From Hull’s last 42 Super League games, Sunday’s win was only their 17th. It has been thin gruel on the banks of the HumberBy Gavin Willacy for No Helmets RequiredIf it’s not long since you lost 13 games in a row, any win is gratefully received. When Hull FC hung on to claim the two points in London last Sunday, there was a collective sigh of relief. Friday night will bring an even tougher test of their revival when high-flying Warrington come to the East Riding. But whatever happens, Hull left winger Bureta Faraimo is just glad Lee Radford’s team are living in the light again.“We had to get out of that dark place we were in,” said Faraimo, who...
Keighley were in special measures and heading nowhere in November. Now they are back on the sporting mapIn dark times, stories of resurrection have always worked a treat for those trying to flog a religion or sell a little hope. And in a small Yorkshire town once sustained by textiles, resurrection is exactly what a likable offbeat collective is trying to bring.Keighley Rugby League Club, a regular member of the last-chance saloon, was placed in special measures in November for failing to pay the players’ wages. It looked to be in dire trouble, only to be rescued at the 11th hour by a consortium of familiar faces, the men in charge during the glory years of the 1990s, when the...
Can Castleford challenge again? How will Leeds fare without McGuire and Burrow? And can Widnes survive? Our guide to what to expectLast season 1st (lost Grand Final) Coach Daryl Powell Captain Michael Shenton Related: Super League 2018 kicks off with some clubs unsure what they’re playing for Related: Mikolaj Oledzki: 'A rugby league player from Poland? This isn't really heard of' Related: Wigan coach Shaun Wane is feeling upbeat before a make or break season Continue reading...
The season begins on Thursday but a decision is still to be made on how many clubs will be in Super League 2019While only 61 days will have passed since England’s World Cup final defeat by Australia when Warrington and Leeds get the 2018 Super League season under way on Thursday there is a familiar feeling that it cannot come soon enough after another frustrating winter in rugby league.Not for the first time the sport’s domestic calendar begins with more questions than answers but this year it should have been different. England’s first appearance in the World Cup final for 22 years left many optimistic about the future, even if the nature of that defeat by the all-conquering Kangaroos had...
The national side needs to play more often if it is to become a force comparable to Australia when the tournament takes place on home soil in four yearsHistorically in English rugby league there are no shortage of instances of chest‑beating and confidence that brighter times lie ahead following defeat by Australia – but this time, despite losing a World Cup final, it was hard not to feel genuinely encouraged.There is nothing too satisfying in being plucky losers again. But as the players head home from a gruelling six weeks and the end of a season which, for some, began last December, there is a golden opportunity for the game in England to build on a performance which shows the...