12th - Widnes Vikings. (3/23 & 1/7). If ever a side was worth the bottom place, this was the one. They always looked like a side that would struggle but not to this extent. They only won 3 regular round games and only won in the Qualifiers by beating a part time side. Relegation totally deserved.
11th - Hull KR (8/1/14 & 5/2). They reached 10th spot for the first 23 rounds, had to go into the Qualifiers and just avoided the million pound game. It's good that such a well supported side retained its top flight status. Still, scrapping at the bottom end of the table every season isn't ideal.
10th - Salford Red Devils (7/16 & 5/2). Finishing 11th in the league, then entering the Qualifiers was a tough place to be. They recruited well entering the second phase and never really looked like being relegated. Pitiful crowd support at a stadium that has never worked for the club had them as my preferred relegation side but they will battle in Super league for another season.
9th - Leeds Rhinos (8/2/13) & 5/2). Last years grand final winner and this year fighting for Super League survival. 9th after 23 rounds and then solid in the Qualifiers means the competition's best supported side will stay up. Making the cup semi final was their highlight. They may have failed to recruit sufficiently but a new coach and improved stadium bode well for 2019. At least that what the fans hope.
8th - Hull FC (11/12 & 0/7). For the first half of the season they were competitive and in the second rubbish. Had they fallen into the Qualifiers, they would surly have been relegated. Coming 6th in the league should have had them higher than my ranking but losing all seven Super 8 matches was woeful.
7th - Wakefield Trinity (10/1/12 & 3/4). Coming 7th in the league gave them security but the carrying over of points meant the last seven games were academic. A poorly thought out system. Still, they showed that a modest budget doesn't have to mean poor results, and they did well considering that.
6th - Huddersfield Giants (11/1/11 & 2/5). The season started poorly for them but an outstanding run of victories carried the side to a respectable 5th in the league. They seemed to run out of steam a bit in the Super 8's but an incredible turn around of form got them to safety.
5th - Catalan Dragons (10/1/12 & 2/5). A season that mirrored Huddrsfield's closely. They too came back after a horror start and their revival was even more outstanding. On top of that they won the Challenge Cup, the first non-English side to do that.
4th - Castlford Tigers (15/1/7 & 5/2). They were in the mix all season but failed to deliver anything of note. They did get to within one game of the Grand Final but didn't offer much in that match. A solid but unspectacular season, in the end not up to the best team's performances.
3rd - St Helens (21/2 & 5/2). A magnificent league campaign gave them that title and one game short of both the grand final and cup final. A successful season but frustratingly close to it being an outstanding one. perhaps unlucky to be ranked third here but the margins at the top are so close.
2nd - Warrington (14/1/8 & 4/3). Only 4th in the league but second best? Well they also made the Challenge Cup final and Grand final, tragically losing both. It was a case of so close but no cigar. It's a good team but they are just short of something to take them to the top.
1st - Wigan Warriors (16/7 & 7/0). They were not a classy side nor one that overly impressed but certainly a gritty one. They won all their Super 8 matches at season's end that had an ominous look about it. They lost a semi final Challenge Cup match but then got to the grand final. Their grittiness in defence was evident in a hard won 12-4 victory over a gallant Warrington. Not a clear number one but they just did enough.
The columns below show the league, Super 8s, Tot is the first two combined, Qualifiers, Challenge Cup and Finals.
| Rk | Club | Lge | S 8 | Tot | Qf | CC | Fin | |
| 1 | Wigan | 32 | 14 | 46 | - | W | ||
| 2 | Warrington | 29 | 8 | 37 | - | RU | RU | |
| 3 | St Helens | 42 | 10 | 52 | - | SF | SF | |
| 4 | Castleford | 31 | 10 | 41 | - | SF | ||
| 5 | Catalans | 21 | 4 | 25 | - | W | ||
| 6 | Huddersfield | 23 | 4 | 27 | - | |||
| 7 | Wakefield | 21 | 6 | 27 | - | |||
| 8 | Hull FC | 22 | 0 | 22 | - | |||
| 9 | Leeds | 18 | - | 18 | 10 | SF | ||
| 10 | Salford | 14 | - | 14 | 10 | |||
| 11 | Hull KR | 17 | - | 17 | 10 | |||
| 12 | Widnes | 6 | - | 6 | 2 |
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