Super League has drama it craves in season finale

Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet knows his side are on the verge of retaining the League Leaders' Shield

For the second year in succession, there is much still to be decided in Super League as the regular season hurtles to a finish.

Theoretically, top spot is still up for grabs as it was last year with three teams then involved.

This year there is still a challenge, albeit with Wigan Warriors in the box seat to retain that crown despite Hull KR's best efforts.

Below them, there is a real shootout for the last top-four spot, and for the play-off picture in general with the make up of the complete six yet to be confirmed.

The play-offs, which end with the Grand Final at Old Trafford on 12 October, feature all top six clubs with the top two going straight to the semi-finals.

The other four clubs play off with the third- and fourth-placed teams given home eliminators, with the highest-ranked team playing the lowest and the winners completing the semis.

Saturday's fixture between Hull FC and Catalans Dragons (15:00 BST) will be streamed on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, where you can also watch highlights of all of the final round of games.

Robins' hopes skewered?

Wigan have shown themselves to be the most consistent team of 2024 by virtue of leading the Super League table after 26 rounds, although Hull KR are only two points below them.

Their defeat by the reigning champions earlier this month was a dent to their bid for top spot, as it allowed Wigan to open up a buffer at the summit.

Meanwhile, the Cherry and Whites last finished top of the table in back-to-back seasons as the winter era finally subsided in 1996.

St Helens are the only side to have backed up and retained the regular season 'minor premiership', and adding another trophy to the succession of silverware is a major incentive for head coach Matt Peet's Wigan squad.

"There's a bit of different history as we've won it a few times before but back-to-back has not been done before," loose forward Kaide Ellis told BBC Radio Manchester.

"It's not something we've spoken about throughout the year but as it gets closer you become aware of those things, what you can really do and putting your name in history becomes a really important conversation to have."

Hull KR boss Willie Peters has transformed the club's fortunes since his arrival

There has been some consternation after Salford Red Devils named a much-changed squad for their revised Thursday night game with the Warriors, but there is little complaint from Hull KR head coach Willie Peters, who said it was "none of our business" how Salford prepared.

"All we can control is what we can control, which is playing and getting a result on Friday," he told BBC Radio Humberside.

Should Hull KR slip up against Leeds Rhinos, the door would be open for Warrington Wolves to climb into the top two and gain a home semi-final and put themselves 80 minutes from Old Trafford.

The Wire play London Broncos, whose concerns are a little more pressing at the opposite end of the table.

All in for the six

Salford have already booked their play-off place, but they have a shorter turnaround after their game was moved to Thursday.

With a tricky play-off fixture to prepare for, coach Paul Rowley has taken the chance to give his frontline players some valuable rest.

They begin the round in fourth spot on 32 points and as it stands that would earn them a home eliminator fixture, but that could all change depending on the result between Leigh Leopards and St Helens on Friday.

The Leopards have been the ultimate slow-burner, improving as their big-name players returned and storming to nine wins from 10 games before their scoreless dismantling by Hull KR last time out. A win over Saints would put them on 31 points for a fifth-placed finish.

In the event of a loss, St Helens would stay in the play-offs unless Leeds beat Hull KR by a seismic margin and tipped them out, but a victory over Leigh would propel them into the top four by virtue of their impressive points difference.

Last season's Grand Finalists Catalans Dragons need to beat Hull FC on Saturday and for Saints and Hull KR to have both won to sneak into the top six.

Any other scenario... they will need a monstrous score margin in the 100s in East Yorkshire to have any chance of pipping any of the teams above them.

Bottom side Hull FC safe due to grading

Wins have been hard to come by for Hull FC this term, having sealed victory on three occasions from 26 Super League fixtures

The bottom of the Super League table has become a major storyline in itself, given the move to a licencing structure based on mixed criteria rather than the promotion and relegation system which had been reinstated in Super League back in 2015.

Strategic partners IMG put together a proposal to introduce criteria with the intention of raising standards across the board, not just on the field, which was approved by a majority of clubs.

It meant three years worth of data around fanbase, facilities, online engagement and even on-field success was submitted, and on the back of that each club received a grading figure out of 20, with any club receiving an 15+ score obtaining an A-grade and automatically receiving a Super League spot.

London Broncos' promotion to the top flight in 2023 was a metaphorical tipping up of the apple cart, coming as it did after a remarkable yet unlikely run of form to upset Toulouse in the final.

They were promoted with an indicative grading of 8.07, and ranked 24th out of 35 clubs to be eligible. It was a situation which suggested their fate was sealed before a ball was kicked or passed.

Having endured a nomadic existence within the period of the data and also shifted from full-time to part-time following relegation in 2019, those metrics were lower, while the club were disappointed their catchment area was not given more credence as the only professional club now in the capital.

There have been positive developments made such as sealing a deal with AFC Wimbledon to groundshare at the Plough Lane Stadium.

Yet Broncos head coach Mike Eccles and his side have given their all in Super League and while late promotion via play-offs always has an impact on recruitment in terms of time to prepare, they have sought to be competitive.

'You've got to treat London differently'

Mike Eccles has steered London Broncos to 11th position in Super League with one game remaining

Their plight, a struggle against the weight of expectation to be relegated, is at odds with the side they are vying to avoid the wooden spoon with.

Hull FC were given A-grade status in the indicative gradings for 2024, and that safety net has coincided with a season of major underachievement.

They have wasted little time in recruiting for 2025 with a slew of players signed up, but in the process the 2024 season has been allowed to stagnate and wilt, with several of their pre-season imports moved on after disappointing output.

Interim coach Simon Grix has been forced to put young promising players into a tough environment of losses, and use loan arrivals to get the squad through their fixtures.

"There's so much context within how we've gone on this season," Grix told BBC Radio Humberside before the Salford game last weekend. "The team from where we looked in round one against Hull KR at home is now completely different.

"There's been a lot going on in that time, it's been challenging. It's been a tough old year."

While Hull FC might have chance to take stock and regroup over the offseason as a Super League club despite this nadir of a campaign, for London, that is currently not an option.

Eccles, himself from the heartlands of rugby league but an evangelist of the London presence given his time invested there, wants IMG to take a different look at the capital, which they previously highlighted as an important growth area.

“I’m very happy to put my name to this. You have got to treat London differently: there has to be an exemption," he told Love Rugby League.

“It’s a different world down here. We cut our cloth accordingly, we produce players on par with the best academies in the game and we’ve got a home where we can build. Things are different down here.”