Qualifiers: The 'wacky' scramble for Super League spots in 2019
- Published
Toronto Wolfpack are aiming to win back-to-back promotions from League One to Super League in their first two years as a professional club
It has been a wacky race across three countries and two continents for the past six weeks in rugby league's Qualifiers.
There have been twists and turns that have left Super League clubs Leeds (last year's Grand Final winners), Hull KR and Salford Red Devils clinging on for survival in the top division, and have already condemned Widnes to relegation.
Three Championship clubs from as diverse locations as London, Toulouse and Toronto know that at least one of them, and possibly two, will be going up.
How it works
The Super 8 Qualifiers throw together the bottom four clubs from Super League and the top four from the Championship, after they have played a regular season in their respective leagues, to create a new mini-league.
The top three from the Qualifiers go into Super League the following year, the bottom three go into the Championship, and the teams finishing fourth and fifth play off in the "Million Pound Game" to determine the final Super League competitor.
Its complexity and volatility is one of the reasons why clubs recently voted to get rid of the Super 8s from next season. From 2019, it will be a more straight-forward "one up, one down" system.
But while this current crazy, washing machine-type approach to settling promotion and relegation tosses and turns the clubs involved one final time, us neutrals can sit back and enjoy the delicious unpredictability of the outcome of the final round of fixtures.
One thing is certain - Halifax and Widnes will finish in the bottom two spots in the Qualifiers and will both be in the Championship next year.
Nobody at Widnes can complain about their demise. They were a country mile adrift at the bottom of the Super League table at the end of the regular season.
But the other six teams have it all to play for.
Remaining fixtures
Salford Red Devils v Toulouse (Thursday, 27 September, 19:45 BST, live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra)
Leeds Rhinos v Toronto Wolfpack (Friday, 28 September, 19:45 BST, live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra)
London Broncos v Halifax (Saturday, 29 September, 19:05 BST)
Hull KR v Widnes Vikings (Sunday, 30 September, 15:00 BST)
SALFORD: If they beat Toulouse, they will be safe. It would give them 10 points from seven games and a superior points difference that will seal a place in the top three. If they lose, they will be hoping that either Toronto or Hull KR slip up in their last game, otherwise the Red Devils will be in the Million Pound Game.
TOULOUSE: If they lose, the probability is they will be out of the promotion reckoning. If they win, they have a chance of automatic promotion, but would need Toronto and Hull KR to both lose their games and for London not to rattle up a big score in their last game. Their best hope is probably to claim a place in the Million Pound Game.
LEEDS: Last year's champions are top of the Qualifiers with five wins from six games and should be safe, but there is a scenario that could still see them relegated. If they lose to Toronto by 32 points or more and Hull KR beat Widnes by a big, but not impossible margin, the Rhinos could yet be sucked into the Million Pound Game reckoning. That is highly unlikely, though.
TORONTO: The Wolfpack could claim automatic promotion, could be in the Million Pound Game, or could miss out altogether. If the Canadians beat Leeds by more than 32 points they are definitely up. A win, by any margin, would put them in a very strong position, but they would still potentially have a nervous wait to see if Hull KR can pip them on points difference. The likeliest scenario is that rugby league's newest and furthest-flung professional club will be in the Million Pound Game.
London Broncos last played in Super League in 2014, when they were relegated alongside Bradford Bulls
LONDON: The Broncos start the final round of games sixth but will go into their match against Halifax as favourites to win and win big. They will need to. Claiming a place in the top three is probably too much of a long shot for them, but it is not impossible. More likely, they will be hoping to win and that Toulouse lose at Salford, which would confirm a Million Pound Game spot for London.
HALIFAX: They have the smallest budget in the Qualifiers and, despite some heroic performances, they have failed to pick up a point so far. Their triumph this year has been in actually reaching the Championship's top four again, beating off some bigger clubs to get there. They are back in the Championship next year.
HULL KR: Promoted to Super League last year, they are desperate not to go straight back down. If they beat Widnes and either Toronto or Salford have lost, then they will be in the top three and confirm their place in next year's Super League. Even if Toronto have won, they could still overhaul them on points difference. Lose and they could be relegated automatically or find themselves in the Million Pound Game, depending on other results. They have a huge advantage, though, as they play on Sunday after everyone else has played, so they will know exactly what they have to do. And they are playing a demoralised Widnes who are already doomed, not that that is likely to settle any Rovers nerves.
WIDNES: After a seven-year stay in the top flight, they are definitely relegated after a disastrous season. They finished rock bottom of Super League - for the second season in a row - in a year that saw them lose 17 games on the bounce in one wretched run. Relegation may be a blessing for a club that will now try to rebuild and bounce back.
My prediction...
Well, it is a mug's game to try to make any predictions in what has been a nerve-tingling, breathtaking series of matches in the Qualifiers.
Last weekend, for example, three of the Championship sides - Toronto, Toulouse and London - all beat Super League opposition.
But I reckon Leeds, Salford and Hull KR should be safe, with London and Toronto playing off in the Million Pound Game.
But then again, anything can happen.