First up for a magical weekend of rugby league at Elland Road in Leeds  was a desperate basement battle between current bottom side the London Broncos and the side just two points ahead of them in eleventh place, Hull FC.

Even a massive London win would not be sufficient to lift the Broncos above the Airlie Birds due to the chasm between the two teams’ points difference, and it was the Black and Whites who were handicapped by eight points on the coupon with the bookies expecting them to brin home the points and double the lead over their closest rivals for the wooden spoon.

With any potential relegation being determined by IMG and not table position, the only thing to play for was pride, and who would want the win enough to take the points.

You can guarantee that Adrian Lam’s Leigh Leopards will not give up on a play-off place until it is mathematically impossible for them to achieve a top six finish and with seven rounds to play they are still in the game as they hosted a forlorn Hull FC side who are anxiously looking over their shoulders at the London Broncos and last spot.

The visitors were given a twenty-two-point start on the handicap coupon illustrating that the bookies believed that they had little to no chance of grabbing the win and breaking Leigh hearts but after the Rhinos big victory over Wigan last night there was nothing certain about any outcome in the closing rounds of Super League 2024.

After their comprehensive win over the Leigh Leopards on Tuesday night in the delayed round two fixture, a buoyant and table topping Wigan Warriors travelled to Leeds for their first encounter of 2024 with a Rhinos side who all but saw their chances of making the play-offs disappear last night when the Catalans Dragons scraped a narrow win against the Giants.

The Rhinos are now six points adrift of the play-off places with just seven games of the regular season remaining while Wigan trail Hull KR on points difference after the Robins big win over the Castleford Tigers last night.

The bookies predicted one-way traffic with the Rhinos given a very stingy six points start on the handicap coupon as they looked to salvage some pride from a dreadful season, and to make things even worse for the Rhinos, Jai Field was back in the Warriors starting thirteen.

By the yardstick of their recent seasons, the Catalans Dragons are having a stinker of a season as they sit in sixth place in the table looking anxiously at the sides below them including tonight’s hosts the Huddersfield Giants whose push for the top six is almost over but still mathematically viable.

The Giants were given the narrowest of starts on the handicap coupon with a two-point advantage over the side which incredibly lost to the London Broncos last time out, just the bottom sides second win of the season.

Huddersfield have only won one in their last five games and are now taking on the role of disruptor of other seasons rather than realistic hopefuls for the play-offs.

St Helens broke a five-game losing streak last weekend with a comprehensive win over a desperately poor Hull FC side and came into tonight’s fourth against fifth challenge against the Salford Red Devils looking for a win which would lift them above their visitors on points difference.

A place in the top six is still very much on the cards for both sides, but the jostle for positions at the end of round twenty-seven is still very much alive with both sides wanting to finish as high up the ladder as they can.

St Helens were the favourites with the bookies having been handicapped by eight points on the coupon.

The long delayed, and now much anticipated, Round Two clash between the Wigan Warriors and Leigh Leopards was a special Tuesday night treat as the two sides played their re-scheduled early season fixture which had been postponed when Wigan successfully took part in the World Club Challenge in February.

Wigan were slight favourites with the bookies, and came into the game with a four-point handicap despite losing two of their last three outings, but they were up against a Leigh side who are unbeaten in their last four and who were certain to provide a stern challenge for the defending Champions.

A home win would see the Cherry and Whites two points clear at the top of the table, a win for the Leopards would lift them above the Rhinos and into seventh spot in the table, poised for a shot at the top six should those above them slip up over the closing rounds.

It’s fourteen years since a London side (the then Harlequins) beat the Catalans Dragons in the nation’s capital and the bookies believed that the losing streak would continue in 2024 as they handicapped the visitors by twenty-four points, expecting a one-sided game.

A win for the Dragons would put them up to fourth in the table, on points difference, but the London fans making their way into the Cherry Red Records Stadium hoped that this might be the second league victory of the season for their side who have shown marked improvement in recent weeks.

Surely this wouldn’t be the round that London got their second win.

A critical round twenty game for both sides saw sixth placed Salford Red Devils hosted a Leeds Rhinos side who sit in seventh place and who know that their task of achieving a top six position, and a play-off place would look almost impossible should they lose this encounter, a result which would see Salford into fourth.

Salford were the slight favourites for the win with the bookies but with the Rhinos only being given a two-point start on the handicap coupon there was clearly very little to choose between the two sides with the ‘Brad Arthur factor’ still to be determined.

It was ‘make or break’ time for both sides, the scene was set for a corker of a game.

There is no denying that St Helens are in the midst if an uncharacteristic run and they went into today’s game against Hull FC seeking to avoid a sixth consecutive loss, an unwanted record which they last suffered during the 1985-86 season in the pre-summer era.

But with Hull FC having an awful season down the wrong end of the Super League table the bookies had installed the red vee as favourites for the win and handicapped them by eight points on the coupon.

Both sides had a myriad of missing players with injuries recently costing Hull Liam Sutcliffe and King Vuniyayawa, while Saints were without the services of Jonny Lomax and Jack Welsby.

At the start of round twenty of Super League 2024 the fixture between Warrington Wolves and Hull Kingston Rovers was an encounter between the top two in the table, but a win last night for the Wigan Warriors saw them jump to the top of the pile with Warrington needing a win of any description to return to the top themselves, KR knowing that an eleven point or more win would see them sitting pretty.

The bookies fancied a home win, especially with their major signing coup John Bateman making his debut from the bench after being released on loan by Wests Tigers until the end of the season.

That debut would likely spur the visitors who are having a sensational season so far in 2024 as they look for their first ever Grand Final appearance come the end of the season.

After suffering a minor setback and blemish on their one hundred percent record with defeat at the hands of Toulouse Olympique XIII last weekend, Wakefield Trinity looked to get back to winning ways with a home game against a Featherstone Rovers side who have run hot and cold throughout 2024.

Neither side could improve their league position with a win and Wakefield were massive favourites with the bookies to overcome their defeat and get back to winning ways as they were handicapped by twenty-four points on the coupon.

Featherstone were looking over their shoulders with concern and a heavy defeat could potentially cost them three league places and see them ending the weekend in ninth place.

Two sides who were on opposite ends of last weekend’s shock results came together for an intriguing round nineteen game as a Catalans Dragons side who lost to the Castleford Tigers faced a Hull FC side who sprang the surprise of the season in defeating champions elect, Wigan Warriors.

The big news was that Sam Tomkins was back out of retirement to alleviate the injury crisis in the south of France and provide a much-needed boost as the Dragons looked to secure a top six spot and a shot at the play offs.

The Dragons were firm favourites with the bookies and were handicapped by fourteen points on the coupon but in this round of shocks in Super League 2024, nothing could be taken for granted.

Salford Red Devils knew that a win in round nineteen was crucial to their top six aspirations with a win over the much-improved Castleford Tigers able to take them clear of the pack of two other teams being chased down by the Leeds Rhinos for the sixth play-off place.

While Salford lost their last two outings, Castleford have won their last three matches and were keen on a fourth on the bounce, a win for the Tigers would see them up above the Huddersfield Giants and into a ninth place which had looked a distant prospect just a few weeks ago.

The bookies had Salford as the favourites, but not by much, with an eight-point start on the coupon for the visitors.

It was, without doubt, the game of the nineteenth round of Super League 2024 as top of the table Wigan Warriors took on a Warrington Wolves side sat in second place and knowing that a win by twenty points or more could send them to the top of the table, depending on the size of Hull KR’s win over London Broncos.

Wigan needed to get back on the bike after last weeks shock loss against Hull FC, the most incredible result of the season so far, while Warrington came into the game flying high after last weeks victory over St Helens, despite being reduced to twelve men for sixty minutes.

Wigan were favourites with the bookies, home advantage meaning that they were handicapped on the coupon by four points, the Wolves looking to end a seven-game losing streak against the Warriors.

Bill Arthur was a SKY Sports presenter from the moment Super League arrived, including commentating on many momentus RL occasions he went onto become a senior member of the SKY team and helped make everyone feel welcome.

I met Bill quite a number of times and my most memorable was in a tent in a field in York at the york 9s, thrown together to report on the event he was quick to put me at ease and we chatted about the places we live and the sport.

Bill died peacefully on Wednesday surrounded by his family and inspired many with his courageous battle against the disease which he was diagnosed with in 2011.

RLFANS.COM and all our supporters, moderators and administrators offer our deep condolences to Bill's family.

Two sides having disappointing seasons got round nineteen underway on Thursday night as the Leeds Rhinos travelled the short distance don the M62 to take on the Huddersfield Giants as ninth hosted seventh with play-off places now close to disappearing out of sight for both outfits.

The Giants had won the last two meetings between the two sides, including their 30-24 win earlier this season at Headingley and the Rhinos had not taken the points away from the John Smith’s stadium for almost five years, their last win there in August 2019.

The Rhinos had been made favourites with the bookies before the first ball was kicked, the home side with a four-point start on the coupon but it was an essential game for both sides.

Two form teams, both on the back of short winning runs, met in the final game of round eighteen as the Catalans Dragons made the journey to West Yorkshire to take on an increasingly confident Castleford Tigers in the hope of picking up the two points to go ahead of St Helens and prevent their continued fall towards the bottom end of the top six.

A win for Castleford would lift them within a point of the Huddersfield Giants and would stretch their win streak to three consecutive games after their stunning win over Saints a couple of weeks ago, but the bookies favoured a Dragons win, handicapping them by six points on the coupon and buoyed by the return of Tom Johnstone and Jordan Abdull.

It was Leeds Rhinos ‘Brad Arthur’ test day as the new coach took charge of the side for the first time as they came up against a trailblazing Hull KR side who are having a sensational season inside the top six and who wanted the two points to move level with the Warrington Wolves in second place.

The bookies made the visitors slight favourites but with only a two point advantage to the Rhinos on the handicap coupon they were far from convinced that this was an ironed on win for the Robins as Leeds looked to get two points closer to the Salford Red Devils and the cherished sixth spot in the table.

The Leeds masses gathered at Headingley to ask whether this would be a new dawn for their beloved club, or more of the same underperforming that their side has displayed for the last few years.

Second travelled the short journey to fourth as Warrington Wolves looked to get within two points of the league leaders against a St Helens side who came into the game on the back of three consecutive losses and in danger of dropping to sixth by the end of the weekend and losing four on the bounce for the first time in six years.

The home side were slight favourites with the bookies for a win but with just a two-point handicap on the coupon it promised to be the tightest of games at the end of a sweltering day as summer arrived.

Warrington won the only encounter between the two sides in 2024, eliminating Saints from the Challenge Cup at the quarter final stage, but you have to go back to June 2021 to find the last Warrington victory in a Super League encounter.

It was all on the line as Queensland took on New South Wales at the Suncorp Stadium in the deciding match of an exciting 2024 State of Origin series which had kept the Australian public on a knife edge since that sensational New South Wales win three weeks ago.

Queensland were slight favourites with the bookies and had been handicapped by two points on the coupon, but all indications were that game three would be the closest and most keenly fought of the three games and a game which could come down to the last kick of the game in front of a capacity crowd.

Both coaches made a couple of changes; Queensland had Kalyn Ponga, Selwyn Cobbo in their seventeen with Trent Loiero as eighteenth man, while Bradman Best and Matt Burton were in for New South Wales, the latter as the reserve.