UK Super League 2017 is about to kick off, without too much fanfare in Australia, who are all waiting for the NRL season to start.
In general, Australians are either ignorant or dismissive of the UK Super League 2017 and previous seasons, which is why we are providing a quick and easy guide for those who may be slightly interested.
For those Australians who are more interested than that, we recommend our friends at Nothing But League who have a whole team in the UK and Australia covering the UK version of rugby league. They have their season predictions which is worth a view.
Those that dismiss the upcoming UK Super League 2017 season as second rate, are usually the ones who have barely seen a game over the past few seasons. Sure it isn’t the NRL, but then again, it isn’t the NRL.
It may be shy of a few superstars, but it also has a few less people pissing in their mouths, getting the night tackle licked by dogs, and other various issues. Well that we know of anyway. In fact the UK Super League is where they go to escape all the attention back home.
They also have a couple of things the NRL doesn’t.
Like the Magic Weekend where all teams play at one ground over one weekend, usually in a place that isn’t a regular rugby league city. A great idea for the NRL. Too much imagination.
Like a knockout competition the Challenge Cup which involves all levels of teams. Never gonna happen in Australia as players are already bitching about 24 games a season.
Like a different finals system of the Super Eights and Qualifiers. Where the top 8 and the bottom 4 plus top 4 from the second division head into a final round of fixtures. The Super Eights play off for finals and glory. The Qualifiers play off for promotion, relegation and status quo. Jury is still out on whether this is better, but at least they have a go. Unlike the NRL who stubborn refused to change the 1v8, 2v7 system for years despite protests.
So it isn’t the NRL, but it does feature plenty of names you know from back in the day, or only recently. And for the passively interested Australian that is usually the extent of the UK Super League 2017. Hmmm, is that where he ended up? Which is one of the two most common phrases for the passively interested Aussie. The other is How Is <Insert Current Badboy Thrown Out Of NRL Here> going in the UK Super League?
Well, for the passively interest Aussie fan of the UK Super League 2017, here’s a bunch of names you may know for the season ahead.
UK Super League 2017 Names You Know
How about a top 2 or 3 of the names you’ll know from the NRL or ones you’ve heard of from the UK..
WIGAN – Sam Tomkins, Thomas Leluai, Frank-Paul Nu’uausala.
HULL FC – Albert Kelly, Mark Minichello, Steve Michaels
ST HELENS – Luke Douglas, Ryan Morgan, Dominique Peyroux
WARRINGTON – Kurt Gidley, Ashton Sims
CATALANS – Greg Bird, Luke Walsh, Sam Moa
CASTLEFORD – Zac Hardaker, Greg Eden, Joel Monaghan
(Play at our favourite named ground – Mend-A-Hose Jungle)
WIDNES – Patrick Ah Van, Manase Manuokafoa
WAKEFIELD – David Fifita, Mitchell Allgood
LEEDS – Matt Parcell, Adam Cuthbertson, Keith Galloway
SALFORD – Tood Carney, Robert Lui, Justin Carney
HUDDERSFIELD – Jake Mamo, Sam Rapira, Tom Symonds
LEIGH – Willie Tonga, Glen Stewart, Danny Tickle
WHAT HAPPENED IN 2016?
Here’s the ladder from the regular season from last year and the ultimate winners/losers.
HULL
WARRINGTON (Finalists)
WIGAN (GF Winners)
ST HELENS
CATALANS
CASTLEFORD
WIDNES
WAKEFIELD
LEEDS
SALFORD
HULL KR (Relegated)
HUDDERSFIELD
Promoted: LEIGH CENTURIONS
UK SUPER LEAGUE 2017 PRE SEASON BETTING
Who do the bookies think will win?
WIGAN $3.50
WARRINGTON $3.75
ST HELENS $6.50
HULL FC $6.50
LEEDS $9.00
CASTLEFORD $11.00
CATALANS $26.00
HUDDERSFIELD $41.00
LEIGH $51.00
SALFORD $101.00
WAKEFIELD $101.00
WIDNES $201.00
Odds courtesy of Sportsbet.
THIS WEEK’S FIXTURES
Below are this week’s fixtures, but Nothing But League have the full Match Centre to follow everything.
ST HELENS v LEEDS
WIDNES v HUDDESFIELD
CASTLEFORD v LEIGH
SALFORD v WIGAN
CATALANS v WARRINGTON
WAKEFIELD v HULL FC
TV FIXTURES FOR AUSTRALIA
FRI 6AM EDST – FOX SPORTS 2 – ST HELENS v LEEDS
SAT 6:30AM EDST – FOX SPORTS 2 – CASTLEFORD v LEIGH
SUN 3:55AM EDST – FOX SPORTS 4 – CATALANS v WARRINGTON
OUR “BEST” BETS THIS WEEK
LEEDS +4.5 start v St Helens
LEIGH +12.5 Handicap v Castleford
HUDDERSFIELD to beat Widnes
WIGAN to beat Salford
WARRINGTON to beat Catalans
HULL FC to beat Wakefield
$1 for $16
A CANADIAN TEAM IN THE UK RUGBY LEAGUE SYSTEM?
Yes. The Toronto Wolfpack are playing in the third tier League One of UK Rugby League for the first time. As we explained earlier.
