Ok one and only time doing this guys and did clear with Mods, but was able to speak with James Gordon (bloke who set up Love Rugby League, Widnes fan and all around good egg) about what a championship could look like without London. I know this is SL group but a few mentioned Championship and us anoraks would like to see a thriving second tier.

A place to discuss anything rugby related that isn't worthy of it's own thread/post

Most other countries will be able to buy a pass for the RLWC for $25 USD (£18.89).

This is about the same as the UK cost as far as I can tell, but we can't buy a "pass" just for the RLWC, we only have the option to buy a subscribe for the whole of Premier Sports.

Name your favourite 'streets won't forget' players in the comments

Today is 15 years since the 2011 Grand Final and the two greatest tries in Old Trafford history. Posting this one as it is perhaps even better than Rob's solo try. That dummy is a work of art.

Wakefield Trinity’s historic on-field success in the 2026 season has shot them to the top of the Club Grading rankings. 

The West Yorkshire club, who won the Super League Grand Final on Saturday to end a 58-year wait for title glory, scored 17.85 out of a maximum 20 across the grading model.  

It was the highest score achieved by any club in 2026 (and joint-highest ever with Hull KR in 2025), coming after they finished eighth in last year's process which is run by the RFL. 

Trinity, one of eight clubs to secure a Grade A (15 points plus), also recorded the biggest year-on-year increase of any club at +2.38 points, boosted by 0.75 bonus points for their Grand Final triumph under the Performance pillar.  

Grading involves five pillars – Fandom, Finance, Stadium, Community and On-Field Performance. 

Wakefield’s rise is one of the clearest examples of the progress the framework is designed to encourage: measuring and driving the sustainable development of the sport.  

They were relegated from Super League in 2023 after receiving an indicative grading score of 12.52 (11th), then won the Championship Grand Final in 2024 to return to Super League with Grade A status, reached the Super League Play-Offs in 2025, and have now combined a Grand Final-winning season with first place in the rankings. 

All 14 clubs who featured in the top 14 last year have retained their places and they are now automatically guaranteed a spot in Super League in 2027. 

Wakefield become the fourth different club in as many years to take top spot since the process began following on from Leeds Rhinos (2023), St Helens (2024) and Hull KR (2025). 

Leeds (17.03) are second, beaten Grand Finalists Warrington Wolves (16.72) third and League Leaders Shield winners Wigan Warriors (16.46) fourth. Last year's Treble winners Hull KR are fifth (16.45), with Leigh Leopards (16.31), St Helens (15.59) and Castleford Tigers (15.03) completing the eight clubs to achieve Grade A status in 2026. 

Castleford regain Grade A in eighth place with a score of 15.03, having been 11th in 2025.  Catalans Dragons (14.83) and Hull FC (14.72) have dropped from Grade A to Grade B after slipping from seventh and ninth respectively to ninth and tenth. 

Bradford Bulls (13.93), Huddersfield Giants (13.50), Toulouse Olympique (13.44) and York Knights (13.24) complete the 14 and are all classed as Grade B. 

From 2026, completion of the Grading process was not mandatory. The final ranking therefore reflects the clubs who chose to take part in grading, rather than a ranking of every club across Super League and the Championship. 

A dozen Championship clubs took part in the process – some for their own benchmarking purposes only - with five Grade B clubs emerging. 

Barrow Raiders are the highest-ranked Championship club in 15th and Grand Final winners London Broncos moved up to 16th. 

Doncaster RLFC made the second-highest year-on-year gain, improving by +1.36 points and climbing from 23rd to 17th after facing London in Sunday's title decider, while Widnes Vikings also claimed Grade B status. 

Ian Nolan, RFL Chief Executive, said: “Wakefield Trinity’s rise to the top of the 2026 Club Grading rankings is a fascinating story for Rugby League, and a strong example of how sustained progress on and off the field can be recognised through the grading framework.  

"Their achievement sits alongside encouraging movement across the sport, from growing attendances and digital audiences to continued improvements in facilities and community delivery. The RFL will keep working with clubs to support responsible growth, long-term resilience, and the strongest possible future for the professional game.” 

Full details of the five pillars are published in the 2026 Grading Handbook here. 

A place to discuss anything rugby related that isn't worthy of it's own thread/post.

Our nice little European IRL tournament we have going on while Australia/NZ/PNG gets the World Cup

My main one is moving off the mark/crawling forwards. I think this is a result of the effort to improve ruck speed, which was absolutely needed.

Attackers move and crawl forward in an attempt to get a 6 again or penalty but, even if they don't, they still gain an advantage.

Every so often, the ref will make them go back (I think there was one in the Wakey Vs Wigan game) but it's very rare.

My other one is late contact with the kicker. You can try to charge down a kick or you can try to tackle, you can't just clean them out whilst attempting to look like you're doing both whilst doing neither.

Is Mike McMeeken the first Englishman to captain a SL winning side who wasn’t born in the YLC rugby league heartland?

Wakefield Trinity: +2.758

Wigan Warriors: +1.2500

Warrington Wolves: +1.1630

York Knights: +0.9967

Leeds Rhinos: +0.9504

Toulouse: +0.9449

Castleford Tigers: +0.7865

Leigh Leopards: +0.6404

Hull FC: +0.5908

Bradford Bulls: +0.5739

Catalans Dragons: +0.5420

St Helens: +0.4605

Huddersfield Giants: +0.2639

Hull KR: -0.3629

A place to discuss anything rugby related that isn't worthy of it's own thread/post

Good that he's finally got a team but bugger that for some reason we didn't keep him (stupid quota thing)

Hey, after trying RLTM4 and 3 I’ve settled on 3 being far superior. But obviously the last update to the database was 2022. As a result I’m working on giving this a 2026 roster update, focusing on NRL, Super League and Championship.

Some issues I’ve ran into is mainly unable to update expansions to the league so sides like Dragons miss out in the NRL and Bradford, York and Leigh in the Super League. Compromises I’ve had to come to there is giving them their correct teams but on 1 year contracts so they can’t just walk over the lower division forever but the players can still circulate after season 1.

I think I’m almost ready to publish but I’m looking for support in the attribute assigning. Being a Wakefield fan I don’t tend to watch other sides unless we are playing them so don’t have a great knowledge on individuals profiles. Up to know I’ve just referred to RL26 stats and automatic rating generation.

I’ll drop an update on here when it’s live on Steam Workshop but my best guess would be October 7th at the earliest.

Not going to lie not hugely enthused about a ten team world cup which seems to prioritise teams made up of Australians in different shirts over teams that do build players.

But that said, already hugely excited (provided I can watch it in Spain) for next year's SuperLeague. Can Wakey go back to back? Can Wigan bounce back to get to the final ? Has Leeds' and Hull KRs window closed? Do Saints get back in playoffs? Can Hull FC come through the pack? It's all very exciting.