Wigan dominate the present but NRL cash is key to Super League future

As winds of change threaten to sweep through Super League off the field, there is an eery feeling of consistency on it as the business end of the season arrives. The prospect of a partnership with the National Rugby League looms closer, with the Australian governing body prepared to give clubs around £35m over five years in return for administrative control of Super League. The deal stalled throughout the summer, but the Guardian has been told it is now on the verge of approval after a meeting on Friday, with almost all clubs in favour.

The finer details are still to be worked out, but with enough clubs on side, the NRL will effectively take over running Super League from 2027 and attempt to drive forward the competition’s off-field prospects. And when it does get its feet under the table, it would be a major surprise if a familiar face is not sitting at the head of it.

To water down Wigan Warriors’ form into the final fortnight, when they dismantled Leeds to go top before hammering Catalans Dragons to secure the League Leaders’ Shield, would be a great disservice. Matt Peet’s side are on a run of 16 consecutive wins in all competitions, which started when they won the Challenge Cup in May.

Since then they have quite literally become unbeatable. Every other side has tried and failed to topple Wigan, who have emerged through almost every test possible to finish top of Super League and complete leg two of what would be a domestic treble should they go on to win the grand final in three weeks. The odds on that are shortening by the week.

Wigan have been studiously going about their business for months but it was the ease with which they navigated a possible grand final dress rehearsal with Leeds to usurp them at the top which made everyone sit up and take notice. What was meant to be a nerve-shredding evening on Friday against Catalans, with top spot on the line, was straightforward, with Warriors winning 50-12 and strolling to a ninth major trophy in Peet’s five years in charge. Two more wins and the treble is theirs, and with it more evidence that Peet is the greatest coach in Super League history.

Wigan and Leeds, by virtue of their top-two finishes, get to sit out the opening week of the playoffs. They await the victors of this weekend’s eliminator ties, which have a huge amount of intrigue attached to them.

On Friday it is two of the newer Super League contenders as Wakefield and Leigh lock horns in west Yorkshire. These two met at this stage last year, with Leigh prevailing on home soil. But this year the Leopards must cross the Pennines for a game in which they are likely underdogs. Trinity’s DIY Kitchens Stadium will be sold out and rocking from start to finish as Wakefield, a Championship side only two years ago, look to take a monumental step towards a first Grand Final.

On Saturday Warrington, who finished third, host the reigning champions, Hull KR. The Robins have, in truth, stumbled their way into the playoffs, a shadow of the side that won every trophy on offer in 2025. But write them off at your peril, with Willie Peters’ side still capable of a surprise on their day. They will be underdogs against Sam Burgess’s Warrington, who have gradually improved as the year has gone on and look the most likely disruptors to a Wigan v Leeds showdown at Old Trafford next month.

Warrington will say goodbye to the England captain, George Williams, at the end of this season while there is a revolution coming in east Hull, as Peters’ time in charge of the Robins will end if Hull KR lose. The highest-placed finisher from the weekend’s ties has a semi-final at Leeds; the lowest-placed gets the ominous task of trying to win at Wigan.

Winning there feels presently like an impossible task, but while Wigan’s spot at Old Trafford seems rubber-stamped, the other five contenders will all fancy their chances of making the much‑desired trip to Manchester in three weeks.