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2025 Super League season

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2025 Super League season
LeagueSuper League
Duration27 rounds
Teams12
Broadcast partners
2025 Season
2026 →

The 2025 Super League season, known as the 2025 Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, will be the 30th season of the Super League and 131st season of rugby league in Great Britain.

Wigan Warriors will be the defending champions, having beaten Hull Kingston Rovers in the Grand Final to win their 7th Super League title.[1]

Rule changes

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Captain's Challenge

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In December 2024, the Rugby Football League (RFL) announced the introduction of the Captain's Challenge, first introduced to the National Rugby League in Australia in 2020 and also used during the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, for all Super League and Challenge Cup matches from 2025 onwards. Teams are permitted a ten-second window to contest a referee's decisions at a stoppage in play and refer to the video referee for a second opinion, with each team permitted to have one unsuccessful challenge per match.[2] Captain's Challenges are not permitted for forward passes, roll balls, certain penalties, time-wasting, dissent and scrum penalties.[3]

Disciplinary system

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In January 2025, the RFL announced a change to the Super League's disciplinary system for the 2025 season onwards. Incidents charged from Grades A through to F by the RFL's Match Review Panel will now be graded in a points system; the lowest, Grade A, will result in one penalty point being charged against a player, followed by 3, 5 and 12 points respectively for Grade B, C and D incidents, and the highest, Grade E, will see players automatically referred to an RFL tribunal. When issued, these penalty points will stay on a player's record for one year.[4]

The amount of penalty points accumulated by a player will determine how long of a match ban they may receive: for example, a player with 6 to 11 penalty points will receive a one-match ban, while a player with 54 or more points will receive a 12-match ban.[4]

Drop-outs

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Two variants of drop-outs were introduced for 2025:

  • If a team kicks a drop-out on the full over the touchline or kicks a drop-out so that it fails to travel at least 10 metres forward into the field of play, a play-the-ball 10 metres out will follow from the centre of the goal line rather than a penalty kick from the centre of the 10-metre line.
  • If a team takes a 20-metre drop-out and it travels on the full over the touchline or kicks a 20 metre drop-out so that it fails to travel at least 10 metres forward in the field of play, a play-the-ball from the centre of the 20-metre line will follow, rather than a penalty kick from the centre of the 20-metre line.[3]

Tackle height

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Changes to tackle height rules were first announced by the RFL for all leagues in December 2023, with tackling above the armpit outlawed in order to reduce rates of head concussion injuries during matches.[5] Though the rule was introduced to grassroots, academy and reserve rugby leagues in 2024, elite rugby leagues were to see this rule implemented in their 2025 seasons,[6] however in December 2024, the RFL announced that tackle height laws would remain the same after concussion injuries were found to have been reduced with the introduction of instrumented mouthguards.[3]

Other rules

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Green cards, first introduced in 2022 to permit defending players to leave the pitch for a maximum two minutes,[7] were permitted to also be used by the referee to allow attacking players to leave the pitch.[3]

Referees are also permitted to differentiate between active and passive offside players at a kick chase.[3]

Structure changes

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Grading

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Gradings were introduced to the Super League by IMG and the RFL from 2024 onwards, removing automatic relegation as a result of finishing 12th from 2024 onwards. After a proposal to reintroduce automatic promotion from lower leagues irrespective of grading was rejected, changes for the 2025 season largely centred on factors as to how teams are graded at the end of the season.[8]

Clubs can now earn grading points based on how often their matches are aired or streamed on any platform, with the six clubs scoring the highest match viewership from these platforms securing 1.0 points; clubs who qualify with a minimum six-camera match production score 0.75 points, while clubs who do not have matches broadcast on any platform scored 0.5 points. Additional points can be secured by expanding their social media footprint, as well as through expanding their supporter catchment by signing a Rugby League Development Agreement with a bordering local authority. Clubs whose stadiums are undergoing major renovation work have been allowed to retain their previous stadium facilities score for a maximum of two years, while clubs who do not publish their data capture scores will be penalised 0.25 points.[8]

International break

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After 2024's mid-season away match against the France national rugby league team held on 29 June was criticised for poor attendance, advertising and placement in the middle of a triple-header of matches,[9] the England national rugby league team announced that they did not plan to play matches in June and July 2025, therefore removing the Super League's international break for the 2025 season.[10] When the Super League's 2025 fixtures were announced, Round 20 was split across two weeks between 24 July and 1 August to compensate for the international break. Six teams - Catalans, Hull FC, Huddersfield, Leeds Wakefield, Wigan - will play Super League matches in the first week, while the remaining six - Castleford, Hull KR, Leigh, Salford, St Helens and Warrington - will play in the second week, allowing each team to rest their players for one week regardless of their status in the Challenge Cup.[11]

Broadcasting

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BBC Sport are broadcasting matches as well as match highlights in the second year of their three-year deal with the Super League, replacing Channel 4 as the league's free-to-air partner from 2024 season.[12] Ten games per season will be shown live on television, with a further five shown on iPlayer, the BBC's streaming platform.

Teams

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The league comprises 12 teams. The regular season comprises 27 rounds.

Wigan Warriors will be the defending champions after winning the 2024 Grand Final.[1] London Broncos, who finished bottom of the Super League table in 2024, were relegated to the Championship under IMG's grading system. They were replaced by Wakefield Trinity, who were promoted from the Championship under the grading system after finishing top of the Championship table.[13]

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2025 Super League teams in Northern England
class=notpageimage|
Locations of 2025 Super League teams in France
Legend
  Reigning Champions
  Previous season Runners-Up
  Previous season League Leaders
  Promoted
Team 2024 position Grading Stadium Capacity City/Town
Castleford Tigers 10th A[13] The Mend-A-Hose Jungle 12,000[14] Castleford, West Yorkshire
Catalans Dragons 7th A[13] Stade Gilbert Brutus 13,000[15] Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Huddersfield Giants 9th B[13] John Smith's Stadium 24,121[16] Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Hull FC 11th B[13] MKM Stadium 25,400[17] Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
  Hull KR 2nd (Grand Final runners up) A[13] Sewell Group Craven Park 12,225[18] Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Leeds Rhinos 8th A[13] Headingley Rugby Stadium 21,062[19] Leeds, West Yorkshire
Leigh Leopards 5th (Eliminated in SF) A[13] Leigh Sports Village 12,000[20] Leigh, Greater Manchester
Salford Red Devils 4th (Eliminated in Elim final) B[13] AJ Bell Stadium 12,000[21] Salford, Greater Manchester
St Helens 6th (Eliminated in Elim final) A[13] Totally Wicked Stadium 18,000[22] St Helens, Merseyside
Wakefield Trinity 1st (Promoted) A[13] The Be Well Support Stadium 9,333[23] Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Warrington Wolves 3rd (Eliminated in SF) A[13] Halliwell Jones Stadium 15,200[24] Warrington, Cheshire

Wigan Warriors

  1st (Champions) A[13] Brick Community Stadium 25,133[25] Wigan, Greater Manchester

Fixtures and results

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Main article: 2025 Super League season results

Matches decided by golden point

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See also: Golden point

If a match ends in a draw after 80 minutes, then a further 10 minutes of golden point extra time is played, to determine a winner (five minutes each way). The first team to score either a try, penalty goal or drop goal during this period, will win the match. However, if there are no further scores during the additional 10 minutes period, then the match will end in a draw.[26]

Table

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Castleford Tigers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to Semi-finals
2 Catalans Dragons 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Huddersfield Giants 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to Eliminators
4 Hull FC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Hull KR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Leeds Rhinos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Leigh Leopards 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Salford Red Devils 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 St Helens 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 Wakefield Trinity 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Warrington Wolves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 Wigan Warriors 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

Player statistics

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Top goal scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals Missed Goals Drop Goals Goal Percentage %
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Top points scorers

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Rank Player Club Points
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Discipline

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Attendances

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References

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  1. ^ a b Freeman, Jay (12 October 2024). "Wigan beat Hull KR in Grand Final to seal quadruple". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Super League introduces captain's challenge for 2025". BBC Sport. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Super League: Captain's Challenge to be introduced for 2025 with tackle height laws remaining the same". Sky Sports. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b Bower, Aaron (11 January 2025). "Explaining how Super League's new disciplinary system will work including unique loopholes". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  5. ^ "The RFL agrees to lower tackle height for all levels from 2025". BBC Sport. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  6. ^ Bower, Aaron (4 March 2024). "Confusion reigns in Super League as new rules and legal case cast shadow". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  7. ^ Gordon, James (28 January 2022). "RFL to introduce green card to stop games being slowed down". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  8. ^ a b Bower, Aaron (4 December 2024). "Every IMG gradings change for 2025 explained including major broadcast alteration". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  9. ^ Bower, Aaron (29 June 2024). "England overcome France but worries over international rugby league grow". The Observer. London. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  10. ^ Bower, Aaron (6 November 2024). "England dealt major Ashes blow as huge mid-season update delivered". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  11. ^ Olawumi, Ben (21 November 2024). "2025 Super League calendar: All the key dates you need to know". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  12. ^ "Super League: BBC to show live games for first time after signing three-year broadcast deal". BBC Sport. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Darbyshire, Drew (23 October 2024). "Ranking every club's IMG grading as nine Super League clubs achieve Grade A status". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  14. ^ "The Jungle (Wheldon Road)". castlefordtigers.com.
  15. ^ "Stade Gilbert Brutus". catalan dragons.com.
  16. ^ "Kirklees Stadium". johnsmithsstadium.com.
  17. ^ "KCOM Stadium". kcomstadium.com/.
  18. ^ "Craven Park, Hull". hullkr.co.uk.
  19. ^ "Headingley Rugby Stadium". therhinos.co.uk. 14 December 2016.
  20. ^ "Home". Leigh Sports Village. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  21. ^ "AJ Bell Stadium". ajbellstadium.co.uk/.
  22. ^ "Totally Wicked Stadium". saintsrlfc.com.
  23. ^ "Belle Vue (Wakefield)". wakefieldtrinity.com.
  24. ^ "Halliwell Jones Stadium". halliwelljonesstadium.co.uk/.
  25. ^ "DW Stadium". dwstadium.com.
  26. ^ "Match Day Operations Manual" (PDF). Rugby Football League. 2024. p. 49. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
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