Is the League Leaders Shield a ‘real’ trophy? Super League pundits debate

After Wigan Warriors tied up the Super League League Leaders Shield last night, two pundits have had their say on the importance of the accolade.

For many fans, it’s an achievement that gets discounted given that so much emphasis is placed on who wins the Grand Final. After all, it’s widely accepted that only four teams have ever ‘won’ Super League, despite a total of eight teams having won the League Leaders Shield.

Whilst each of Catalans Dragons, Castleford Tigers, Huddersfield Giants and Warrington Wolves may well display silverware, for many neutrals those League Leaders Shield victories have been forgotten about with victory at Old Trafford all that matters.

But what say the players who have been there and done it? Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of Wigan Warriors being handed the League Leaders Shield after finishing top of Super League, both Lee Briers and Jon Wilkin have called for more emphasis to be placed upon the achievement.

For newly-appointed St Helens assistant coach Briers, it means: “You’ve been consistent for the full 27 rounds, and it hardens you. You’ve got to be on each week, if you’re going to take this route, you’ve got to be on each week.

“I think it should be celebrated even more, I don’t think we put enough importance on it.”

Why is finishing top of Super League not celebrated more?

It was an accolade that Briers lifted whilst playing for Warrington Wolves with Wire being the only Super League side to have lifted the League Leaders Shield twice without winning a Grand Final.

However, it’s not a trophy that he has collected during his short but impressive coaching career with Wigan failing to top Super League in 2022 and then Brisbane Broncos narrowly missing out on the achievement last season.

For Briers, that’s a sour note. He explained: “Last year we had a chance to win it at Brisbane and we rested in the last round against Melbourne and unfortunately we didn’t win it. I would have loved to come back from Australia with a minor premiership on my resume but unfortunately, we didn’t get it.”

Jon Wilkin would side with Briers, explaining: “It’s an amazing achievement. You have to be the picture of consistency for 27 rounds, you have to compete each week. For a player, I’ve won it a number of times, it’s incredibly valuable. It’s a real badge of honour.”

So, if the elite of the elite in terms of players consider it a “real badge of honour”, then why are fans so ambivalent towards it?

Wilkin reasoned: “For me, the frustration was the contrast in the celebration of the Grand Final. Being crowned as our overall champions but then the mismatch to being crowned League Leaders, which is something I was always very proud of.

“You’re always very conscious, the proximity of this to the play-offs and the Grand Final is alarming. It’s dangerous to get seduced into any sort of celebration so close to the Grand Final.”

Wigan Warriors celebrated last night with their families alongside them, something that seems by the design of Matt Peet who was hailed as a brilliant man manager by Briers.

Peet also had his say on the perception of the League Leaders Shield as he argued that unless Super League undergoes a major restructure then it’s sadly condemned to play second fiddle to the Grand Final in terms of status.