THIS is our annual series that looks back at the year just gone and selects the most significant and memorable moments, whether they are triumphs or tragedies, great matches or momentous incidents, domestic or international events.
Let us know whether you agree with our selections.
50 International Rugby League returns to Fiji
At the beginning of September the NRL revealed details of the 2024 Pacific Championships draw, which would take place across four countries over four weekends in October and November.
And it revealed that Fiji would host matches in the Pacific Bowl for the first time, joining Port Moresby, Brisbane, Christchurch, Auckland and Sydney as venues.
With interest in Rugby League having grown significantly in Fiji in the last decade, the Fijians hosted Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands at the HFC Bank Stadium in the capital city Suva. It was the first time for many years that the Fijian Rugby League team had played a home game in its own country’s capital.
Sadly for their supporters, the Bati lost their opening game 22-10 against the Kumuls in front of 7,581 spectators, but they recovered a week later to overcome the Cook Islands 56-6 in front of 5,943 with veteran Michael Jennings scoring a hat-trick in the latter game.
49 Panthers under pressure
Halifax Panthers were one of several clubs that ran into financial difficulties during the year, having faced winding-up petitions from HMRC in July and again in October.
A club statement in October revealed that its debt stood at approximately £80,000, which included monies owing to HMRC and operational costs such as player and staff wages.
And the club estimated that a further £120,000 to £150,000 will be needed to ensure the club could operate sustainably through to the end of the year.
The club asked for donations from fans to help improve its finances, noting that: “we’re making good progress, but we’re not out of the woods yet.”
It added that “every penny truly counts, and with your continued support, we are confident we can meet our financial targets for the year and secure long-term stability for Halifax Panthers.”
48 Trinity back at Wembley after 45 years
On 8th June Wakefield Trinity defeated Sheffield Eagles 50-6 at Wembley to win the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup.
It was the first year Trinity had competed in the competition and their first appearance at Wembley since their 12-3 Challenge Cup Final defeat by Widnes in 1979.
Trinity scored nine tries and seven goals in front of around 5,000 of their supporters who had made the journey to London. And two of those tries were scored by Jermaine McGillvary, their close-season recruit from Huddersfield, with the international winger making his first appearance at the national stadium.
And the 0.1 gradings points awarded for their success was sufficient to propel Wakefield to a total of 15.09 points, securing them a grade A status and guaranteeing their place in Super League for the 2025 season.
47 Broncos shine at Magic Weekend
London Broncos were on a hiding to nothing in the 2024 season, with their preliminary gradings score awarded in 2023 virtually guaranteeing that they would be demoted back to the Championship.
And with the odds stacked against them, the Broncos struggled to register just three wins during the season, finishing at the bottom of the Super League table level on points but with a worse points difference than Hull FC.
By far their best performance of the season came at the Magic Weekend staged at Elland Road in August, when they played in great style to claim a 29-4 victory over Hull FC in the opening match of the weekend.
They took a 12-4 lead in at the break, with converted tries from Josh Rourke and Jack Campagnolo against an unconverted Lewis Martin effort for Hull FC.
But in the second half they imposed themselves on their opponents, with scrum-half Oli Leyland and fullback Rourke both showing outstanding form to clinch a comfortable and thrilling victory for their hardy band of supporters.
46 Wigan win their second trophy of the season
This year the Challenge Cup Final had been brought forward from August to early in the season and it was played at Wembley on June 8th between Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves.
Wigan came into the game seeking their second trophy of the season and their 21st Challenge Cup triumph.
Following the death of Rob Burrow six days earlier, the RFL announced that kick-off for the final would be put back from 3pm to 3.07pm to honour Rob and the number seven shirt he wore. His death was commemorated with a minute’s silence before kick-off and with a minute’s applause during the seventh minute of the game.
In front of 64,685 spectators, Wigan won 18-8, scoring tries through Zach Eckersley (who had replaced the suspended Adam Keighran), Bevan French and Liam Farrell, with three goals from Harry Smith, with Warrington replying with a try from Matt Dufty and two goals by Josh Thewlis.
45 Sam Tomkins comes out of retirement
On July 19, Catalans Dragons announced that Sam Tomkins would be coming out of retirement at the age of 35 to play for them for the remainder of the 2024 season.
Tomkins had retired at the end of the 2023 season, largely because of a knee condition that had increasingly hampered his playing ability on the field.
However, in his absence the Dragons had fallen from grace as the 2024 season progressed, partly because of a series of injuries to key players, and by mid July their position in the top six was under serious threat.
That was illustrated by their 24-18 defeat to Castleford Tigers two days after that announcement, with Tomkins not appearing until the following week when he played at fullback and scored a try in the Dragons’ 24-16 victory over Hull FC at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.
Tomkins had joined the Dragons initially in 2019 and had played for them in two losing Grand Finals, while also winning the Steve Prescott Man of Steel award in 2021.
“I have been training for the last few weeks and feel good so I look forward to adding to what is already a talented group of players for the remaining games of 2024,” said Tomkins.
He played six games, with the Dragons winning four of them, but he was unable to prevent them from finishing in seventh place and out of the play-off positions.
44 England wrap up a series victory
England coach Shaun Wane had been looking forward intensely to the two-match Test series against Samoa, who had inflicted a shock World Cup defeat at the Emirates Stadium in London in 2022.
It was a historic first Test series against the Samoans and it followed on from England’s 3-0 victory against Tonga the previous year.
England came into the second Test at Headingley after having beaten the Samoans 34-18 in the first Test at Wigan six days earlier and once again they triumphed, this time 34-16 after leading 22-6 at half-time, giving a performance that broadly satisfied their coach with both matches broadcast live by the BBC.
The player of the match was Herbie Farnworth, whose performances in both games had cemented his standing as arguably the world’s best centre.
43 Giants sack Ian Watson
On July 11, Huddersfield Giants announced that they had sacked their head coach Ian Watson after a run of just one win in eight Super League games in a season that had promised much but delivered little.
Watson left Salford Red Devils for the Giants in November 2020 and he signed a new four-year deal in July 2022 shortly after taking the Giants to the Challenge Cup Final that year, where they lost narrowly to Wigan Warriors.
They finished third that year but failed to reach the play-offs in 2023 and were eight points off the top six at the time of Watson’s departure.
His assistant Luke Robinson took charge of the team on an interim basis and was subsequently confirmed in the role on September 4 with a three-year contract.
He led the Red Devils to the Grand Final in 2019 and Challenge Cup final the following year, but they did not win either.
42 Whitehaven’s financial woes
On August 21 Whitehaven confirmed that the club’s players had decided to go on strike following the club’s apparent inability to pay them.
It happened only two days after the club had appointed former St Helens star Kyle Amor as coach following the departure of their former coach Jonty Gorley, also for financial reasons.
Long-serving manager Des Byrne had also stepped down and the players were refusing to play, citing a breakdown with the board.
Amor somehow managed to persuade some players to change their mind in the short term and he put out a matchday squad of 14 players for the trip to Dewsbury the following Sunday.
Haven were able to defeat their relegation rivals 18-10 with tries from Lachlan Hanneghan, Owen McCarron and Mac Walsh for one of the more remarkable scorelines in the whole Rugby League season, although Amor was unable to prevent Whitehaven from finishing in 13th position in the Championship and therefore suffering an automatic relegation to League One in 2025.
41 Wayne Bennett joins the Rabbitohs
At the age of 74, Wayne Bennett revealed in May of this year that he will coach South Sydney Robbitohs from 2025, in a contract later confirmed to be worth A$3 million that will run for three years.
The most famous coach in Australia, who has spent the last two years as the head coach of expansion club Dolphins, is showing no signs of wanting to retire, suggesting that he would be ready to take on another expansion team down the line if asked to do so.
“Twenty years, you reckon? Fit Papua New Guinea in and a couple of other expansion teams in between,” Bennett said.
“I could be in Perth. I didn’t know I wanted to continue to coach until I came back (to the Dolphins) and did the two years here. I will do my time at Souths and if I want to coach again, I won’t have someone tell me I can’t. I will make the decision myself.”
