Super League XIX | |
---|---|
League | Super League |
Duration | 27 Rounds (Followed by 4 round playoffs) |
Teams | 14 |
Highest attendance | 36,399 (Magic Weekend Day 1, 17 May) |
Lowest attendance |
1,002 ( London Broncos v Catalans Dragons, 17 April) |
Average attendance | 8,365 |
Broadcast partners |
Sky Sports BBC Sport SLTV Eurosport beIN Sport Fox Soccer Plus Sport Klub |
2014 season | |
Champions |
St. Helens 6th Super League title 13th English title |
League Leaders | St. Helens |
Runners-up | Wigan Warriors |
Biggest home win | Widnes Vikings 64-10 London Broncos (16 February) |
Biggest away win | Bradford Bulls 18-66 Huddersfield Giants (16 March) |
Man of Steel | Daryl Clark (Castleford Tigers) |
Top point-scorer(s) | Danny Brough (142) |
Top try-scorer(s) | Joel Monaghan (Warrington Wolves) (28) |
Promotion and relegation | |
Relegated to Championship |
London Broncos Bradford Bulls |
1,002
The 2014 Super League season (known as the First Utility Super League XIX due to sponsorship by First Utility) was the 19th season of rugby league football since the Super League format was introduced in 1996. Fourteen teams competed for the League Leader's Shield over 27 rounds (including the Magic Weekend in Manchester), after which the highest finishing teams will enter the play-offs to compete for a place in the Grand Final and a chance to win the championship and the Super League Trophy.
Super League XIX will be the third and final year of a licensed Super League. Under this system, promotion and relegation between Super League and Championship was abolished, and 14 teams were granted licences subject to certain criteria. For the 2014 season, all fourteen teams from the previous season will compete, although Salford have changed their names from the City Reds to the Red Devils.
At the end of the season, Super League will be reduced to 12 teams, as part of the re-structuring of Super League and the RFL Championship.
Geographically, the vast majority of teams in Super League are based in the north of England, five teams – Warrington, St. Helens, Salford, Wigan and Widnes – to the west of the Pennines in Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, and seven teams to the east in Yorkshire – Huddersfield, Bradford, Wakefield Trinity, Leeds, Castleford, Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers. Catalans Dragons are the only team based in France and are outside of the UK and London Broncos are the only team to be based in a capital city (London).