Championship clubs handed unfair advantage in relegation battle

The Super League season has drawn to a close with Wigan Warriors securing the League Leaders’ Shield, Warrington Wolves secured their place in the play offs and Hull KR took fourth spot.

If you thought there was drama in Super League, that will certainly be the case in the Championship too with a relegation battle going to the death in the second tier.

If Keighley Cougars or Swinton Lions lose by more five points they will drop below Whitehaven who have already played.

The team who loses by the most will be relegated. If neither side lose by more than five points or if they both avoid defeat, Whitehaven will be relegated.

This perhaps gives them an unfair advantage as they know exactly what they need to survive whereas Whitehaven can only watch on.

Championship fans can expect a finale similar to that in Super League.

The only game that had no part to play in any of these battles was between Leeds Rhinos and Castleford Tigers, with both teams simply playing for pride, and it was the Rhinos who responded best after their two humiliating losses of late.

Rohan Smith’s Rhinos have lost their last two games by a combined score of 111-0 but they turned up at Headingley tonight with a massive 46-0 win over the Tigers

As for the battle at the top of the table it was the Battle of the Borough that headlined the matches with Leigh hosting Wigan in an incredibly hard fought match.

A win for the Warriors and they’d lift the League Leaders Shield, such was their dominant points difference, and Matt Peet’s side managed that by a score of 10-6.

That wasn’t a score without controversy though as Oliver Gildart saw a try overturned in the second half.

That Wigan win meant that Catalans, who faced a Salford side chasing playoffs, and St Helens, hosting Hull FC, were battling it out for second place and a home semi-final plus a crucial bye round.

Saints went about their business and put Tony Smith’s FC side away by a score of 30-12, whilst Salford put up a major fight against the Dragons in their hopes of making the playoffs but ultimately they fell short 19-9.

Salford’s loss meant that Warrington made the playoffs and they sealed it in good fashion with a 20-8 win over Huddersfield Giants, Chris McQueen scoring a try on his final game before hanging up the boots for the losing Giants.

With the League Leaders Shield settled, Warrington into the six ahead of Salford, it meant the key score that mattered was Hull KR on their trip to Wakefield Trinity.

Trinity got relegated last week but they had the task of helping out Leigh gain a home playoff game by keeping Rovers quiet but they couldn’t manage that.

Brad Schneider and Mikey Lewis shone in a game where Rovers ran riot, putting up 56 points in a monstrous 56-12 win.

That was a win by such a large margin that it saw Rovers leapfrog Leigh into fourth place, meaning that Rovers will host the Leopards in the playoffs – a huge advantage.

That’s now set up a playoff picture that sees St Helens host Warrington Wolves and Hull KR host Leigh Leopards next week, before Wigan and Catalans will face the winners for a date at Old Trafford.

The full list of round 27 results can be seen below:

Leigh Leopards 6-10 Wigan Warriors

St Helens 30-12 Hull FC

Salford Red Devils 8-19 Catalans Dragons

Huddersfield Giants 8-20 Warrington Wolves

Leeds Rhinos 46-0 Castleford Tigers

Wakefield Trinity 12-56 Hull KR