Power Rankings: Wigan Warriors remain top, Leigh Leopards back in top 10, St Helens rise
From left to right: Wigan Warriors, Leigh Leopards & St Helens all enjoyed wins over the weekend and are involved in our latest Power Rankings
Each week this season, Love Rugby League will be bringing you our Power Rankings, ranking the top 10 clubs in the British game we believe have the most momentum behind them.
The 35 clubs across Super League, the Championship and League 1 are all in the running to be involved, with solely on-field performance affecting the rankings (we’re not IMG!).
Our latest top 10 of the campaign is below, with all competitive games to this point taken into account.
For Super League clubs, that’s their performances across the opening 14 rounds and the Challenge Cup.
Meanwhile, the Championship and League 1 seasons got underway in March, and clubs in those divisions had already played games in the 1895 Cup and Challenge Cup this year prior to that as well.
For reference, last week’s Power Rankings are here.
Without further ado, the Love Rugby League Power Rankings (17/06/2024)…
10. Warrington Wolves (DOWN 6)
This is a heavy fall in our rankings, but over the last couple of weeks, Warrington have looked pretty abject. At Wembley in the Challenge Cup final, you put it down to nerves and the occasion, but in their 25-14 defeat at home against Salford Red Devils on Friday night, the scoreline flattered the Wolves. They need to bounce back, and they need to do so quickly.
9. Hull KR (NEW)
KR’s performance this season seems to have gone under the radar, but Willie Peters’ side are enjoying another strong campaign and Craven Park is becoming something of a fortress. They dispatched Huddersfield Giants 32-6 there on Friday night to make it three consecutive Super League wins, and their fifth in the last six league outings overall.
8. Leigh Leopards (NEW)
Leigh are another new entry into our Power Rankings, making a return after a hugely impressive 10-2 victory in Perpignan against Catalans Dragons on Saturday evening. Adrian Lam’s Leopards have now lost only one of their last six, and are eyeing up a play-off charge following a difficult start to the year.
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7. Hunslet (UP 1)
Hunslet – sat 3rd – have now won five in a row in League 1, and six of their last seven overall, following a 25-18 win at home against Midlands Hurricanes on Sunday. Dean Muir’s Parksiders are far from outside the promotion picture, and the longer this winning run goes on, the more both Oldham & Keighley will begin to start looking over their shoulders.
6. Keighley Cougars (DOWN 3)
Speaking of Keighley, they move down a few places in our rankings, but through no fault of their own really having not played over the weekend. They too beat Midlands 25-18 in their last outing, with that their ninth win in 10 league games to date this year. Notably, they are no longer top of League 1 though, as we’ll get on to.
5. Toulouse Olympique (UP 2)
Back up in the Championship, Toulouse are doing everything in their power to make up the ground they lost in a sloppy start to the season. Sylvain Houles’ men beat Doncaster 52-0 at the Stade Ernest-Wallon on Saturday, and have now won each of their last five games as well as six of the last seven overall. Olympique sit 4th, a point below 3rd-placed Widnes Vikings.
4. Oldham (UP 2)
Keighley are no longer top of League 1, Oldham are. The Roughyeds had a game in hand on the Cougars, and won 60-6 away against Newcastle Thunder on Sunday afternoon. Courtesy of that win in the North East, a ninth in 10 league games played so far this year, Sean Long’s side leapfrogged Keighley. They have a vastly superior points difference than their main rivals for the title.
LRL RECOMMENDS: Sean Long pays ultimate tribute to the late, great Rob Burrow and recalls Great Britain story
3. St Helens (UP 2)
Saints made it four wins in a row, and six in their last seven outings, with a thoroughly professional showing away against London Broncos on Sunday afternoon. A 52-6 win took them back top of the Super League table on points difference above rivals Wigan, and Paul Wellens’ side have now scored 40+ points in three of those last four victories.
RED V: St Helens suffer injury blow during early stages of London Broncos victory
2. Wakefield Trinity (-)
Wakefield came close to losing their 100% record this season away against Widnes on Sunday, where there was more than enough evidence to suggest a Wembley hangover. Daryl Powell’s side though got the job done against the side who had started the afternoon directly below them, opening up a six-point gap at the top of the Championship courtesy of a 20-18 win.
1. Wigan Warriors (-)
It was a similar story for Wigan on Friday night as they suffered a bit of a Wembley hangover away at Castleford Tigers, but the Warriors just about got the job done, coming away with a 10-8 victory. The Cherry & Whites have now won seven games in a row across all competitions, and face Super League basement boys London at home this week.
