BEFORE every season starts, there are predictions made that can either make someone look very silly or very educated.
Ahead of the 2024 season, in which Wigan Warriors won the domestic treble and London Broncos were relegated, League Express compiled their own predictions for where each Super League side would finish in the table.
Excruciatingly, we got just three predictions correct – Wigan, London and Huddersfield Giants. Here is how the rest of the table looked.
1. Wigan Warriors
The top side we got right, but it didn’t exactly take a rocket science to predict Wigan would come first. They were phenomenal last season and look even better placed to go one further in 2025.
2. St Helens
We had St Helens to finish second which, in hindsight, proved disastrous. Though Saints started well under Paul Wellens, they fell off drastically and ended up in sixth – their lowest ever position in the summer game.
3. Catalans Dragons
Again, another disaster of a call with Catalans Dragons predicted to finish third. In fact, the French side didn’t even make the play-offs following a dreadful run of results towards the back end of the season.
4. Leeds Rhinos
The predictions continue to go from bad to worse as we believed that Leeds Rhinos would finish in fourth but yet again another club didn’t make the play-offs with Rohan Smith losing his job midway through the year.
5. Hull KR
At least we got Hull KR in the play-offs this time around, but given the fact that they ended the season battling for the League Leaders’ Shield and finishing second, it wasn’t exactly the best shout to put them so far down.
6. Warrington Wolves
Like Hull KR above, Warrington Wolves defied expectations but you can understand the trepidation in what was Sam Burgess’ first season in charge of a professional outfit. Finishing third was a great achievement, but at least we had them down to make the play-offs.
7. Leigh Leopards
We almost got away with this one with Leigh finishing just one point ahead of St Helens (6th) and Catalans (7th) following a mid-season resurgence. At one point it looked like the Leopards would finish lower than seventh, but when all of Adrian Lam’s firepower returned from injury, they struck red hot.
8. Hull FC
Hull FC fans would have taken eighth at the drop of a hat, with an 11th placed finish a dismal end to a dismal year for the Black and Whites. Tony Smith lost his job before Simon Grix did little to turn around the club’s fortunes.
9. Huddersfield Giants
Finally one we got right! We had Huddersfield Giants languishing in the bottom half, without really troubling the bottom or the play-offs – and we certainly got it right. The Giants, who sacked Ian Watson midway through the year, were 13 points off London at the bottom, but 11 points off sixth-placed St Helens.
10. Salford Red Devils
Everyone needs to stop predicting Salford Red Devils as low as what they think! Paul Rowley is a coaching wonder and he enjoyed another fabulous season in charge, leading the Red Devils to fourth in the table. On a shoestring budget, Rowley is working miracles.
11. Castleford Tigers
Ok so we were out by one place here as we had Castleford Tigers second bottom. They were, however, never as bad as Hull FC or London with Craig Lingard’s men finishing nine points clear of both sides. Lingard was replaced by his assistant Danny McGuire at the end of the season, though.
12. London Broncos
No one predicted London to make Super League in 2024 – maybe not even Broncos fans themselves – but almost everyone predicted the capital club to finish bottom. They did so with three wins, but points difference was the only thing separating themselves and Hull FC.
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