Super League fixtures: Rivalries, returning players, mid-season break and what to look out for

In just a few hours’ time we’ll know what the opening round of Super League will look like. Clubs are expected to announce their first fixtures on Wednesday evening and that will be followed up by a full fixture reveal on Thursday morning.

As such, it promises to be an exciting few days for Super League fans as they start to look ahead to next year, plot their side’s first few wins and plan out potential away days and trips.

So, ahead of the 2025 Super League schedule unveiling, here’s a few things all Super League fans should be looking out for.

The opening weekend

There have already been some reports about who may be facing off against who over the opening weekend, but we won’t know for definite who each team starts off against until this evening’s announcement.

The opening round of fixtures are always the most eagerly anticipated, with the Thursday night opener, which will be played out on February 13, being one of the most watched games across the first few months of the campaign.

Of course, the start of the season isn’t decisive and clubs will be all too aware that it’s how you finish the season that matters most. However, a decent start can certainly help and the while there are no easy games, clubs will be hoping for the opportunity to pick up early points in their opening five or six games.

Returning players

As always players have moved across the competition over the off-season and the first time they are reunited with their old teams could well prove to be interesting. Hull FC, for example, have signed John Asiata, Zak Hardaker, Oliver Holmes and Ed Chamberlain from Leigh Leopards, so Hull’s first trip to the Leigh Sports Village might be one worth watching.

Jake Connor left Huddersfield Giants to join Leeds Rhinos and he’ll be determined to prove a few doubters wrong when the Rhinos go up against the Giants. The likes of Tommy Makinson and Rhyse Martin will get decent receptions when they go back to their old clubs with their new teams, Catalans Dragons and Hull KR.

However, given who he has signed for, there’s a chance Jordan Abdull might not be as warmly received when he returns to Craven Park with the Black and Whites.

Grand Final repeat

Last month’s Grand Final won’t be remembered as one for the ages, with Wigan Warriors and Hull KR playing out a tightly contested and gritty showpiece event at Old Trafford. However, the pair were Super League’s best two teams by far last season and deserved to be in the position they found themselves in.

They’ll only meet twice next season, but those meetings will be hotly anticipated and eagerly awaited. In fact, there’s every chance that the pair could find themselves battling it out at the top once more next season, especially with Rovers improving their squad with the likes of Rhyse Martin, Tom Davies and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

The bye weeks

According to Rugby League Live, there will be no room for a mid-season international or a War of the Roses game in the schedule next season. In fact, the competition won’t be taking a break over the summer at all, with the show set to go on.

Clubs will be given a week off, but the break will reportedly be split over two weeks, with three games taking place each weekend. When that weekend will be remains to be seen, while players and fans may well be waiting to find out which week there side will have off before making other arrangements.

The run in

Unlike the start of the season, the run in could well prove to be decisive as clubs battle it out for play-off places and positions in the top two. As such, fans will be hoping to see their side handed a relatively trouble-free finish to the season in the hope that they can approach the end of the regular season with a head of steam going into the knockout stages of the competition