Super League to head into play-offs after this week’s matches

Drew Darbyshire
Stephen Holgate played for Wigan in the 1998 Grand Final

The Super League season will be re-shaped through November in response to the impact of coronavirus cases in the competition.

After Wigan’s shot at the League Leaders’ Shield on Friday, four elimination play-offs will determine who makes it to the Grand Final at Hull’s KCOM Stadium on Friday, November 27.

Fixture planning for the final three rounds of the season became difficult by news of a number of positive tests at Hull KR and Castleford.

The season will be wrapped up within the next four days, after which the top six teams in the table will qualify for the play-offs. The club that finishes seventh – either Salford or Huddersfield – will remain on standby.

The previous requirement for a club to complete a minimum number of games (15) has been removed.

The two remaining Super League fixtures – Wakefield v Salford (5:30pm) and Wigan v Huddersfield (7:45pm) – will now both be played on Friday.

The St Helens and Catalans Dragons fixture, scheduled for Thursday in Perpignan, will be cancelled, with both teams having already qualified for the top six.

The top two teams will sit out the first round of the play-offs, while those finishing third to sixth in the table on win percentage will move into the elimination matches. Those games will be played on November 12 and 13.

The winners will then face first and second in the semi-finals on November 19 and 20, at home venues, to determine who plays in the Grand Final on November 27.

The five clubs at the bottom of the table after this week’s fixtures will stay on their current win percentages with the remaining fixtures struck out.

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Super League Castleford Tigers