans and Hull KR on 27 March 2021. Catalans won the match 29–28, with a drop goal from James Maloney, after the scores were tied at 28-all after 80 minutes.

Game 2 (Hull FC v Warrington Wolves)

The round 3 game between Hull FC and Warrington on 18 April 2021, finished 14-all after 80 minutes. The game then went to extra time which saw numerous drop goal attempts by both teams. With neither team able to score any points during the extra 10 minutes, the match ended as a draw for the first time since golden point was introduced into Super League.

Game 3 (Leeds Rhinos v Wakefield Trinity)

The third game to go to golden-point, was the round 6 game between Leeds Rhinos and Wakefield Trinity on 14 May 2021. Leeds won the match 15–13, with a penalty goal from Rhyse Martin, after the scores were tied at 13-all after 80 minutes.

Game 4 (St Helens v Catalans)

The fourth game to go to golden-point, was the round 23 game between St Helens and Catalans Dragons on 4 September 2021, during the 2nd game of the day 1 fixtures, at the Magic Weekend. Catalans won the match 31–30, with a drop goal from James Maloney, after the scores were tied at 30-all after 80 minutes (Catalans scoring three tries in the final 4 minutes of the game to come back from 30-12 down). This was the first time in Super League history that a Magic Weekend game had gone to extra time (previous draws at Magic Weekend coming before the introduction of Golden Point to Super League).

Game 5 (Leeds v Hull FC)

The fifth game to go to golden-point, was the round 23 game between Leeds Rhinos and Hull FC on 4 September 2021, during the 3rd game of the day 1 fixtures, at the Magic Weekend. Leeds won the match 25–24, with a drop goal from Kruise Leeming, after the scores were tied at 24-all after 80 minutes. This was the second time in Super League that a magic weekend game had gone to extra time.

Game 6 (Warrington v Salford)

The sixth game to go to golden-point, was the round 24 game between Warrington Wolves and Salford Red Devils on 11 September 2021. Warrington won the match 20–19, with a drop goal from George Williams, after the scores were tied at 19-all after 80 minutes.

Forfeited games

In June Castleford Tigers were forced to forfeit their round 12 match against St Helens. With only fourteen senior players available due to injury and COVID-19 precautions Castleford could not raise a team and forfeited the game. The RFL described it as "an unusual range of circumstances" but as less than seven of the absences were due to COVID-19 among the senior squad the match did not meet the criteria for postponement under the RFL's COVID-19 protocols. ^[22] For statistical recording and league placing the match was recorded as a 24–0 victory to St Helens. ^[23]

Huddersfield became the second Super League team to forfeit a game in 2021 when the round 13 match against Castleford was cancelled on 4 July. Huddersfield announced that they were missing 20+ players due to COVID-19 and injury but as the number unavailable due to COVID-19 was less than the minimum seven absences required for the game to be postponed under the RFL COVID-19 protocols, Huddersfield had to forfeit the match. ^[24]

Regular season table

When the season details were announced the original method was for the league to revert to the normal determination, (i.e. league points won). On 7 March 2021, the Rugby Football League (RFL) announced that, league positions would be determined as they were in 2020 with league position decided by win percentage (Win percentage = number of league points ÷ number of games played x 50). If two or more teams have equal win percentages, then position will be determined by points scored percentage (points scored ÷ points conceded x 100). ^[25]

To qualify for the play-offs, a team had to complete 70% of their scheduled fixtures (18 matches out of 25) – unless they earned a position, in the top six through league points despite having played fewer than 18 matches.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PP	Pts	PCT	Qualification [lower-alpha 1]
1	Catalans Dragons (L)	23	19	0	4	688	398	172.9	38	82.61	Semi-final
2	St. Helens (C)	21	16	0	5	548	229	239.3	32	76.19
3	Warrington Wolves	21	15	1	5	588	354	166.1	31	73.81	Elimination Semi-finals
4	Wigan Warriors	25	15	0	10	387	385	100.5	30	60.00
5	Leeds Rhinos	24	13	0	11	556	440	126.4	26	54.17
6	Hull Kingston Rovers	20	10	0	10	497	458	108.5	20	50.00
7	Castleford Tigers	23	11	0	12	437	552	79.2	22	47.83
8	Hull FC	21	8	1	12	409	476	85.9	17	40.48
9	Huddersfield Giants	24	9	0	15	460	516	89.1	18	37.50
10	Wakefield Trinity	24	9	0	15	482	548	88.0	18	37.50
11	Salford Red Devils	22	7	0	15	402	584	68.8	14	31.82
12	Leigh Centurions (R)	22	2	0	20	356	870	40.9	4	9.09	Relegated to the Championship

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) win percentage; 2) points scored percentage (points scored divided by points conceded).
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Teams must have played at least 70% of scheduled fixtures to qualify for the play-offs.

Play-offs

Main article: Super League XXVI results § Play-offs

See also: 2021 Super League Grand Final

The top 2 teams who finished first and second respectively in the regular season table (Catalans Dragons and St Helens respectively, had byes to the semi-finals. The four teams who finish third to sixth contested in two elimination finals, with the winner of those two games moving on to the semi-finals (Hull Kingston Rovers and Leeds Rhinos respectively). Catalans became the first non English team in Super League Era, to reach the Grand Final after they beat Hull Kingston Rovers 28–10 in the first semi-final on 30 September. ^[26]

Team bracket

	Eliminators					Semi-finals					Grand Final
						1	Catalans Dragons	28
	3	Warrington Wolves	0			6	Hull Kingston Rovers	10
	6	Hull Kingston Rovers	19								1	Catalans Dragons	10
											2	St Helens	12
						2	St Helens	36
	4	Wigan Warriors	0			5	Leeds Rhinos	8
	5	Leeds Rhinos	8

Week 1: Eliminators

23 September 2021 19:45 BST (UTC+01)

Wigan Warriors	0–8	Leeds Rhinos
	Report (RFL) Report (Sky Sports)	Tries: Handley 50' Goals: Martin 51', 74' (pen)

DW Stadium, Wigan Attendance: 7,396 [27] Referee: Robert Hicks

---

24 September 2021 19:45 BST (UTC+01)

Warrington Wolves	0–19	Hull Kingston Rovers
	Report (RFL) Report (Sky Sports)	Tries: Abdull 17' Lewis 48' Keinhorst 68' Goals: Abdull 18', 49', 57' (pen) Drop goals: Abdull 73'

Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington Attendance: 6,252 Referee: Liam Moore

Week 2: Semi-finals

30 September 2021 19:45 CEST (UTC+02)

Catalans Dragons	28–10	Hull Kingston Rovers
Tries: Garcia 9' Drinkwater 31' Mourgue 41' Yaha 62' Chan 68' Goals: Maloney 10', 32', 69', 80' (pen)	Report (RFL) Report (Sky Sports)	Tries: Kenny Dowall 35' Hall 75' Goals: Abdull 76'

Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan Attendance: 11,530 Referee: James Child

---

1 October 2021 19:45 BST (UTC+01)

St Helens	36–8	Leeds Rhinos
Tries: Grace 6' 78' Roby 24' Percival 51', 73' Naiqama 60' Goals: Coote 14' (pen), 22' (pen), 25', 61', 74', 79'	Report (RFL) Report (Sky Sports)	Tries: T. Briscoe 21' Myler 38' L. Briscoe 68'

Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens Attendance: 11,688 Referee: Chris Kendall

Week 3: Grand Final

Main article: 2021 Super League Grand Final

9 October 2021 18:00 BST (UTC+01)

Catalans Dragons	10–12	St Helens
Tries: McMeeken 50' Goals: Maloney 9' (pen), 27' (pen), 51'	Report (RFL) Report (Sky Sports)	Tries: Naiqama 13' 66 Makinson  45' Goals: Coote 21' (pen), 67'

Old Trafford, Manchester Attendance: 45,177 Referee: Liam Moore Harry Sunderland Award: Kevin Naiqama (St Helens)

Player statistics

Top 10 try scorers Rank Player Club Tries 1 Ken Sio Salford Red Devils 18 2= Ryan Hall Hull KR 16 Jake Mamo Warrington Wolves 4 Tom Davies Catalans Dragons 15 5= Fouad Yaha Catalans Dragons 14 Regan Grace St Helens 7= Jordan Turner Castleford Tigers 13 Adam Swift Hull FC Jack Welsby St Helens Jake Bibby Wigan Warriors Top 10 try assists Rank Player Club Assists 1 Josh Drinkwater Catalans Dragons 28 2 Jake Connor Hull FC 22 3 Sam Tomkins Catalans Dragons 20 4= Tui Lolohea Salford Red Devils 18 Jackson Hastings Wigan Warriors 6 Lachlan Coote St Helens 16 7= Niall Evalds Castleford Tigers 15 Richie Myler Leeds Rhinos Jacob Miller Wakefield Trinity 10= Kruise Leeming Leeds Rhinos 14 Jonny Lomax St Helens Harry Smith Wigan Warriors Top 10 goal scorers Rank Player Club Goals Missed Goals Drop Goals Goal Percentage 1 James Maloney Catalans Dragons 101 15 5 88% 2 Rhyse Martin Leeds Rhinos 83 15 0 83% 3 Mason Lino Wakefield Trinity 75 9 1 89% 4 Lachlan Coote St Helens 72 19 0 79% 5 Stefan Ratchford Warrington Wolves 71 14 82% 6 Marc Sneyd Hull FC 60 15 2 80% 7 Danny Richardson Castleford Tigers 46 11 3 80% 8 Jordan Abdull Hull KR 43 17 0 82% 9 Krisnan Inu Salford Red Devils 42 10 1 80% 10 Oliver Russell Huddersfield Giants 32 9 0 78% Top 10 points scorers Rank Player Club Points 1 James Maloney Catalans Dragons 245 2 Lachlan Coote St Helens 188 3 Mason Lino Wakefield Trinity 171 4 Rhyse Martin Leeds Rhinos 166 5 Stefan Ratchford Warrington Wolves 146 6 Marc Sneyd Hull FC 122 7 Jordan Abdull Hull KR 114 8 Danny Richardson Castleford Tigers 99 10 Ryan Brierley Leigh Centurions 98 10 Krisnan Inu Salford Red Devils 96 Updated to match(es) played on 5 September 2021 (Round 23)

Discipline

Red Cards Rank Player Club Red Cards 1= Joe Greenwood Huddersfield Giants 1 Josh Jones Andre Savelio Hull FC Korbin Sims Hull KR Pauli Pauli Salford Red Devils Jack Ashworth Leigh Centurions Bodene Thompson Leeds Rhinos Tommy Makinson St Helens Mike Cooper Warrington Wolves Zak Hardaker Wigan Warriors Brad Singleton

Yellow Cards Rank Player Club Yellow Cards 1 James Bentley St Helens 4 2 Richie Myler Leeds Rhinos 3 3= Jesse Sene-Lefao Castleford Tigers 2 Peter Mata'utia James Maloney Catalans Dragons Oliver Russell Huddersfield Giants Ligi Sao Hull FC Carlos Tuimavave James Bell Leigh Centurions Ryan Lannon Salford Red Devils James Bentley St Helens John Bateman Wigan Warriors Willie Isa 14= George Griffin Castleford Tigers 1 Danny Richardson Jason Baitieri Catalans Dragons Julian Bousquet Joe Chan Josh Drinkwater Gil Dudson Sam Kasiano Michael Mcilorum Joel Tomkins Sam Tomkins Leroy Cudjoe Huddersfield Giants Chris McQueen Kenny Edwards Jake Connor Hull FC Bureta Faraimo Jordan Johnstone Josh Reynolds Chris Satae Marc Sneyd Scott Taylor Luis Johnson Hull KR George King George Lawler Matt Parcell Brad Takairangi Albert Vete Luke Gale Leeds Rhinos Robert Lui Matt Prior Liam Sutcliffe Zane Tetevano Chris Atkin Salford Red Devils Greg Burke Morgan Escare Ata Hingano Sebastine Ikahihifo Tui Lolohea Jack Wells Sione Mata'utia St Helens Mark Percival James Batchelor Wakefield Trinity Chris Green Mason Lino Jacob Miller Tom Lineham Warrington Wolves Jake Mamo Gareth Widdop Liam Byrne Wigan Warriors Liam Farrell Oliver Partington Kai Pearce-Paul Morgan Smithies

• Updated to match(es) played on 30 August 2021 (Round 22)

Attendances

Club attendances Club Home Games Total Average Highest Lowest Castleford Tigers 2 3,600 1,800 3,600 3,600 Catalans Dragons 3 1,000 500 1,000 1,000 Huddersfield Giants 2 Hull FC 3 5,527 1,842 5,527 5,527 Hull KR 2 Leeds Rhinos 3 4,000 1,333 4,000 4,000 Leigh Centurions 2 3,708 1,854 2,008 1,700 Salford Red Devils 2 4,000 2,000 4,000 4,000 St Helens 2 4,000 2,000 4,000 4,000 Wakefield Trinity 2 Warrington Wolves 2 8,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 Wigan Warriors 2

Top 10 attendances Rank Home club Away club Stadium Attendance 1 Magic Weekend: Day 1 St James' Park 35,104 2 Magic Weekend: Day 2 St James' Park 25,762 3 Wigan Warriors St Helens DW Stadium 16,319 4 Hull FC Hull KR MKM Stadium 15,000 5 Leeds Rhinos Castleford Tigers Emerald Headingley 10,838 6 Wigan Warriors Salford Red Devils DW Stadium 9,434 7 Wigan Warriors Leigh Centurions DW Stadium 9,206 8 Warrington Wolves Wigan Warriors Halliwell Jones Stadium 8,014 9 Wigan Warriors Wakefield Trinity DW Stadium 5,555 10 Wigan Warriors Warrington Wolves DW Stadium 5,537

End-of-season awards

The Super League end of season awards were announced on 4 October. The award winners were:

• Steve Prescott Man of Steel: Sam Tomkins (Catalans Dragons)
• Woman of Steel: Jodie Cunningham (St Helens)
• Coach of the year: Steve McNamara (Catalans Dragons)
• Top tackler: Joe Shorrocks (Wigan Warriors) 833 Tackles
• Top Metre-maker: Tom Davies (Catalans Dragons) 3,332 Meters
• Top Try Scorer: Ken Sio (Salford) 19 Tries
• Young player of the year: Jack Welsby (St Helens)
• Spirit of Super League: Kevin Sinfield

Steve Prescott Man of Steel Nominees

Rank	Player	Club
1	Sam Tomkins	Catalans Dragons
2	Jordan Abdull	Hull KR
3	Jake Connor	Hull FC
4	Jonny Lomax	St Helens
5	Gareth Widdop	Warrington Wolves
Here are the 5 nominees for the 2021 Steve Prescott Man Of Steel

Notes

1. Attendance for games in France were limited to 1,000 during the latter half of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This figure does not include games played behind closed doors during the first half of the season.

References

1. "2021 Season Start Date". rugby-league.com. 14 January 2021.
2. "2021 Betfred Super League Season to start 11 March". Betfred Super League. 2020-11-26. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
3. "Leigh Centurions To Play In Super League In 2021". superleague.co.uk. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
4. "Catalans Dragons become first non English team to reach Grand Final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
5. "2021 Regulatory update". www.superleague.co.uk. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
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7. Thompson, Doug (8 March 2021). "Percentages and postponements". Rugby Leaguer & League Express . No. 9,267. p. 3.
8. "The Jungle (Wheldon Road)". castlefordtigers.com.
9. "Stade Gilbert Brutus". catalan dragons.com.
10. "Kirklees Stadium". johnsmithsstadium.com.
11. "KCOM Stadium". kcomstadium.com/.
12. "Craven Park, Hull". hullkr.co.uk.
13. "Headingley Rugby Stadium". therhinos.co.uk. 14 December 2016.
14. "AJ Bell Stadium". ajbellstadium.co.uk/.
15. "Totally Wicked Stadium". saintsrlfc.com.
16. "Belle Vue (Wakefield)". wakefieldtrinity.com.
17. "Halliwell Jones Stadium". halliwelljonesstadium.co.uk/.
18. "DW Stadium". dwstadium.com.
19. Darbyshire, Drew (19 February 2021). "Super League confirm round two schedule, fixtures to support Mose Masoe". LoveRugbyLeague. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
20. Bazeley, Marc (31 March 2021). "Mose Masoe humbled by level of support from Super League and beyond after life-changing injury". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
21. "Super League: Hull Kingston Rovers 25-24 Huddersfield Giants - Hull KR score seven-second try". BBC Sport. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
22. Thomson, Doug (29 June 2021). "Castleford v St Helens called off". Total RL. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
23. "Super League: Castleford unable to raise team, St Helens awarded Wednesday win as Covid-19 postponement threshold not met". Sky Sports. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
24. "Cas awarded win after Giants call-off". BBC Sport. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
25. "Betfred Super League and Challenge Cup 2021 | Regulatory Update". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
26. "Betfred Super League | Play-off Structure".
27. "Super League play-offs 2021: Leeds Rhinos edge out Wigan Warriors 8-0 to book semis spot".