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With the 2022 Super League campaign just around the corner, we take a look at five teams who will be looking to prove a point for a range of different reasons.
Hull Kingston Rovers
As good as Hull KR were in 2021, they still struggled to find a way to beat the teams placed at the lower end of the table.
With poor performances against rivals Hull FC alongside defeats to Huddersfield Giants and Wakefield Trinity, who at the time had nothing to play for, wins in those would have seen KR cement their play-off status a lot earlier than the final week of the regular season.
Expectations have risen in East Hull after a successful 2021, and with the high profile signing of Lachlan Coote, Tony Smith’s men will be aiming to repeat the performances that they produced last season.
“The Entertainers” style of play is well known around the Super League and 2022 will be a fantastic test to see if they can carry on their momentum which saw them just 80 minutes away from an inaugural trip to Old Trafford,
The spine of Hull KR will be key to how they perform in this season and whether the likes of Jordan Abdull, Mikey Lewis, Matt Parcell and Jez Litten can carry on their fantastic form of last season. With the addition of three-peat winner Coote, the Robins could once again see themselves pushing for a play-off spot in 2022.
Huddersfield Giants
When Ian Watson was announced as the new Huddersfield Head Coach, the Fartown faithful saw this as an appointment that could take the claret and golds to the next level.
It didn’t work out for the Giants last season as they finished ninth after a dreadful start to Watson’s reign which resulted in a seven-match losing streak from May to July.
With the experienced recruitments of seasoned prop Chris Hill and French international Theo Fages, Huddersfield go into 2022 knowing they must do better in Watson’s second year in charge.
Explosive and promising youngster Will Pryce has the world at his feet after his breakout season and will be looking to place himself at the top of the halfback pecking order at The John Smith’s Stadium after the departure of Aidan Sezer to Leeds Rhinos.
In 2021, we saw sparks of brilliance from the Giants who picked up big wins against Warrington Wolves, Catalans Dragons and Hull FC, but like so many teams in the league, they failed to gain any momentum and consistency.
Huddersfield will be looking forward to putting 2021 behind them as the new season creeps ever closer.
Hull FC
Hull FC chairman Adam Pearson rarely keeps his opinions to himself and 2021 was no different.
A final day humiliation at Wakefield prompted the owner to call out several of his players as he promised changes to Hull FC’s squad ahead of 2022.
The surprise departures of Mahe Fonua, who links back up with former coach Lee Radford at Castleford Tigers, and two-time Lance Todd Trophy winner Marc Sneyd showed the intent from Pearson to release the pair before their contacts were due to expire at the end of next season.
The black and whites have gone for quality over quantity in 2022 with the arrivals of Darnell McIntosh, Kane Evans, Joe Lovodua and former England halfback Luke Gale giving Hull a more creative look after a lacklustre campaign last time around.
2022 is a huge year for the West Hull outfit with over 10 players coming into their final contracted year as they hope to impress the hierarchy at the club.
The defence was a huge issue for Brett Hodgson’s men last season and pre-season will be a great chance for the Australian to get things right.
St Helens
Speaking about the three-peat champions as a team with a point to prove may sound silly, but as the defending champions, the standard St Helens set themselves is the benchmark for the rest of the Super League.
Big changes in Merseyside have seen the departures of stalwarts Lachlan Coote, Kevin Naiqama and Theo Fages, Joel Thompson and James Bentley.
As expected, Kristian Woolf and chairman Eamonn McManus have replaced the leaving starlets with some real quality. NRL stars Will Hopoate, Curtis Sironen and electric hooker Joey Lussick will be hoping to continue the good times for the Saints alongside fellow recruits James Bell, Daniel Hill and Challenge Cup winner Konrad Hurrell.
Saints have an abundance of quality, there’s no doubt about that. However, with a new look side heading into 2022, and with the likes of James Roby, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Kyle Amor coming into what could be their final year as professionals, it will be interesting to see if the reigning champions can make it four successive victories as the new generation begin to take charge of this formidable team.
Castleford Tigers
Whenever a long-serving coach departs a club, the season after can be a make or break campaign for the new man in charge.
With Daryl Powell’s eight-year reign of the Tigers coming to an end, the scenario is no different for Lee Radford as he takes charge of the club after two years out of the game following his humiliating sacking by Hull FC.
As expected when a man with new ideas takes over, the fans will welcome nine new faces to Wheldon Road in 2022 including high-profile signings Jake Mamo, Joe Westerman, Kenny Edwards and Mahe Fonua.
Radford’s style of no-nonsense rugby with the majority of the attack going down the middle sees workhorses George Lawler, Alex Sutcliffe and Suaia Matagi also sign permanent deals under the new regime.
After reaching two Challenge Cup finals and making one Old Trafford appearance under Powell, Castleford failed to hit the heights of previous seasons in the past few years and change will do the Tigers no harm.
The departures of club legends Michael Shenton, Grant Millington, Jesse Sene-Lefao and star men Oliver Holmes and Peter Mata’utia, who have moved to Warrington Wolves with Powell, will leave big shoes to fill.
The aim this season will be to compete for a lower end play-off spot as Radford starts to mould his team over the next few seasons. If the new set-up can gel quickly, expect Castleford to be a real force in 2022 as they head into a new era.
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