As winter shook it´s angry fist at the north of England for the first time in 2023, the Rhinos had taken all necessary precautions to ensure that tonight´s match against bottom of the table Wakefield Trinity would be able to go ahead despite ample snow covering the side roads surrounding Headingley Stadium.

Wakefield came into the game still seeking their opening win of the new campaign while the Rhinos were looking to double up after their sensational last-gasp victory over World Club Champions St Helens in the last round at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

The bookies could see only one winner, giving Trinity a sixteen-point start on the coupon, but the Rhinos went into the game fully aware that they were massive underdogs last time out and still came away with the points.

Second placed Catalans Dragons looked to maintain their perfect start to the season as they travelled to Wigan to take on a Warriors side who are tucked in behind them in third spot, recovering brilliantly after losing their opening 2023 fixture at Hull KR in the opening round.

Wigan were strong favourites with the bookies after not conceding a single point in their last two outings, the Dragons being given a fourteen-point start on the handicap coupon, but a win of any description would be enough to lift either the Warriors or the Dragons to the top of the table ahead of tomorrow night’s fixtures.

The snow had started falling in the lead up to kick off and it was bitterly cold as the two sides shivered their way onto the pitch.

IMG today presented to the RFL Council the recommended grading criteria to define how Super League, RFL Championship and League One clubs will be assessed starting from 2025, as part of the Reimagining Rugby League plans.

Based on a combination of on and off-field variables, the proposed grading criteria are designed to collectively increase clubs’ fanbases, diversify revenues, drive investment into clubs and the sport in a sustainable manner, run clubs in a best-in-class way and ensure strong governance is in place.

The prize on offer for Featherstone Rovers was to go back to two points clear of the opposition as they welcomed the Bradford Bulls, who did the Flat Cappers a massive favour last time out by beating fellow favourites for promotion, Toulouse Olympique XIII.

A win for the Bulls would lift them into a group of four sides on eight points, but after making the short trip to Post Office Road they knew that they would need to pull out a top-drawer performance to beat Sean Long´s side and take the points.

The West Yorkshire derby, on a cold March Monday evening, had the potential to be a classic so long as both sides brought their A-game.

New Widnes Vikings coach John Kear returned to one of his eight former clubs as his Cestrian charges travelled over the Pennines to take on the Sheffield Eagles, the side which Kear steered to Challenge Cup glory twenty-five years ago in 1998 to play against a side now coached by the man of the match on that famous Wembley afternoon, Mark Aston.

The sides were sat in third and fourth in the table and knew that a win would take them level on league points with Featherstone Rovers and Toulouse Olympique XIII at the top of the table although either club would need to register a win of more than one hundred points to sit at the top of the pile.

It was an intriguing fixture and give us more idea of the true 2023 potential of these two sides.

Saints returned to the Totally Wicked Stadium for their first home game of 2023 after being crowned as the best side in the World as they faced the Leeds Rhinos in a repeat of the 2022 Grand Final.

Few could conceive of anything other than a Saints win, and most would predict that the margin of victory would be substantial after the Rhinos had started the season with back-to-back losses, Saints despatching the Castleford Tigers with some ease last Sunday.

The bookies favoured Saints and gave the Rhinos a fourteen-point start on the coupon, most observers thinking that this was a little over respectful to Rohan Smith´s side.

The game of the round saw third placed Hull FC travel to the south of France for an early Friday evening kick-off against the Catalans Dragons with both sides eyeing the top of the table but needing to record big points victories to achieve it.

The Dragons needed a thirty-seven point victory to overtake Warrington on points difference while the ask was an unlikely fifty-three point plus win.

A win for either side would lift them into second spot, at least until Hull KR took on the Leigh Leopards in an eight o´clock kick-off.

The home side were slight favourites for the win, but FC had only been given a four-point start on the handicap coupon.

The early season league leaders returned to the Halliwell-Jones Stadium as the Warrington Wolves took on the Salford Red Devils in the Thursday night match with the visitors knowing that a win by twenty-four points or more would see them spend the evening at the top of the pile.

The Wolves were defending a one hundred percent start to the season but the Red Devils were looking for a return to winning ways after their defeat at the hands of Hull KR last time out.

The home side were clear favourites to continue Daryl Powell´s rise from pariah to messiah, but with just a ten point start on the coupon the bookies weren´t sure that the Wolves would have it all their own way.

England Rugby League today confirms that Shaun Wane (Men), Stuart Barrow (Women) and Tom Coyd (Wheelchair) will be the national teams’ head coaches through to the 2025 World Cup in France.

Wane took England’s Men to the semi-finals of RLWC2021, where they were agonisingly beaten by Samoa in golden point extra-time at London’s Emirates Stadium.

Women also suffered semi-final heartbreak at RLWC2021 – Head of England Pathways Barrow is now tasked with taking the side one step further at RLWC2025 Barrow will be assisted by the Leeds Rhinos head coach and former England captain Lois Forsell, and Dec Hardman, who was the head coach of St Helens when they secured a Women’s Challenge Cup and Super League double in 2021

Two sides with aspirations of reaching the end of season play offs came together in Widnes for a round four game with the Vikings taking on Halifax Panthers in the televised match on ViaPlay Sports (formerly Premier Sports).

The sides were sat in fifth and sixth in the table, both with two wins out of their opening three matches, and both knowing that a decent win would raise them into equal second spot in the table, tucked in behind the one-hundred-percenters Featherstone Rovers.

There was little to choose between the two sides, home advantage just giving Widnes the edge n the pre-match odds.

The Championship clubs entered the mix as the third-round draw for the 2023 Betfred Challenge Cup took place tonight at Featherstone.

The games will all be played over the weekend of the 10th to 12th March with the BBC selecting one game for live stream while The Sportsman will show a second game.

The pick of the ties saw the hosts of tonight’s draw Featherstone picked out against the Halifax Panthers in a mouth-watering tie which is likely to be picked up by one of the broadcasters.

Hull Dockers from the National Conference League were hopeful of claiming the scalp of League One side the Midlands Hurricanes when the two sides met for a second round Challenge Cup fixture at the home of Hull KR, Craven Park.

The Dockers hammered the Rhondda Outlaws in the first round a fortnight ago and were hoping that they could inflict the same misery on the Hurricanes that Rochdale Hornets had last year when they eliminated them from the Challenge Cup in the second round.

The Hurricanes were the favourites, but a decent Sunday afternoon turnout were hopeful of an upset.

Saint Helens - now officially the 'Best Team in the World' after last week's World Club Challenge win over Penrith Panthers Down Under – got down to Super League business in Castleford Tigers' Wheldon Road stadium the Jungle.

What effect the trip to Sydney and back, plus the match against the Australian Premiers, would have on the team was the big question.

One obvious effect was the absence of stand-out hooker James Roby, replaced by new signing Darcy Lussick.

The Tigers went into the tie with a new half-back pairing for the season in Gareth Widdop and former Wakefield scrum half Jacob Miller.

 

There was a real chance of a cup upset as Rochdale Mayfield from the Premier division of the National League made the six and a half hour journey to Cornwall to take on the Betfred League One side who managed just one win in their league competition last season.

It was Cornwall´s first time in the competition after they failed to enter last season, Rochdale Mayfield were looking to emulate their performances from last season when they eventually lost to Doncaster in the third round after beating Wigan St Pats and West Hull.

After suffering an opening round defeat at the hands of the Warrington Wolves, the Rhinos had a second-round home match with Hull FC as they looked to spoil the Airlie Birds winning start to the season and pick up two points of their own to boost the Headingly faithful.

Rohan Smith made two changes to his side from last week bringing Nene Macdonald in for his debut and starting with Cameron Smith in the thirteen.

Tony Smith made just one positional switch to his winning side, with Joe Lovodua coming into the starting line-up, and Chris Satae dropping to the bench.

Leeds were slight favourites with the bookies, FC being given a four-point start on the handicap coupon.

Two sides with opening round wins came together for the Thursday night televised game on Sky as the Salford Red Devils welcomed Hull KR to the AJ Bell for their first home game of the season.

The Red Devils had Burgess back in the side after he missed last week´s game against Leigh, while the visitors were without first choice goal kicker Lachlan Coote and veteran winger Ryan Hall but could call on the services of Shaun Kenny-Dowall who scored a hat-trick last time out against Wigan.

Salford were odds on for the win with the bookies, KR being given a ten point start on the handicap coupon.

The winners would spend the evening at the top of the table.

It´s been a fantastic, almost unparalleled, weekend for Super League.

A Super League side was crowned best in the world after St Helens went down under and against all the odds and predictions beat the mighty Penrith Panthers in the World Club Challenge with a sensational drop goal in Golden Point extra time win.

Crowds were up for the opening weekend with tremendous turnouts at Warrington, Hull KR, Hull FC and Leigh Leopards with some great games for them to enjoy.

TV audiences were great too with Channel 4 peaking at almost half a million viewers during the Hull KR versus Wigan Warriors game.

Tony Smith´s coaching reign of his fifth Super League club got underway at Hull FC in the final game of round one as his new side took on a Castleford Tigers side coached by ex-FC boss Lee Radford.

Neither side were fancied pre-season by the bookies or pundits and came into the game anxious for a great start to calm nerves and get their supporters onside for the long season ahead.

For this game the bookies made FC the slight favourites but only gave the Tigers a two-point start on the handicap coupon.

Once again it was a large opening round crowd which greeted the sides to the pitch.

With the whole nation still buzzing from the morning´s brilliant Saints victory over the Penrith Panthers in the World Club Challenge, Hull KR and Wigan Warriors went into battle in round one of the Super League as they got their 2023 campaigns underway in Channel 4´s first televised Super League game of the year.

It was new coach Willie Peters first game in charge of the Robins, their supporters full of hope that this would be a new dawn as they took up the quest for silverware.

With one successful season under his belt, including the Challenge Cup win, Matt Peet knows that 2023 is the year he will be judged on how well he challenges the St Helens monopoly.

It was a big Craven Park turnout and a great atmosphere.

It was the battle of the hemispheres, the cream of the NRL against Super League´s top cat as Aussie Champions Penrith Panthers hosted the dominators of the British game St Helens for the World Club Challenge.

Due to COVID this is the first time that the challenge has been played since 2020, when Saints lost out to the Sydney Roosters at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

Saints hadn´t won a WCC since 2007 when they beat the Brisbane Broncos by 18-14 while Penrith were still seeking their first victory after suffering defeats in 1991 and 2004 to Wigan and Bradford.

The home side were big favourites for the win with few pundits giving the Saints any chance of even getting near their opponents.