Super League 2023 fixture release date and start announced
Photo: Will Palmer/SWpix
The 2023 Super League season will kick-off on Thursday February 16.
That’s a week later than the 2022 season started and the January starts of 2019 and 2020.
The Grand Final will take place on Saturday October 14, having been moved forward for the past two years to accommodate the World Cup.
The final round of regular season fixtures will take place between September 21-24.
It appears there will be no Easter double header fixtures, with instead the Easter Rival Round stretching across the weekend April 6-10.
There are a total of 32 weekends from the season start date to the end of the regular season to fit the 27 fixtures in.
That includes the Magic Weekend, with the venue and date to be confirmed next Sunday (October 16).
It is expected that there will also be a mid-season international to fit in, as well as the Challenge Cup – which will require four weekends for Super League clubs from entry to the final.
In theory, that means there would be no requirement for the much-maligned double header weekends that were seen in 2022.
The fixtures for the 2023 season will be released on Thursday November 3.
Making a return
Leigh Centurions will be back in Super League for the fourth time, determined to avoid immediate relegation as per the previous three occasions.
They dominated the Championship and secured promotion by beating Batley in the Grand Final last weekend.
Catalans will fly the flag for France alone once again after the relegation of Toulouse after just one season.
In five of the last six seasons, the newly-promoted club has gone straight back down or in Toronto’s case, been ejected from the competition.
Automatic promotion and relegation will remain in place for 2023, with the new recommendations from IMG and licensing not expected to come in to force until 2025.
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