Super League elite begin eliminator enthralment

Sam Burgess led Warrington to third place in Super League and the Challenge Cup final in his first season as a head coach

The final stretch of the 2024 Super League season has begun and the race to the Grand Final starts with this week's elimination play-offs.

Third-placed Warrington Wolves are joined by Salford Red Devils, Leigh Leopards and St Helens with two places in next week's semi-finals at stake.

But who will join League Leaders' Shield winners Wigan Warriors and second-placed Hull KR - and put themselves 80 minutes from the Grand Final?

BBC Sport takes a look at the four teams involved in this week's eliminators and speaks to those in charge as they gear up for another stellar weekend of knockout rugby league.

'More on the line' as Warrington host Saints

It has been an impressive first season in coaching for rugby league legend Sam Burgess.

The South Sydney star arrived back in his native England at the start of 2024 to take the reins at Warrington and has turned around their fortunes after a disappointing 2023 campaign.

Under Burgess' stewardship, the Wire reached the Challenge Cup final, where they were beaten by Wigan, but he has guided them to a third-place finish and a play-off eliminator tie against St Helens - live on BBC Two on Saturday (17:30 BST).

"We understand there's more at stake now but we've spent the past 10 months building our game and identity," he told BBC Sport.

"Nothing will change too much - there's just more on the line, but we'll handle the pressure of that and look forward to having another three weeks together and getting our performances on the field as best as we can."

Despite Warrington's impressive season, during which they only missed out on second position and a bye to the semi-finals by two points to Hull KR, Burgess says his side are only getting started.

"We've not really done much yet," he added. "We've certainly grown as a group. I'm proud of all the players and we've improved through the year.

"We've got a long way to go as a group. I've not had enough time to reflect as yet. We're all hard at work trying to get towards the end so we're just focusing our energy on that."

Jack Welsby (centre) was one of St Helens' absences this season, missing all of August with a hamstring injury

Warrington's battle with St Helens is certain to be a bruising end to the campaign for whichever team loses but both sides have impressive pedigree.

The Wolves have three men in the Super League Dream Team in Matt Dufty, Matty Ashton and Danny Walker while Matty Lees represents St Helens.

That St Helens reached the top six is an impressive feat for Paul Wellens' side given the sheer number of injuries they have had this season.

Formerly the dominant side in Super League, Saints' reign came to an end last term as Wigan took their crown, with absences making parts of the 2024 campaign a struggle.

However, Wellens says he has a more optimistic outlook for the short trip to Warrington.

"In terms of the health of the squad we're probably in as good a position as we have been for some time," he told BBC Sport.

"That's encouraging, knowing that we're going into an important game for us."

Despite their achievement in reaching the top six, Wellens knows having players return is one thing, but getting them to perform is another.

"It's one thing getting players back but it's another thing players getting up to speed," he continued.

"In the past few weeks we've had players who have returned and had the opportunity to get out there and get some strong minutes under their belts, particularly against Leigh in what was a really high-intensity game."

Rowley proud of Salford 'entertainers' label

Salford boss Paul Rowley is no stranger to exceeding expectations with the Red Devils, having led the club to the play-offs in his debut season in charge with an impressive sixth-placed finish in 2022 before narrowly missing out in seventh last term.

This year, though, they finished fourth in the table - an incredible feat given the club's modest budget.

"For us, a fourth-placed finish is a fantastic achievement and we don't want the journey to end," Rowley told BBC Radio Manchester.

"We're up against Leigh, our nearest neighbours. We're probably the underdogs of the teams in and around us. Both teams have provided a lot of value to Super League and a lot of excitement and underdog spirit."

Salford's upward trajectory in recent years is a sight to behold for their fans, having reached the Grand Final against the odds in 2019 and finished in the top six on two occasions since then.

A bumper crowd is expected when they host Leigh on Friday and Rowley says that is testament to their brand of rugby league.

"The product itself is the biggest attraction - we don't need any gimmicks, the product is there and that's all we need to sell," he added.

"That's important to us. We like to entertain. We've been called the entertainers and the disruptors so we take pride out of both of those tags."

Rowley labelled Salford's eliminator with Leigh a battle of the underdogs and the Leopards, like Saints have done incredibly well to make the play-offs.

Adrian Lam's side lost their first three games on the bounce and were beaten in seven of their first nine in all competitions, but won a remarkable 10 of their final 12 games to reach the play-offs.

Their final game of the regular season was an emphatic victory against St Helens - a win that meant they leapfrogged their opponents into fifth position.

Asked by BBC Radio Manchester if winning against Saints felt like a play-off game in itself, Lam said: "It's been like that in the second half of the season. Obviously where we were on the ladder, every game was important to us.

"Looking back, even [against Saints] on Friday night, had we slipped up one more time from round 12 to the end of the season, we wouldn't have been in a position to give ourselves a chance to be in the six."

Since winning promotion to Super League in 2022 under Lam, the Leopards have won the Challenge Cup and finished in the play-offs in successive seasons - but to do so this term on the back of a long list of injuries at the beginning of the campaign makes it all the more sweeter.

"We've been through a difficult time at the start of the year with so many injuries but we rallied really well, kept the belief and trust and Friday night was an amazing night for us as a club," Lam added.

"More importantly for our fans, and for the players that are leaving, there was certainly a big celebration after it to say goodbye and give [them] a fitting farewell."

Super League play-off dates

Eliminator 1

Friday, 27 September - Salford Red Devils v Leigh Leopards (20:00 BST)

Eliminator 2

Saturday, 28 September - Warrington Wolves v St Helens (17:30 BST - Live on BBC Two)

Semi-final 1

Friday, 4 October - Hull KR v highest-ranked winner from eliminators (20:00 BST)

Semi-final 2

Saturday, 5 October - Wigan Warriors v lowest-ranked winner from eliminators (17:30 BST - live on BBC Two)

Grand Final

Saturday, 12 October (18:00 BST)