From Las Vegas to Hull: Super League comes home with a thriller
It was not quite a case of after the Lord Mayor's show here but following the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas – and what could happen next – Super League returned to the weekly hustle and bustle in the heartlands here in Hull.
These are ever-changing times for the competition: on and off the field. Off it, there are serious murmurings growing of the NRL potentially purchasing Super League to revolutionise the competition's fortunes, with executives from both leagues meeting in Vegas last week to discuss a deal.
We will see on Sunday how Wigan and Warrington fare from their trip across the Atlantic, but all 12 clubs have been invited to lodge an interest in playing in Vegas next year. Both Hull FC and Leigh Leopards would fancy their chances of claiming one of the two spots on offer.
Not least because they have both started the season encouragingly. There were different expectations around the pair pre-season, given how Hull only won three games throughout 2024 and finished 11th, while Leigh made the playoffs and were only beaten by the eventual champions, Wigan.
They both had huge incentives to win here. Hull were eight months without a win at home but are reinvigorated under John Cartwright, with two wins already from their first three games. Leigh, meanwhile – now a genuine force in Super League's upper echelons – knew victory here would take them top of Super League for the first time ever.
And somehow, one of the most incredible games you are likely to see went all the way to golden point but still didn't produce a winner. Hull were magnificent all evening, epitomised by the fact they had 11 men at one stage in the first half but still only trailed by six at half-time.
Leigh full-back David Armstrong's two tries looked to have won it for the Leopards before a late Lewis Martin try sent it to extra time. However, despite a number of near-misses for both sides, neither were able to find the decisive play to win it, producing Super League's first draw of 2025. Both would argue that was a fair outcome.
But for all the hype and excitement surrounding this magnificent game, the Las Vegas fanfare and the wonderful unpredictability at the Super League summit, there are still problems: not least surrounding Salford Red Devils. Their players were paid on Thursday evening a week later than planned, at least confirming Friday's game at Castleford will go ahead.
But with the Red Devils still in special measures and under salary cap restrictions imposed upon them by the RFL, it reiterates that if Super League was to be controlled by the NRL, they would have more than a few issues to resolve.
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