Events
The lead up to round 18 saw the shock move of Stuart Fielden from the Bradford Bulls to Wigan for a Super League record fee of £450,000. Despite a 30-12 home win over Warrington, Wigan remain bottom of the league after round 18.
In the latter part of the season, following round 19, the bottom half of the league table was very close, with 6 teams able to reach the play-offs and 5 still at risk of relegation.
Wigan left the bottom of the table for the first time in three months following round 20 but were still in the relegation position as Les Catalans were exempt from relegation. Warrington ended their bad run of results by beating Huddersfield in the same round.
The next week Wigan climbed out of the relegation zone after beating Salford - their fifth consecutive win. Wakefield had a chance to put Wigan back in the drop zone but blew a 20-0 lead against Huddersfield to allow the Giants to record a crucial victory. Elsewhere Hull's Richard Horne became the first player in 91 years to score tries in eleven straight games for the club in their victory over Warrington.
Hull's 13 match winning streak came to an end at Harlequins in round 22 but 2nd place rivals Leeds lost to leaders St Helens, who had Jamie Lyon sent off. Wigan's recent revival was halted by Warrington.
In round 23, Wakefield re-ignited the relegation battle with a win against local rivals Castleford, despite being reduced to 11 men by the end of the game. Leeds lost the battle for second place, and their third league match in a row.
The relegation battle went go down to the wire as Wakefield beat Bradford while Castleford lost to Salford in the penultimate round of the season. The two clubs at risk of relegation, Wakefield and Castleford, were scheduled to meet in what had become a relegation decider in the last match of the regular season.
St Helens receive the League Leader's Shield for a second successive year as recognition for finishing top of the competition league table for the regular season. Harlequins secured survival after beating Wigan. Salford secure a top-6 play-off spot for the first time in their history.
At the end of the regular season, Castleford were relegated as a consequence of their 29-17 defeat away to Wakefield.
Read more about this topic: Super League XI
Famous quotes containing the word events:
“Turn where we may, within, around, the voice of great events is proclaiming to us, Reform, that you may preserve!”
—Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859)
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—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
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—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)