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With Round One of the 2022 Betfred Super League season fast approaching, we take a look at the season’s opening fixtures and who to look out for in the respective games.
It is expected to be another interesting Rugby League campaign as St Helens will aim to defend their title for a third consecutive season.
Thursday 10th February
First up, the season opens with a cracker as it is a repeat of last season’s Grand Final clash between St Helens and Catalans Dragons. After the Dragons won the League Leaders’ shield last campaign, it was the Saints who came out on top at Old Trafford, winning the Grand Final by a narrow score of 12-10.
The fixture was a highly anticipated one after the two sides clashed at Magic Weekend in Newcastle just a few weeks earlier, which produced one of the greatest sporting comebacks in recent history.
The Dragons came behind to win the game in Golden Point thanks to a James Maloney drop goal to win the game 31-30 at St James’ Park.
With it being the opening fixture of the campaign, it is sure to be a flying start to the 2022 season with St Helens looking to have another successful campaign and make it four Grand Final wins in a row.
Friday 11th February
Next up is a doubleheader fixture on the first Friday night of the season as Castleford Tigers host Salford Red Devils and Matty Peets’ Wigan Warriors make the trip to Hull Kingston Rovers.
Both games will be kicking off at 8 pm with three of the four teams involved on the night beginning new eras under fresh Head Coaches.
Castleford will be without long-term Head Coach Daryl Powell who ended an eight-year spell with the Tigers to join Warrington Wolves, whilst Salford will be led by former Leigh Centurions Coach Paul Rowley.
As for the game which will be covered by Sky Sports that evening, Wigan will be led by a completely different coaching team as Matty Peet, who has been joined by Warriors legend Shaun Wane, will be in charge for the first time as they face Hull KR.
KR will be looking to build on a positive end of the last term which saw them rise from the lower end of the Betfred Super League to reach the playoffs in a dramatic fashion. Tony Smith’s side were also able to stun Warrington on their own turf by winning by 19-0.
They did however lose to Catalan in the Semi-Final but that did not take anything away from the fairytale run they had endured and will be looking to build on it this season.
Saturday 12th February
The following day sees another doubleheader with both fixtures receiving live coverage.
First up is the lunchtime kick-off as Leeds Rhinos begin their highly anticipated campaign by hosting Warrington Wolves at Headingley.
A game that could be tough to beat for the rest of the season, many Super League fans have high expectations for these two sides in the upcoming season and Daryll Powell will be hopeful he can get his Wire side off to a winning start.
After signing Peter Mata’utia and Oliver Holmes from his former side Castleford in addition to Greg Miniki from Hull KR, the Wolves have made some intriguing signings ahead of 2022. However, they will have to be on top form if they want to get off to a winning start after being drawn up to go to one of the toughest venues in the Super League in Round One.
The fixture will be the first to be shown on Channel 4 as part of a new partnership with the Betfred Super League on an initial two-year deal that will see matches broadcast free-to-air for the first time in the competition’s 26-year history.
Saturday’s action does not end there as Sky Sports present another game with Super League’s newest addition Toulouse Olympique facing the Huddersfield Giants in an evening kick-off.
The French team re-entered the British Rugby system back in 2016 and have built their way back up to the Super League and will face Ian Watson’s Huddersfield at home in Round One.
With Huddersfield making a number of experienced signings including Chris Hill from Warrington Wolves, it will be interesting to see how the Giants fare in 2022.
Another talking point will be how Will Pryce will get on this campaign after being handed the number one shirt ahead of the new season.
Sunday 13th February
The final game of Round One is a clash between Wakefield Trinity and Hull FC with a 3pm kick-off.
There has been a lot of transfer action involving FC during the off-season, including the signing of Luke Gale from Leeds Rhinos whilst Marc Sneyd left the club after a six-year spell.
As for the hosts for the final game of Round One, Trinity will be looking for a positive start under Willie Poaching in his first full season. The Head Coach originally was placed in interim charge after the departure of Chris Chester last term, but after picking up a number of impressive results, he was given the job on a permanent basis.
With signings such as Lee Gaskell from Huddersfield and Corey Hall from Leeds, Poaching will be hoping to get off to a better start than last season and see how far this Trinity side can go.
That is all the games of the opening round of the 2022 Betfred Super League season. The thrills, excitement, controversy and brilliance all begins here and we cannot wait to bring you another year of coverage.
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