Hull KR top, Hull FC bottom in Super League table based on half-time scores

Aaron Bower 04 Dec 2024 12:18 PM

Super League half-time table — How would the Super League table look if games were stopped at half-time?

We all know how the Super League table ended up in 2024, with Wigan Warriors ending up on top and London Broncos finishing bottom of the standings.

But what about if games were stopped at half-time? Who were the big performers in the opening 40 minutes of games, and who saved some of their best stuff for after half-time?

Well, wonder no more. Love Rugby League has gone through every single fixture in 2024 and put together a table based off the half-time scores of every match, effectively stopping the game after 40 minutes and awarding competition points.

And the result.. well, it looks a fair bit different to how the actual ladder ended up! What is clear though is that a remarkable number of fixtures – almost 75 per cent – ended up with the same outcome that the game had at half-time, meaning that if you’re leading by the break in Super League, you’re likely to go on and win.

But there were enough examples of scorelines being overturned to make some significant changes to how the table looked in real life!

And those changes start at the very top – with Hull KR the league leaders in first-half scorelines! Rovers actually picked up one fewer point on this table – 41 – than the 42 they got in real life, but there have been some extraordinary drop-offs elsewhere which see Willie Peters side collect more points in the first half of matches than every other side.

The top three remain the same, but in a different order. Eventual champions Wigan Warriors were clearly masters at strong second-half performances; their total on this half-time table is 35 points but on the real table, they ended up with 44 – meaning they picked up an extra nine points with their second-half results. That leaves them third here.

Warrington Wolves are second with 39 points – they ended the regular season with 40.

Another big jumper is next: Catalans Dragons! They actually missed out on the play-offs in real life but are fourth on this table with 33 points: three more than they managed to get in 2024 after 80 minutes.

Salford Red Devils are fifth with exactly the same amount of points in both tables: 32! Then comes another team who matches their 2024 total, St Helens, in sixth, on 30 points.

Leigh Leopards miss out on the play-offs in this table on points difference; they finished the regular season on 31 points but their first-half performances secured them 30 points here. Leeds Rhinos are another who matched their 2024 total, with 28 points: they are eighth.

The bottom four are the same as in real life: but with a key difference to the running order! Huddersfield Giants were stronger in first halves than in second halves in 2024, with 22 points on this table and 20 in real life. Castleford are tenth.

But the big change is at the bottom! In real life, London won three games all season to secure just six points but they were actually leading at half-time in five of their 27 games – meaning they have ten points on this table. And that is enough to get above Hull FC – despite the Black and Whites being better in first halves themselves.

They ended this table on eight points, two more than what they got in real life.

Here is the full table!