We are now ten games into the 2026 Super League season and it’s time to take stock of progress so far.
Overall the 14-team competition has been successful, with the three new clubs that were elevated into Super League before the start of the competition each having won three games with few humiliating defeats.
So far we have had 69 matches and ten of them have ended with victory margins of 40 points or more.
Defeats by margins of that size have been suffered by seven clubs: Leigh (against Wigan), Hull KR (against Leeds), Castleford (against Warrington, Hull FC and Hull KR), St Helens (against Hull KR), Toulouse (against Hull KR), Bradford (against Wakefield and Hull KR), Catalans (against Leeds).
So of the promoted clubs, York haven’t suffered any 40-point defeats, while Toulouse have suffered one and Bradford two.
At the other end of last year’s Super League table, Hull KR, Leigh and St Helens have suffered one each.
The attendances have been reasonable, the viewing figures have been good (in so far as we know what they are), we have seen plenty of highlights and great individual performances.
Here’s how I think each team has fared so far this season.
BRADFORD BULLS were able to assemble a useful squad that has unfortunately been hit hard by injuries. They only had eight of their top 17 squad numbers in their squad that lost to Wigan last weekend, after they started the season so well, with home wins against Catalans, Toulouse and Huddersfield and narrow defeats at Hull FC and St Helens in the first five rounds of the competition while playing an attractive brand of rugby. Those results revealed their potential, but with so many star players still out for several more weeks, they will struggle to climb the table from their current eleventh place.
CASTLEFORD TIGERS have suffered more heavy defeats than any other club, and yet they registered one of the surprise results of the season when they triumphed at Wigan in Round 8. The Tigers began the season with 13 new recruits and their results so far has seen their recruitment policy put under the microscope, although one player who has been an undoubted success has been centre Krystian Mapapalangi, while stand-off Adam Weaver has done his best to turn their fortunes around. The Tigers currently sit in thirteenth place in the table and their coach Ryan Carr faces a tough challenge if he is going to turn them around.
CATALANS DRAGONS have reportedly reduced their salary cap this season and their varying fortunes in the first ten rounds suggest they are an enigma, having secured good wins against Leigh away and Hull KR and Warrington at home, while slumping to some heavy defeats at home by St Helens and Leigh. Halfbacks Toby Sexton and Lewis Dodd have formed a useful combination but they need reinforcements in their middle forwards if they are to mount a challenge from their current eighth place in the Super League table.
HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS sit at the bottom of the Super League table with just two wins, including at Wigan, but with several heavy defeats. They lost their first five games under their former coach Luke Robinson, who was shown the door before the Giants then looked set for a revival with two successive wins, before reverting to type and losing their next three. It’s difficult to be optimistic about their chances of moving away from the basement.
HULL FC is another club that flatters to deceive all too often. Lying in ninth place with just four wins, and minus John Cartwright, their toothless performance in losing at home to Toulouse last week came nine days after they travelled to Castleford and thrashed the Tigers 50-10. They lose too many home games to be serious contenders.
HULL KR made a terrible start to the season, losing to York and then being hammered by Leeds in Las Vegas before losing to Catalans in Round 5. But since then they have won five in a row with some impressive scorelines and they lie in fourth place with a game in hand on their rivals. It would be foolish to bet against their chances of winning the League Leaders’ Shield for the second successive season.
LEEDS RHINOS currently look like the team to beat, sitting proudly at the top of the table with eight wins and an impressive 192 points difference. The Rhinos suffered early-season defeats to Leigh and Hull FC, but they have now won five games in a row, including a crucial clash against Warrington. Their form is being driven by their spine players, with Lachie Miller, Brodie Croft and Jake Connor hugely influential in their success.
LEIGH LEOPARDS began the season with a home win against Leeds Rhinos but then ran into injury problems while losing four of their next five games, including a 54-0 thrashing at Wigan. However, with several top players returning they have now won three successive games and sit just outside the play-off places in seventh spot. And their support is still hugely impressive, as their fans demonstrated in Perpignan last weekend.
ST HELENS appointed Paul Rowley as their new coach at the start of the season and that decision has been fully justified by their results, with the club lying second in the league with eight wins from ten. And that achievement is even more impressive because it has come in the midst of an injury crisis, with teenagers like Jake Davies having shown tremendous promise and experienced stars like Tristan Sailor having a huge influence on the team’s progress, although their heavy Challenge Cup semi-final defeat by Wigan shows that there is still plenty of work to do.
TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE began the season with two straight wins, but then they had to wait until Round 10 for their third. With only half the distribution that goes to the other clubs, Toulouse were expected to struggle. And yet they could have had several more wins with as little more luck and they have one of the outstanding players in Super League so far in Olly Ashall Bott.
WAKEFIELD TRINITY finished sixth in Super League in 2025 and they are on a mission to improve that position this year. They currently lie in sixth place with six wins from their ten games, but they have fallen narrowly short against other leading contenders such as Warrington, St Helens and Leeds. Their coach Daryl Powell will be hoping for some big scalps as the season unfolds.
WARRINGTON WOLVES have enjoyed a fine season so far, with seven wins from nine – their only defeats coming against the Catalans and Leeds – with the coaching combination of Sam Burgess and Steve McNamara clearly working well. They have already played most of the top teams in the competition and, despite losing their captain George Williams to long-term injury, they looked well placed to mount a strong challenge for the League Leaders’ Shield, although their limitations were on display in Sunday’s Challenge Cup semi-final defeat to Hull KR. In recent seasons they have started well but stumbled badly and they can’t afford to do that again.
WIGAN WARRIORS began the season with five straight wins, but then they lost Bevan French and they suffered four straight defeats before the visit of Bradford last weekend, when youngster George Marsden demonstrated that the famous Academy production line at the club is still doing its job. With French back in the fold, we can expect normal service to be resumed at The Brick Community Stadium, although George Farrimond showed in Saturday’s Challenge Cup semi-final defeat of St Helens that he is ready for a regular first-team spot.
YORK KNIGHTS had the best possible debut in Super League when they defeated Hull KR in the opening game of the season. Inevitably it was difficult to maintain that standard but they have done well to record three wins out of ten and they now sit in tenth place in Super League. They have shown great spirit under the guidance of Mark Applegarth and they look capable of gaining more wins as the season unfolds. Of the three newly elevated clubs, they look to have the potential to be the highest finisher in Super League.
So far we have had 69 matches and ten of them have ended with victory margins of 40 points or more.
Defeats by margins of that size have been suffered by seven clubs: Leigh (against Wigan), Hull KR (against Leeds), Castleford (against Warrington, Hull FC and Hull KR), St Helens (against Hull KR), Toulouse (against Hull KR), Bradford (against Wakefield and Hull KR), Catalans (against Leeds).
So of the promoted clubs, York haven’t suffered any 40-point defeats, while Toulouse have suffered one and Bradford two.
At the other end of last year’s Super League table, Hull KR, Leigh and St Helens have suffered one each.
The attendances have been reasonable, the viewing figures have been good (in so far as we know what they are), we have seen plenty of highlights and great individual performances.
Here’s how I think each team has fared so far this season.
BRADFORD BULLS were able to assemble a useful squad that has unfortunately been hit hard by injuries. They only had eight of their top 17 squad numbers in their squad that lost to Wigan last weekend, after they started the season so well, with home wins against Catalans, Toulouse and Huddersfield and narrow defeats at Hull FC and St Helens in the first five rounds of the competition while playing an attractive brand of rugby. Those results revealed their potential, but with so many star players still out for several more weeks, they will struggle to climb the table from their current eleventh place.
CASTLEFORD TIGERS have suffered more heavy defeats than any other club, and yet they registered one of the surprise results of the season when they triumphed at Wigan in Round 8. The Tigers began the season with 13 new recruits and their results so far has seen their recruitment policy put under the microscope, although one player who has been an undoubted success has been centre Krystian Mapapalangi, while stand-off Adam Weaver has done his best to turn their fortunes around. The Tigers currently sit in thirteenth place in the table and their coach Ryan Carr faces a tough challenge if he is going to turn them around.
CATALANS DRAGONS have reportedly reduced their salary cap this season and their varying fortunes in the first ten rounds suggest they are an enigma, having secured good wins against Leigh away and Hull KR and Warrington at home, while slumping to some heavy defeats at home by St Helens and Leigh. Halfbacks Toby Sexton and Lewis Dodd have formed a useful combination but they need reinforcements in their middle forwards if they are to mount a challenge from their current eighth place in the Super League table.
HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS sit at the bottom of the Super League table with just two wins, including at Wigan, but with several heavy defeats. They lost their first five games under their former coach Luke Robinson, who was shown the door before the Giants then looked set for a revival with two successive wins, before reverting to type and losing their next three. It’s difficult to be optimistic about their chances of moving away from the basement.
HULL FC is another club that flatters to deceive all too often. Lying in ninth place with just four wins, and minus John Cartwright, their toothless performance in losing at home to Toulouse last week came nine days after they travelled to Castleford and thrashed the Tigers 50-10. They lose too many home games to be serious contenders.
HULL KR made a terrible start to the season, losing to York and then being hammered by Leeds in Las Vegas before losing to Catalans in Round 5. But since then they have won five in a row with some impressive scorelines and they lie in fourth place with a game in hand on their rivals. It would be foolish to bet against their chances of winning the League Leaders’ Shield for the second successive season.
LEEDS RHINOS currently look like the team to beat, sitting proudly at the top of the table with eight wins and an impressive 192 points difference. The Rhinos suffered early-season defeats to Leigh and Hull FC, but they have now won five games in a row, including a crucial clash against Warrington. Their form is being driven by their spine players, with Lachie Miller, Brodie Croft and Jake Connor hugely influential in their success.
LEIGH LEOPARDS began the season with a home win against Leeds Rhinos but then ran into injury problems while losing four of their next five games, including a 54-0 thrashing at Wigan. However, with several top players returning they have now won three successive games and sit just outside the play-off places in seventh spot. And their support is still hugely impressive, as their fans demonstrated in Perpignan last weekend.
ST HELENS appointed Paul Rowley as their new coach at the start of the season and that decision has been fully justified by their results, with the club lying second in the league with eight wins from ten. And that achievement is even more impressive because it has come in the midst of an injury crisis, with teenagers like Jake Davies having shown tremendous promise and experienced stars like Tristan Sailor having a huge influence on the team’s progress, although their heavy Challenge Cup semi-final defeat by Wigan shows that there is still plenty of work to do.
TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE began the season with two straight wins, but then they had to wait until Round 10 for their third. With only half the distribution that goes to the other clubs, Toulouse were expected to struggle. And yet they could have had several more wins with as little more luck and they have one of the outstanding players in Super League so far in Olly Ashall Bott.
WAKEFIELD TRINITY finished sixth in Super League in 2025 and they are on a mission to improve that position this year. They currently lie in sixth place with six wins from their ten games, but they have fallen narrowly short against other leading contenders such as Warrington, St Helens and Leeds. Their coach Daryl Powell will be hoping for some big scalps as the season unfolds.
WARRINGTON WOLVES have enjoyed a fine season so far, with seven wins from nine – their only defeats coming against the Catalans and Leeds – with the coaching combination of Sam Burgess and Steve McNamara clearly working well. They have already played most of the top teams in the competition and, despite losing their captain George Williams to long-term injury, they looked well placed to mount a strong challenge for the League Leaders’ Shield, although their limitations were on display in Sunday’s Challenge Cup semi-final defeat to Hull KR. In recent seasons they have started well but stumbled badly and they can’t afford to do that again.
WIGAN WARRIORS began the season with five straight wins, but then they lost Bevan French and they suffered four straight defeats before the visit of Bradford last weekend, when youngster George Marsden demonstrated that the famous Academy production line at the club is still doing its job. With French back in the fold, we can expect normal service to be resumed at The Brick Community Stadium, although George Farrimond showed in Saturday’s Challenge Cup semi-final defeat of St Helens that he is ready for a regular first-team spot.
YORK KNIGHTS had the best possible debut in Super League when they defeated Hull KR in the opening game of the season. Inevitably it was difficult to maintain that standard but they have done well to record three wins out of ten and they now sit in tenth place in Super League. They have shown great spirit under the guidance of Mark Applegarth and they look capable of gaining more wins as the season unfolds. Of the three newly elevated clubs, they look to have the potential to be the highest finisher in Super League.