THE 2026 Super League season isn’t too far away as things stand and predictions are coming in thick and fast about which team will finish where on the ladder.
With three new sides included in the top flight in 2026 – Bradford Bulls, Toulouse Olympique and York Knights – it promises to be an interesting campaign.
Looking ahead, which three sides could be potential dark horses next season?
Leigh Leopards
Can Leigh Leopards be really classed as dark horses? Even so, they make this list as people continue to ignore Adrian Lam’s side in conversations about being potential Grand Final winners. Incredibly, 2026 is the first time that Lam and Leigh will be going into a new season without a double-figure turnover in terms of players. The fact that the Leopards finished third in 2025 after trying to move on from as many as 13 departures shows just how good of a coach Lam is – and sends a message to the rest of Super League that Leigh are here to stay in the play-offs. The Leopards have been building nicely in recent seasons and 2026 could see them secure another record finish on the ladder.
Wakefield Trinity
Few people saw Wakefield Trinity finishing inside the Super League play-offs in 2025, but they did so at the expense of Hull FC in a remarkable first season back in the big time for the West Yorkshire club and head coach Daryl Powell. Though veterans Liam Hood, Renouf Atoni and Josh Griffin have departed, Trinity have managed to land an NRL Grand Final winner in Tyson Smoothy as well as NRL stalwart Jazz Tevaga whilst Tray Lolesio looks to be in the same mould as fan favourite Caius Faatili. Jack Sinfield will provide superb cover in the halves and Powell will go from strength to strength in 2026. A dynasty at Wakefield is exactly what Powell wants, and this is his time to shine once more.
Catalans Dragons
Catalans Dragons will almost certainly go one of two ways in 2026 – they will flop considerably or be re-energised and flip the script from 2026. The French side were one of the biggest disappointments last season, with head coach Steve McNamara being given the axe after almost nine years. His assistant, Joel Tomkins, took over on an interim period and was then given the nod permanently by outspoken chairman Bernard Guasch. Tomkins was able to steer Catalans to three wins out of their last three when they had nothing to play for and it’s that kind of confidence that Tomkins will look to instil for the entirety of 2026. Buoyed by a whole cohort of impressive NRL recruits from Toby Sexton to Charlie Staines, from Solomona Faataape to Zac Lipowicz, the Dragons look a different animal in 2026.