AFTER their hard-fought 10-6 victory against Wigan on Friday night, Hull KR now look certain to win the League Leaders’ Shield.
With five matches left to play, they are six points ahead of second-placed Wigan with a significantly superior points difference.
It would be astonishing if their form now collapsed and they didn’t win the Shield.
But of course the key question is whether they can go on to win the Grand Final.
Many Rugby League supporters, including the Robins’ fans and those fans who don’t support other clubs that will be in the play-offs, will be hoping they can. Many people who don’t support Wigan, St Helens or Leeds would like to see a new name on the Super League trophy.
At the end of the regular season it will be the 23rd time that the League Leaders’ Shield will have been presented, since it was first handed over to Bradford Bulls in 2003.
But how many of the previous 22 have gone on to win the Grand Final?
The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is eleven, exactly half.
Bradford did it in 2003. Since then St Helens have won both trophies in the same year four times, while Wigan and Leeds have each done it three times. For Wigan, of course, that includes the last two seasons.
Of the teams that failed to go on and win the Grand Final, St Helens have failed on four occasions, Wigan and Warrington twice each, while Huddersfield, Castleford and Catalans have failed to win the Grand Final once each after winning the League Leaders’ Shield.
The following teams won the Shield, but failed to reach the Grand Final: St Helens (2005), Warrington (2011), Wigan (2012), Huddersfield (2013), St Helens (2018).
So, to sum up, the team winning the Shield in the last 22 years reached the Grand Final in 17 of those years, and actually won the Grand Final in eleven of those years.
As we have seen with Huddersfield (2013), Castleford (2017) and Catalans (2021), it’s very difficult for a new team to break through to win the Grand Final. But one day it surely has to happen. And this year the Robins look up for it.
They have a remarkable resolve, although their performance on Friday night suggests that they still have a lot to do to sharpen their attack.
They dominated possession and territory against a misfiring Wigan, but could only win by four points.
In the play-offs that form won’t be good enough.
Of course Willie Peters will know that more than anyone.
Wingers shine
UNFORTUNATELY because of Salford cancelling their match against Wakefield, there were only five matches in Super League round 22.
Three matches were closely contested, while two were one-sided encounters.
Altogether there were 37 tries, of which 13 were scored by wingers, with Tommy Makinson grabbing a hat-trick for Catalans against Warrington before he had to leave the field with injury.
It’s interesting (at least for me) to note that the three tightly contested games at Warrington, Wigan and Hull had 16 tries between them, of which eight were scored by wingers.
That tends to suggest that the tighter the game is, the more likely it is to be won by tries scored by wingers. And I don’t think there would be much argument about the fact that wingers tend to score the most spectacular tries.
On Thursday night Jake Thewlis scored a remarkable try for Warrington that drew them level with the Catalans in the second half, contorting his body quite remarkably to somehow touch down in the corner.
We adjudged that try to be the League Express Try of the Week, both for its brilliance and for its significance at that point in the game.
Owen Dagnall scored a brilliant individual try for St Helens against Huddersfield on Sunday afternoon, which came from a move that began from a play-the-ball deep within St Helens’ own half.
I’ve said before that I think tries originating from a play-the-ball in a team’s own half should be awarded a bonus point – in other words a five-point try.
That would be a similar ethos to the NRL awarding a two-point field-goal when it is kicked from beyond the 40-metre line.
A fitting tribute to Ray
Unfortunately I couldn’t get to Ray French’s funeral in St Helens on Friday, but around 800 people did attend, with many of them unable to get inside the church at which Ray’s funeral was held.
Ray’s son Gary gave a speech about his father and St Helens Chairman Eamonn McManus also addressed the congregation. There were lots of amusing stories, apparently, and I’m told it was a joyful occasion, rather than a sad one.
It was great to see the St Helens teams forming a guard of honour as Ray’s coffin approached the church.
And on Sunday afternoon the BBC gave a fitting tribute at half-time of the game between Saints and Huddersfield, which reminded us of just how many great tries Ray had commentated upon by superstars like Jonathan Davies, Martin Offiah, Ellery Hanley, Henderson Gill and many others.
It was quite a career!
Panthers’ disabled supporters
Halifax Panthers Disabled Supporters Club has recently come into existence as the first Rugby League supporters’ club to be aimed at disabled people.
The main aims of the new Supporters Club are to:
– Maintain direct links with Halifax Panthers RLFC on all matters relating to disability and our disabled supporters.
– Ensure that disabled fans have a clear voice and are actively represented in decisions that affect their matchday experience.
– Represent the group in discussions with the Halifax RL Independent Supporters Trust.
– Improve the lived experience for supporters through ongoing consultation, advocacy, and collaboration.
– Support Halifax Panthers’ IMG grading under the Community and Fandom pillars by demonstrating active engagement and inclusion.
Their first meeting will be on Tuesday 26th August 2025 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
Anyone wanting more information should contact Malcolm Kielty via email at malcolm.kielty@outlook.com.
A trip to Newcastle
Finally, the Women’s Super League game this weekend between York Valkyrie and Wigan Warriors will be played prior to Newcastle Thunder’s game against Whitehaven at Blaydon RFC on Sunday.
The WSL game will kick off at 1.00pm, with the League One game following at 4.00pm.
It’s being played as a result of the new partnership between York and Newcastle.
I hope they get a great audience.