CREATED in 1996, the Super League was formed as a way of bringing rugby league into the modern world.
A summer game with the cream of the crop being shown each week live on Sky Sports saw the sport elevated to new heights.
Across the numerous seasons, 23 teams have made it to the top flight. Here is how successful each club has been with points taken from before the 2024 Super League season.
1. St Helens – 1,067
Who else really could it have been but St Helens at the top? One of only four teams to ever win the Grand Final, Saints have won it a record ten times whilst they also have the most appearances in the showpiece event with 15. The Merseyside club has also scooped up the League Leaders’ Shield a record ten times.
2. Wigan Warriors – 1,012
Not too far behind St Helens are local rivals St Helens. In terms of League Leaders’ Shield wins, they are also in second with six whilst the Warriors have six Super League titles to their name – a number inflated following the club’s success in the 2023 showpiece event against Catalans. That being said, Wigan do have the most losses in the Grand Final, winning just six of 12.
3. Leeds Rhinos – 908
Almost 100 points behind Wigan are the Leeds Rhinos who have won the League Leaders’ Shield just three times. Despite that, the West Yorkshire side are the most prolific in Grand Finals, with eight wins from 11 at Old Trafford with their last final in 2022 where they went down to St Helens.
4. Warrington Wolves – 786
Despite such a disappointing 2022 Super League season – in which the Warrington Wolves accrued just 18 points – the Cheshire club are still the fourth most consistent side in the top flight. When it comes to the Grand Final, however, they have the worst win to loss ratio with four appearances and four losses. The Wolves have won two League Leaders’ Shields.
5. Hull FC – 688
In fifth sit Hull FC which is surprising considering that the Black and Whites have been to just one Grand Final in the summer era. That elusive Grand Final appearance came in 2006 when they lost to St Helens. They have also never finished top.
6. Castleford Tigers – 622
Castleford Tigers took over Bradford from the 2023 season which is a big feat for the former considering their past difficulties in Super League. Two relegations in three years didn’t deter the Tigers from rebuilding and they almost won their first-ever Grand Final in 2017, but they were defeated by Leeds. Castleford did win the League Leaders’ Shield that year, however.
7. Bradford Bulls – 617
It is actually remarkable that the Bradford Bulls not just make this list but sit inside the top six despite not being in the top flight for almost a decade. That being said, the West Yorkshire club is still one of the most successful in Super League history, winning the Super League title four times and reaching the Grand Final seven times. Bradford also hold the much-envied title of being the first side to win the treble in the summer era in 2003.
8. Huddersfield Giants – 591
Following the uncertainty and failed merger at the beginning of the century, the Huddersfield Giants have gone on to become one of Super League’s most stable clubs. In their 24 years in the top-flight, however, they have won just one League Leaders’ Shield – in 2010 – and have never appeared in a Grand Final – something which head coach Ian Watson will be desperate to change in 2024.
9. Wakefield Trinity – 479
Though missing out on a Super League spot in 1996, Wakefield Trinity did earn promotion to the top-flight in the first promotion year in 1998. The West Yorkshire club were in Super League ever since until 2023, when they dropped down to the Championship after just four wins from 27 league games.
10. Catalans Dragons – 473
Despite entering Super League in 2006, Catalans Dragons have taken the top-flight by storm since then. Having never been relegated, the French club won their first-ever League Leaders’ Shield in 2021 though they fell to St Helens in that year’s Grand Final – and they lost their second Grand Final to Wigan in 2023.
11. Salford Red Devils – 450
Not far behind Catalans are the Salford Red Devils, whose time in Super League has been stormy. After facing several relegations in the early period of Super League, the Red Devils have regrouped and become a top-flight club to look out for in recent years. They are the team with the least points on the all-time table to have played in a Grand Final, which they did so in 2019 where Salford lost to St Helens.
12. London Broncos – 410
London Broncos – who were named Harlequins RL between 2006 and 2011 – are back in Super League in 2024 for the first time since 2019, but they were consistent in the early years of the summer era. Finishing second in 1997, the Broncos were eventually relegated in 2014 but earned promotion again in 2018. The capital club lasted just one season before bowing out the second tier once more. Their stay looks likely to be limited to just one season again following their lowly result in the IMG provisional grading.
13. Hull KR – 352
Looking at Hull KR’s success in recent seasons in terms of being a stable Super League club, accruing so few points may seem strange. However, the Robins were only promoted to Super League for the first time in 2006, before being relegated again in 2016 after falling to one of the most dramatic final plays in the Million Pound Game to Salford. Rovers did, however, make an immediate return in 2017 and made the semi-finals of the Super League play-offs in 2021 and 2023.
14. Widnes Vikings – 202
The Widnes Vikings were promoted to Super League in 2001 where they spent a number of seasons before being relegated at the end of 2005 as a result of the newly-formed Catalans Dragons being exempt from the drop. Widnes were promoted back to the top-flight in the second round of licensing in 2011 but were relegated once more in 2018 following financial issues. They have yet to return to Super League.
15. Halifax – 154
Looking back now, Halifax were a stable Super League side between 1996 and 2005, accruing 154 points and even making it to the play-off semi-finals in 1998. But, slowly and steadily, the West Yorkshire side declined and by 2005 they failed to have a point on the board by the end of the season. Fax did, of course, win one game that year but it was taken off them following a salary cap breach. They have not been in Super League since.
16. Sheffield Eagles – 77
From 1996 until 2000, Sheffield Eagles were a Super League side fighting mid-table, but, a failed merger with Huddersfield Giants saw them disappear from the top flight for the 2000 season. In four seasons, however, Sheffield took home tallies of 20, 18, 18 and 21 making the Eagles’ loss from Super League a real travesty. The South Yorkshire club has failed to appear in Super League again since being part of the Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants failure in 2000.
17. Leigh Leopards – 53
Leigh’s fourth season in the top flight in 2023 was their most successful by far. In fact, the Lancashire club accrued 32 points – 11 more than the points they tallied in their three previous stays in Super League. From just 5 points in 2005, to 12 in 2017 and then just another 4 in 2021, it’s fair to say that Leigh had been a yo-yo club to and from the top flight and Championship. But, they now look destined to stay in Super League for a number of years.
18. Gateshead Thunder – 39
In just one season in 1999, Gateshead Thunder took home a remarkable 39 points after winning 19 games and drawing one from 30 fixtures. The northeast club sat in fifth position but merged with Hull FC at the end of that season – a decision that the area is still feeling repercussions from ever since. A subsequent Gateshead Thunder was formed in 2001 before the club changed its name to Newcastle Thunder with Championship and League One status ever since.
19. Celtic Crusaders/Crusaders RL – 38
Rugby league has tried for decades to spread rugby league into Wales – and the 13-man code almost succeeded with the Celtic Crusaders. In 2009, the Welsh side was given a license in the first round of the new system, but tallied just six points. However, Crusaders’ second year in Super League was far more successful, with 24 points earning Brian Noble’s side a place in the play-offs. Of course, the club went into administration in late 2010 before earning just eight points the following Super League year where they withdrew from the licensing application process for 2012.
20. Oldham – 28
Like Workington Town below, Oldham were one of the founders of the Super League and tallied 19 points in 1996, yet were relegated the year after with just nine points to their name. Oldham, famously nicknamed the ‘Bears’ in 1997, were relegated in the second year of the summer game, with the club going bankrupt in the same year. Oldham Roughyeds were formed out of the doldrums and, credit to the Manchester club, they rallied before just missing out on promotion to Super League in 2001. Oldham seemingly never recovered and they have yo-yoed between the Championship and League One ever since.
21. Paris St Germain – 19
Yes, Super League did once have a French side named Paris St Germain. As part of the European Super League moniker ahead of the new season in 1996, PSG were given a shot in the top flight. And in Paris in March 1996, 17,873 people flocked to the Charlety Stadium when PSG beat Sheffield Eagles 30-24. The French side earned just 7 points that year and 12 in 1997 before folding.
22. Toulouse Olympique – 10
Toulouse Olympique finally made it to Super League in 2022 after a number of close shaves, but it’s fair to say that it didn’t go as planned. Sylvain Houles’ side won just five games and were relegated with just ten points. The French club haven’t returned since, but they could well find themselves back in the big time under IMG.
23. Workington Town – 5
People sometimes forget that Workington Town were included in the very first Super League season, but they were even though it didn’t exactly go well. The Cumbrian side won just two games in 1996 and drew another, finishing bottom of the table with off-field financial problems plaguing the club. Workington were relegated from the second tier in 2002, but took part in the 2022 Championship season. That, however, didn’t go to plan either with Town once more being relegated as they sit in League One for 2023. Workington have never been back in Super League since 1996.
Toronto Wolfpack are not included after failing to complete a full Super League season during 2020.
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