COME on, admit it! Did anyone see that end to the domestic season coming a few weeks previously?

But what a great ending it was, with Wakefield Trinity and York Valkyrie springing big surprises and taking home their respective Super League titles.

In the car on the way to Old Trafford, I said I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so excited about a Grand Final.

You went into it knowing there was guaranteed to be another new name on the trophy, and whichever team did win would create a great story.

Could Warrington, a past finalist that had fallen short on four previous occasions, claim their first title in 71 years? Or could Wakefield complete a remarkable journey from relegation to Super League champions in the space of just three years under the stewardship of Daryl Powell and Matt Ellis? Either way, history would be made, and the number of neutrals in attendance, and the atmosphere they were creating, suggested many, many others were as excited as I was at the prospect of seeing something special unfold before our eyes.

It was, of course, Wakefield that claimed victory, and a first league title since 1968, proving that their impressive semi-final victory over Wigan was no fluke.

A week earlier, York Valkyrie had defeated Wigan Warriors for the second time in three weeks to claim the Women’s Super League title for themselves in a finale very few could have ever predicted.

Given York had lost the first six games against their fellow top four sides, their late-season turnaround really was quite remarkable.

We have all the reaction to both these finals later in this edition.

If the end of the domestic season wasn’t enthralling enough, the World Cup got underway with one of the greatest games of international rugby league I have ever seen, with Australia pipping New Zealand to the post in a quite extraordinary 24-22 win in front of a sold-out Allianz Stadium.

It was quite simply rugby league at its scintillating best, and when it is played like that it’s hard to understand why more people in our country aren’t absolutely hooked on the game.

The only thing that perhaps let it down was that too few people were able to watch it. With the game only being available on Premier Sports, there was no real chance for any casual fan, or any potential new supporter, to stumble across the game and get completely wrapped up in the exquisite skill on show.

That opener gave the games that followed a lot to live up to.

Some of them managed to do that, several others did not, meaning the IRL’s decision to reduce the number of participating countries to try and limit the number of blowout scores we’ve seen in previous tournaments, has yet to be proven to be the right one.

One thing for certain is that the Women’s tournament hasn’t offered as much in the way of excitement given how noticeably far ahead Australia and the NRLW players still are of the rest of the participating nations. However, it could still have a huge say on the future of the women’s game in the UK.

Just as the Valkyrie’s win could prove a really pivotal moment for Super League by proving Wigan Warriors can be defeated, this World Cup could ultimately have a similar impact on the international game.

When you look across Stuart Barrow’s young England squad, you could pick out any number of players who are more than capable of following Fran Goldthorp, Hollie-Mae Dodd and Georgia Roche to the NRLW and becoming big stars over there.

This World Cup is putting those players in the shop window in the best way possible. If they want to try their hand as a professional rugby league player in Australia, the right people will be watching them at this tournament.

Even if just four of the players currently pulling on the England shirt get scouted and handed NRLW deals in the next couple of years, by the time the next World Cup comes round, we could find ourselves in a situation where over half the international team are playing at the same domestic level of the game as the sport’s leading international side, and that can surely only be the perfect way to start to narrow the gulf between the nations. When England played Australia in Las Vegas in 2025, there were just two – Roche and Dodd, with Paige Travis joining Parramatta Eels after that game.

Now I am not saying I want all our best players to ditch Super League and head down under, but if a handful get the chance to go, I would fully encourage it.

They can always return to Super League a few years down the track, and the experience they would bring back would be invaluable for the game.

On the domestic front, should Wigan lose even just two or three of their leading young stars, that could change the picture of Super League and potentially level it out a bit more and make for an even more competitive season than we saw this season.

The mid-season split in Women’s Super League certainly helped create a much more competitive season across the board overall, and I know from speaking to several players that they are keen to retain that format, even when there is no World Cup to prepare for at the end of the year.

If the last month has reminded us of anything, it’s that no matter what is going on off the pitch, with unanswered questions (at the time of writing we still don’t know if London will be in Super League in 2027 or if any NRL investment is happening) and uncertainty over TV deals, the players never fail to deliver the goods.

For a sport that prides itself on entertainment, we can definitely be proud that we have some of the best entertainers around.

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 526 (November 2026)