5th: 32 points, Warrington (Cheshire).
A top performing side for most of the year and winners of the cup, coming in fourth was a let down. Form had deserted them and they lost the eliminator match straight up 12-14 to Castleford at home. Even the fans didn't bother turning up in numbers, perhaps they had already seen the writing on the wall.
4th: 30 points, Castleford (Yorkshire).
The club didn't reach great heights in 2019 but got to the last five. This was one team in the playoffs I gave no chance of making the final but they did upset Warrington before meeting their Waterloo against Salford , losing 22-0.
3rd: 36 points, Wigan (Lancashire).
This was a peculiar year, with a slow start and improved performances as the season progressed had them second by the end of the regular season. After taking out Salford, they needed to beat Saints to go straight to the final. They got hammered by a very slick team 10-40.
So it was back to playing Salford for the last chance to make the final but with a flat and error strewn performance, they went down 4-28.
2nd: 34 points, Salford (Lancashire).
They endured the relegation playoff series last year and didn't start well in 2019. They also had an important player transfer to Leeds so things didn't look good. They got it together, put a string of wins together and ended up third.
In the first qualifying final, they lost narrowly to Wigan 18-12, went into an elimination match with Cas' and redeemed themselves 22-0. Back to facing Wigan in the last match to determine the second finalist, where they won comfortably and made their fans plus most neutrals very happy.
However, the final was a bridge to far, going down gallantly 23-6. Still a fabulous season. The challenge will be maintaining the standard achieved this season.
1st: 52 points, St Helens (Lancashire).
Saints won the league in a canter, ultimately taking it with a 16 point margin over the second placed side. The points difference of +521 showed how dominant they were. Still, that didn't stop them losing the cup final. In the finals series, they only had to win one game to make the grand final, which they managed in downing Wigan 40-10.
Saints went on to in the grand final and deservedly so. A nice send off for the coach who is returning to Australia. They were the best team and to not win the big game would have been a harsh end to their season,
Rk | Team | Pts | W | L | Diff | |
1 | St Helens RLFC | 52 | 26 | 3 | 521 | |
2 | Wigan Warriors | 36 | 18 | 11 | 160 | |
3 | Salford Red Devils | 34 | 17 | 12 | 186 | |
4 | Warrington Wloves | 32 | 16 | 13 | 176 | |
5 | Castleford Tigers | 30 | 15 | 14 | 88 |
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