2016 Super League season

Super League XXI, known as the First Utility Super League XXI for sponsor reasons,^[1] was the 21st season of the Super League and 122nd season of rugby league in Britain for 2016.

Super League XXI
League	Super League
Duration	30 Rounds
Teams	12
Highest attendance	20,049 Wigan Warriors vs St Helens (22 July)
Lowest attendance	1,958 Salford Red Devils vs Huddersfield Giants (18 June)
Average attendance	9,134
Attendance	1,260,474 (as of round 23)
Broadcast partners	Sky Sports BBC Sport Fox Sports beIN Sports Fox Soccer Plus Sport Klub
2016 season
Champions	Wigan Warriors 4th Super League 21st British title
League Leaders	Warrington Wolves
Runners-up	Warrington Wolves
Biggest home win	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 62 – 0 Wigan Warriors (Sunday 10 April 2016)
Biggest away win	Castleford Tigers 16 – 58 Hull Kingston Rovers (Sunday 24 April 2016)
Man of Steel	Danny Houghton
Top try-scorer(s)	Denny Solomona (40)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from Championship	Leigh Centurions
Relegated to Championship	Hull Kingston Rovers
← 2015 2017 →

Twelve teams competed over 23 rounds, including the Magic Weekend. Wigan Warriors were the Champions after successfully defeating Warrington Wolves 12–6 at Old Trafford, while Leigh Centurions were promoted from the Championship via The Qualifiers while Hull KR were relegated after losing to Salford Red Devils in the Million Pound Game.

Teams

Super League XXI features twelve teams, the second year in which this number has taken part. This is also the second year since promotion and relegation was reintroduced into the competition although there has been no change in teams for 2016.

Eleven teams in Super League are from the North of England: five teams, Warrington, St. Helens, Salford, Wigan and Widnes, west of the Pennines in the historic county of Lancashire and six teams, Huddersfield, Wakefield Trinity, Leeds, Castleford, Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers, to the east in Yorkshire. Catalans Dragons, in Perpignan, France, are the only team outside the North of England. St Helens, Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves and Leeds Rhinos as the only teams to have played in every season of Super League since 1996.

	Team	2015 position	Stadium	Capacity	City/Area
	Castleford Tigers (2016 season)	5th	The Mend-O-Hose Jungle	11,750	Castleford, West Yorkshire
	Catalans Dragons (2016 season)	8th	Stade Gilbert Brutus	14,000	Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
	Huddersfield Giants (2016 season)	3rd	John Smith's Stadium	24,544	Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
	Hull F.C. (2016 season)	7th	Kingston Communications Stadium	25,404	Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
	Hull Kingston Rovers (2016 season)	9th	KC Lightstream Stadium	12,225	Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
	Leeds Rhinos (2016 season)	1st	Headingley Carnegie Stadium	22,250	Leeds, West Yorkshire
	Salford Red Devils (2016 season)	11th	AJ Bell Stadium	12,000	Salford, Greater Manchester
	St Helens R.F.C. (2016 season)	4th	Langtree Park	18,000	St. Helens, Merseyside
	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (2016 season)	12th	Rapid Solicitors Stadium	11,000	Wakefield, West Yorkshire
	Warrington Wolves (2016 season)	6th	Halliwell Jones Stadium	15,500	Warrington, Cheshire
	Widnes Vikings (2016 season)	10th	The Select Security Stadium	13,500	Widnes, Cheshire
	Wigan Warriors (2016 season)	2nd	DW Stadium	25,138	Wigan, Greater Manchester

Regular Season

Main article: Super League XXI results

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hull F.C.	23	17	0	6	605	465	+140	34	Super League Super 8s
2	Warrington Wolves	23	16	1	6	675	425	+250	33
3	Wigan Warriors	23	16	0	7	455	440	+15	32
4	St Helens	23	14	0	9	573	536	+37	28
5	Catalans Dragons	23	13	0	10	593	505	+88	26
6	Castleford Tigers	23	10	1	12	617	640	−23	21
7	Widnes Vikings	23	10	0	13	499	474	+25	20
8	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	23	10	0	13	485	654	−169	20
9	Leeds Rhinos	23	8	0	15	404	576	−172	16	The Qualifiers
10	Salford City Reds	23	10	0	13	560	569	−9	14[a]
11	Hull Kingston Rovers	23	6	2	15	486	610	−124	14
12	Huddersfield Giants	23	6	0	17	511	569	−58	12

Source: Rugby League Project
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
Notes:

1. Salford deducted 6 points for salary cap breaches in 2014 and 2015.^[2]

Super 8s

Main article: 2016 Super 8s

Super League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Warrington Wolves (L)	30	21	1	8	852	541	+311	43	Semi-finals
2	Wigan Warriors (C)	30	21	0	9	669	560	+109	42
3	Hull F.C.	30	20	0	10	749	579	+170	40
4	St Helens	30	20	0	10	756	641	+115	40
5	Castleford Tigers	30	15	1	14	830	808	+22	31
6	Catalans Dragons	30	15	0	15	723	716	+7	30
7	Widnes Vikings	30	12	0	18	603	643	−40	24
8	Wakefield Trinity	30	10	0	20	571	902	−331	20

Source: BBC Sport
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners

The Qualifiers

See also: 2016 Super 8s

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Leeds Rhinos	7	6	0	1	239	94	+145	12	2017 Super League
2	Leigh Centurions (P)	7	6	0	1	223	193	+30	12
3	Huddersfield Giants	7	5	0	2	257	166	+91	10
4	Hull Kingston Rovers (R)	7	4	0	3	235	142	+93	8	Million Pound Game
5	Salford Red Devils	7	3	0	4	208	152	+56	6
6	London Broncos	7	3	0	4	221	212	+9	6	2017 Championship
7	Batley Bulldogs	7	1	0	6	111	318	−207	2
8	Featherstone Rovers	7	0	0	7	96	313	−217	0

Source: Rugby League Project
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Play-offs

Super League

#	Home	Score	Away	Match Information
				Date and Time (Local)	Venue	Referee	Attendance
SEMI-FINALS
SF1	Warrington Wolves	18 – 10	St. Helens	29 September 20:00	Halliwell Jones Stadium	Ben Thaler	12,036[3]
SF2	Wigan Warriors	28 – 18	Hull F.C.	30 September 20:00	DW Stadium	Robert Hicks	14,013[4]
GRAND FINAL
F	Warrington Wolves	6 – 12	Wigan Warriors	8 October 2016 18:00	Old Trafford, Manchester	Robert Hicks	70,202[5]

Million Pound Game

#	Home	Score	Away	Match Information
				Date and Time (Local)	Venue	Referee	Attendance
Million Pound Game
F	Hull Kingston Rovers	18 – 19	Salford Red Devils	1 October, 15:00 BST	Lightstream Stadium	Phil Bentham	6,562

Player statistics

Top try scorers Rank Player Club Tries 1 Denny Solomona Castleford Tigers 40 2 Corey Thompson Widnes Vikings 27 3= Jodie Broughton Catalans Dragons 19 Josh Charnley Wigan Warriors 5= Jermaine McGillvary Huddersfield Giants 17 Ryan Atkins Warrington Wolves Ben Currie Warrington Wolves Adam Swift St. Helens 9 Fetuli Talanoa Hull F.C. 15 10= Dominic Manfredi Wigan Warriors 14 Mahe Fonua Hull F.C. Jamie Shaul Hull F.C. Luke Dorn Castleford Tigers Tom Johnstone Wakefield Trinity Tom Lineham Warrington Wolves Top goalscorers Rank Player Club Goals 1 Luke Gale Castleford Tigers 118 2 Marc Sneyd Hull F.C. 110 3 Kurt Gidley Warrington Wolves 87 4= Liam Finn Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 83 Matty Smith Wigan Warriors 6 Luke Walsh St. Helens 71 7 Pat Richards Catalans Dragons 69 8 Danny Brough Huddersfield Giants 56 9 Rhys Hanbury Widnes Vikings 55 10 Gareth O'Brien Salford Red Devils 51

Top try assists Rank Player Club Assists 1 Luke Gale Castleford Tigers 46 2= Chris Sandow Warrington Wolves 25 Luke Walsh St. Helens 4= Gareth O'Brien Salford Red Devils 22 Kevin Brown Widnes Vikings Marc Sneyd Hull F.C. 7 Luke Dorn Castleford Tigers 21 8= Michael Dobson Salford Red Devils 18 Danny Brough Huddersfield Giants Liam Finn Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Jacob Miller Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Danny Houghton Hull F.C. George Williams Wigan Warriors Top points scorers Rank Player Club Points 1 Luke Gale Castleford Tigers 262 2 Marc Sneyd Hull F.C. 241 3 Kurt Gidley Warrington Wolves 202 4 Matty Smith Wigan Warriors 195 5= Pat Richards Catalans Dragons 174 Liam Finn Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 7 Denny Solomona Castleford Tigers 160 8 Rhys Hanbury Widnes Vikings 158 9 Luke Walsh St. Helens 155 10 Danny Brough Huddersfield Giants 132

• Statistics correct as of 24 September 2016

Attendances

Average attendances Club Home Games Total Average Highest Lowest Castleford Tigers 11 84,909 7,719 11,426 4,968 Catalans Dragons 11 107,403 9,764 11,856 8,178 Huddersfield Giants 11 59,647 5,422 7,536 4,143 Hull FC 11 125,478 11,407 17,481 9,600 Hull KR 11 85,885 7,808 11,050 6,434 Leeds Rhinos 11 174,769 15,888 17,505 14,016 Salford Red Devils 11 39,927 3,630 5,089 1,958 St Helens 11 122,275 11,116 17,980 9,299 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 11 58,647 5,332 6,855 4,048 Warrington Wolves 11 120,230 10,930 15,008 9,024 Widnes Vikings 11 62,073 5,643 9,076 4,195 Wigan Warriors 11 149,995 13,636 20,049 10,897

Top 10 attendances Rank Home club Away club Stadium Attendance 1 Magic Weekend: Day 1 St. James' Park 39,331 2 Magic Weekend: Day 2 St. James' Park 28,945 3 Wigan Warriors St Helens DW Stadium 20,049 4 St Helens Wigan Warriors Langtree Park 17,980 5 Leeds Rhinos St Helens Headingley Stadium 17,505 6 Hull FC Hull KR KCOM Stadium 17,481 7 Wigan Warriors Warrington Wolves DW Stadium 17,480 8 Leeds Rhinos Castleford Tigers Headingley Stadium 17,213 9 Leeds Rhinos Wigan Warriors Headingley Stadium 16,712 10 Leeds Rhinos Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Headingley Stadium 16,314

• Statistics correct as of 24 July 2016

End-of-season awards

Awards are presented for outstanding contributions and efforts to players and clubs in the week leading up to the Super League Grand Final:^[6]

• Man of Steel: Danny Houghton - Hull F.C.
• Coach of the year: Lee Radford - Hull F.C.
• Super League club of the year: Hull F.C.
• Young player of the year: Tom Johnstone - Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
• Foundation of the year:
• Rhino "Top Gun": Marc Sneyd - Hull F.C.
• Metre-maker: Chris Hill - Warrington Wolves
• Top Try Scorer: Denny Solomona (40) - Castleford Tigers
• Hit Man: Danny Houghton - Hull F.C.

Media

Television

2016 is the fifth and final year of a five-year contract with Sky Sports to televise 70 matches per season.^[7] The deal is worth £90million.

Sky Sports coverage in the UK will see two live matches broadcast each week, usually at 8:00 pm on Thursday and Friday nights.^[8]

Regular commentators will be Eddie Hemmings and Mike Stephenson with summarisers including Phil Clarke, Brian Carney, Barrie McDermott and Terry O'Connor. Sky will broadcast highlights on Sunday nights on Super League - Full Time at 10 p.m.

BBC Sport will broadcast a highlights programme called the Super League Show, presented by Tanya Arnold. The BBC show two weekly broadcasts of the programme, the first to the BBC North West, Yorkshire, North East and Cumbria, and East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire regions on Monday evenings at 11:35 p.m. on BBC One,^[9] while a repeat showing is shown nationally on BBC Two on Tuesday afternoons at 1.30 p.m. The Super League Show is also available for one week after broadcast for streaming or download via the BBC iPlayer in the UK only.^[10] End of season play-offs are shown on BBC Two across the whole country in a weekly highlights package on Sunday afternoons.^[11]

Internationally, Super League is shown live or delayed on beIN Sports (France), Showtime Sports (Middle East), Sky Sport (New Zealand), TV 2 Sport (Norway), Fox Soccer Plus (United States), Fox Sports (Australia) and Sportsnet World (Canada).

Radio

BBC Coverage:

• BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra (National DAB Digital Radio) will carry two Super League commentaries each week on Thursday and Friday nights (both kick off 8pm); this will be through the 5 Live Rugby league programme which is presented by Dave Woods with a guest summariser (usually a Super League player or coach) and also includes interviews and debate..
• BBC Radio Humberside will have full match commentary of all Hull KR and Hull matches.
• BBC Radio Leeds carry commentaries featuring Leeds, Castleford, Wakefield and Huddersfield.
• BBC Radio Manchester will carry commentary of Wigan and Salford whilst sharing commentary of Warrington with BBC Radio Merseyside.
• BBC Radio Merseyside (will have commentary on St Helens and Widnes matches whilst sharing commentary of Warrington with BBC Radio Manchester.

Commercial Radio Coverage:

• 102.4 Wish FM will carry commentaries of Wigan & St Helens matches.
• 107.2 Wire FM will carry commentaries on Warrington Home and Away.
• Radio Yorkshire will launch in March carrying Super League commentaries.
• Radio Warrington (Online Station) all Warrington home games and some away games.
• Grand Sud FM covers every Catalans Dragons Home Match (in French).
• Radio France Bleu Roussillon covers every Catalans Dragons Away Match (in French).
• Talksport and Talksport 2 will carry weekly live matches throughout the UK, plus phone-in programs and a weekly magazine show hosted by Robbie Hunter-Paul.^[12]

All Super League commentaries on any station are available via the particular stations on-line streaming.