Super League 2024: The favourites and outsiders to make the play-offs ranked

We’ve ranked all 12 Super League clubs by order of how much they’re fancied to make it into the Super League play-offs come the end of the upcoming campaign.

As has been the case over the last few years, six teams will make it past the point of 27 regular season games.

The league leaders and runners-up get a week off as the teams in 3rd & 6th and 4th & 5th battle it out respectively, before the winners of those games face the top two in the semi-finals for a place at Old Trafford in the Super League Grand Final.

This year, the Grand Final will be played at the Theatre of Dreams on Saturday, October 12.

Please note that the below are based on the odds offered by Betfred, the competition’s principal sponsor, accurate as of January 15, 2024.

Super League 2024: The favourites and outsiders to make the play-offs ranked

12. London Broncos

London have actually been in the Super League play-offs twice in their history, in 2003 and 2005 respectively.

But having been promoted via the Championship’s equivalent last year, it’s little surprise that they’re the least favoured team for a top tier play-off push in the upcoming season.

The last team promoted from the second tier – Leigh – powered on through and finished 5th in 2023, but for the Broncos to get into the top six this year, you’ll get odds of 10/1.

11. Castleford Tigers

Based on their 5/1 price for a play-off finish, Castleford are expected to endure a similar season to the one just gone by the bookmakers.

The Tigers have been through three permanent head coaches since they last made the play-offs in 2019, with all three of those – Lee Radford, Andy Last & Danny Ward – having stints at the helm in the last year!

Craig Lingard now takes the reins of the 2017 Grand Finalists.

10. Salford Red Devils

Three Super League play-off campaigns have been and gone for Salford, another club to have been beaten in a Grand Final.

Having narrowly missed out on the top six in the season just gone, the Red Devils aren’t exactly fancied to push that tally out to four, priced at 4/1.

Paul Rowley‘s side still have some financial worry attached to their name with the situation surrounding their stadium tenancy agreement not exactly rosy, and any transfer activity they wish to carry out has a watchful eye over it from the RFL.

9. Hull FC

Between 2001 and 2017, there were only five years in which Hull failed to make the play-offs, but it’s been more of a struggle since, with just one top six finish.

That came behind closed doors in the 2020 season which actually saw the MKM Stadium host the Grand Final between St Helens and Wigan after the Black and Whites had lost out in the play-offs to the Warriors.

On the back of a 10th place finish last year, Tony Smith‘s side are 7/4 to make the cut for the top six this time around.

8. Huddersfield Giants

Huddersfield made the play-offs seven seasons on the bounce between 2009 and 2015, but Super League success has largely escaped them since.

That includes last year, where a 9th place finish came as a surprise to many. 2022 had seen the Giants come 3rd, albeit thumped 28-0 on home soil by head coach Ian Watson‘s former employers Salford when the play-offs come around.

This year, Watson’s side are expected to be in the mix for that top six, but to actually get in there are priced at 6/4.

7. Leigh Leopards

Adrian Lam‘s Leopards stunned everybody last year, looking like top two contenders for a large chunk of the campaign in their first year back in Super League.

In the end, after a Challenge Cup triumph in August, Leigh suffered a disappointing slump at the end of the campaign and finished 5th before bowing out of the play-offs at Hull KR. That was their first-ever Super League play-off involvement.

The bookmakers just about believe the Leythers will miss out on the top six in 2024, but expect their battle to be a close-run thing. Lam’s side are 11/10 for a play-off berth.

6. Hull KR

Into the teams who are ‘odds on’ to make the top six, and KR are just about the first of those, priced at 10/11.

Willie Peters – in his first year in charge – led the Robins to the Super League play-off semi-finals for just a second time ever last term, beaten by eventual champions Wigan.

KR have brought 10 new recruits in this off-season, with the most recent being three-time Grand Finalist Joe Burgess following his exit from Salford.

5. Catalans Dragons

In the bookmakers’ eyes, it’s going to be a scrap for that final play-off spot, because they have five clubs nailed on to make the top six, starting with French outfit Catalans, who are 1/2 on.

The Dragons have had to undergo somewhat of a rebuild this off-season following the retirements of Super League icon Sam Tomkins and fellow veteran Mitchell Pearce respectively, looking to the NRL and bringing in three potential stars in the form of Tariq Sims, Jayden Nikorima (both Melbourne Storm) and Bayley Sironen (New Zealand Warriors).

Nonetheless, it comes as no surprise to see Steve McNamara‘s men as one of the favourites for the play-offs having been Grand Finalists in two of the last three seasons, making the top six for four years on the spin.

4. Warrington Wolves

Warrington have missed out on the play-offs six times since 2003, but only once in the most recent six campaigns, even after last year’s ‘season of two halves’.

The Wire – having just about finished in the top six in 2023 – fell at the first hurdle to St Helens, and since have seen Great Britain, England & NRL legend Sam Burgess arrive at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, putting them through a brutal pre-season which has involved a weekend alongside ex-SAS: Who Dares Wins chief Ant Middleton.

Priced at 2/5 on, the Wolves are the fourth favourites to grab a play-off spot in the upcoming season, with Burgess fancied to get a tune out of his troops.

3. Leeds Rhinos

Eight-time Super League champions Leeds endured an even worse season than Warrington last time out, finishing 8th, but find themselves as the third favourites to make the cut for the play-offs in 2024.

In fairness, the Rhinos have only ever finished outside of the play-offs on five occasions, including last year. That tally, of course, doesn’t include the 1997 season which saw all 12 clubs compete in the end-of-season ‘Premiership’, regardless of where they’d actually finished.

Rohan Smith though will have to get a lot more out of his side if the bookmakers are to be proven right in the upcoming season, but we’re sure that recruiting the 2022 Man of Steel in Brodie Croft will help towards that, as will the additions of Matt Frawley, Lachlan Miller and Paul Momirovski from the NRL.

2. St Helens

Now onto the two clubs who are – at the very least in the bookmakers’ eyes – absolutely going to finish in the top six, to the point where there is little point in even looking at the price. St Helens – at 1/20 on – have never failed to make the play-offs in the Super League era, even making the 1997 Premiership final after a 3rd place finish in Super League II.

The Saints’ lowest finish since the dawn of summer rugby league came in 2013 when they ended the year 5th, eventually beaten 11-10 in the play-offs by Leeds.

In his first year at the helm, Paul Wellens couldn’t make it five Super League titles in a row, but did guide his hometown club to the semi-finals where they were beaten by Catalans in France. Him not getting the Red V into the play-offs this year would be an almighty shock.

1. Wigan Warriors

If Saints not making it into the top six would be an almighty shock, bitter rivals Wigan not doing so would be beyond imaginable, in both our eyes and the bookmakers, who price them at 1/33 on.

The reigning Super League champions have in fact missed out on the play-offs on three occasions in the Super League era, with the most recent being 2017 when a 6th-place finish post-Super 8s wasn’t enough to book them a semi-final spot.

They actually won the World Club Challenge that year, and will hope to do so again next month, but a 2024 in which Matt Peet‘s side aren’t at least competing for top spot seems highly unlikely given some eye-catching recruitment, even when the seven senior departures – including Morgan Smithies (Canberra Raiders) and Sam Powell (Warrington) – are considered.

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