The Super League is entering its 30th season and of course there will be 12 months of celebration! Want to get to know the sport but not sure where to start? Let us help you…
First: What is the Super League?
The Super League is Europe's premier rugby league competition. Starting in 1996, 11 clubs from the first division of the Rugby Football League and the new team Paris Saint-Germain came together to start the era of summer rugby and usher the sport into a new era.
So far, 29 editions of the competition have been held, and 2025 marks the big 30th birthday of the Super League.
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A look back at Wigan Warriors' journey to their second successive Super League title as they claimed an unprecedented quadruple
To date, of the 24 clubs that have competed in the Super League, ONLY FOUR won the grand prize in the year-end Grand Final: Wigan Warriors (8), St Helens (9), Bradford Bulls (7) and Leeds Rhinos (8).
Talk about dominance!
Put them aside: what are the key rules?
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Watch some exclusive footage of Wigan Warriors players, staff and fans celebrating their Super League Grand Final win over Hull KR at Old Trafford
Let's put sports in the simplest terms, shall we?
Rugby league is 13 vs 13 rugby with each team getting six tries to score before the ball is handed over to the opposing team. The match lasts 80 minutes and is divided into two halves of 40 minutes each.
Each team then has a bench of four players who can be changed during the game.
Unlike football, the clock is stopped for injuries, penalties and tries.
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Wigan Warriors lift the Super League trophy after defeating Hull KR in the Grand Final at Old Trafford
It pays to try four pointswith subsequent conversion extra two points. Penalties are also valuable two points. Dropping a goal is worth extra one point.
Within the 13 players there are four main roles: Striker, Fullback, Hook and Midfielder.
Forwards are mainly focused on driving the ball forward and gaining as many meters as possible. The backs seem to attack on the edges. Hooker is there to control the play of the ball (when the player is caught and the ball is distributed). The half-back controls the distribution of the ball.
In short: 13 players have six chances to go down the field and cross the try line. Simple, right?
Fight for victory: How many teams are there?
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Check out the top five tries from St Helens' 2024 season
Over the years, 12 clubs have always competed in the Super League, and 2025 is no different.
Castleford Tigers, Catalans Dragons, Huddersfield Giants, Hull FC, Hull KR, Leeds Rhinos, Leigh Leopards, Salford Red Devils, St Helens, Warrington Wolves, Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors will compete from February for the title in October.
Over the years there have been 12 other clubs that have had their chance in the top competition: London Broncos, Bradford Bulls, Widnes Vikings, Halifax Panthers, Sheffield Eagles, Crusaders, Oldham, Paris Saint-Germain, Gateshead Thunder, Workington Town, Toronto Wolfpack and Toulouse Olympique.
Although often marketed as a competition in the north of England, the Super League certainly had some international reach!
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Take a look at the five best tries from Hull KR's 2024 season, which saw them reach the Grand Final for the first time
Knockouts? Race for points? Super League format…
The Super League competition is almost a hybrid of the Premier League's soccer and knockout formats.
Thus, 12 teams compete in 27 rounds of the regular season, and the first six qualify for the play-offs.
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George Williams sent Warrington Wolves into the Super League play-off semi-finals with a superb goal against St Helens
From there, the first two teams have a week off, while the third-placed team plays the sixth, and the fourth-placed team plays the fifth.
The lowest-ranked team from the play-off matches will then play the regular season winner, i.e. the League Leaders' Shield winner, while the second-placed team will play the higher-ranked team still involved.
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Hull KR fans sing 'A Little Respect' ahead of their Super League semi-final against Warrington Wolves
The winners of those two matches will then compete in the Grand Final for the title of Super League winner.
No relegation?! Welcome to the IMG criteria
The Super League is in its (sort of) franchise era!
Teams in the Super League do not determine promotion or relegation from 2025 onwards. Instead, the 12 teams will be the ones that score the most across a range of criteria, including fandom, on-field performance, finances, stadium and community.
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Jon Wilkin gives his thoughts on Wakefield Trinity replacing London Broncos in Super League next year after gaining A status as part of the sport's restructuring
The IMG rating system offers 20 points for clubs. To be an A-grade club, you need to achieve at least 15 points, and to be a B-grade club, you need 7.5 points.
The idea is that the A-grade clubs are automatically in the Super League, with the best-performing B-grade clubs then making up the rest of the 12 clubs in the competition.
As the ratings improve and one day there are more than 12 clubs with A-grade status, the top league will then expand, as happens in franchise sports such as the NRL and NFL.
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Wigan Warriors' Harry Smith and Liam Marshall take on Hull KR's Jack Brown and Jack Broadbent in this nine-dart challenge
Big boys vs. underdogs: Who's the team to beat?
There is one side heading into 2025 with a huge apple on their back: Wigan Warriors.
The Warriors absolutely dominated 2024, picking up all four major trophies on offer: Grand Final, World Club Challenge, Challenge Cup and League Leaders' Shield.
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Joe Cullen is eager to get to Las Vegas to watch Wigan stars Liam Marshall and Harry Smith face Warrington Wolves at the Allegiant Stadium in 2025.
The likes of St Helens, Warrington Wolves and Grand Final runners-up Hull KR will be among the teams looking to unseat Wigan, but Matt Peet's side don't look like slowing down.
In other words, Wigan are having their 'Manchester United under Fergie' moment, and everyone else is looking to stop them firmly in their tracks.
Super League 2025 – key dates and what to pay attention to
March 1: Wigan Warriors v Warrington Wolves in Las Vegas
April 17-19: 8th round – Rivals Round
3-4. May: Magic Round (St James' Park, Newcastle)
July 24: August 31 – round 20 – split round over two weekends
September 4-7: Round 25 – Rivals Reverse round matches
September 18-21: Round 27 – last round of the regular season (date and time tbc)
September 26-27: Elimination playoffs
3-4. October: Semi-final
Saturday October 11: Grand Final (Old Trafford)
Sky Sports will once again show all Super League games live this season – including two games in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four games each week shown on Sky Sports+