European Championships 2025 – Groups B C D

While Group A doesn't seem to be operating, the three levels below are. I assume the top side moves up a division and the bottom side goes down although I don't know where the winner of Group B would go (explanation later in the article). 

So how have the matches gone? With some heritage players allowed, it can create upset results depending on the quality and quantity available. 

Group B: I had no idea who would win this. The Netherlands won this group, winning both its matches convincingly. The Malta v Serbia match will decide the runner up. The photo above is of the Netherlands v Malta. Photo Source: https://europeanrugbyleague.com/

Group C: I would have picked Ukraine as coming third, yet they have won it convincingly. My expected winner Greece came in second and Italy third.

Group D: I thought it would be between Norway and Germany and so it proved. Germany won the decider 32-18. Czechia was well off the pace but good to see them competing as best they could.

So what is it with Group A? England is far ahead of the others and therefore doesn't support it. England did have a series with Australia this year but they could send a B team but that it rarely does. 

France would be the next ranked side and they had a World Cup decider to concentrate on. Wales and Ireland would be the other two sides and they have just played a friendly international. Group A needs to be an annual event, with England taking it seriously.

SL 2026 = 14

So it will be fourteen teams in Super League for the 2026 season. No loop fixtures, that is, some teams playing repeatedly in order to provide a sufficient number of rounds to satisfy the TV broadcaster. 

The two that made it were Toulouse Olympique and York Knights. The only other club that seemed to have a chance was the London Broncos but they haven't proved that they are ready. Others like Oldham were not going to succeed at this point in time.

The other factor is the scoring system, and on that basis, the decision ultimately wasn't a difficult one. 

For the three that made it, a point of note. Central funding will not increase, so there is the same amount of money with two additional clubs, something had to give. With the Bradford Bulls getting the nod first, it replaces the departed Salford and receives full funding. The other two newly promoted sides get half funding. 

The incumbent clubs will presumably get slightly less funding than before to accommodate the expanded competition. York and Toulouse will have to compete while receiving much less than the others. Promotion is tough enough as it is without that handicap. 

Toulouse will also have to pay travel costs for the UK based teams. Each club could pay for two trips a year to France (including Catalan), but no. They have to pay for all the clubs coming over. With Toulouse already getting half the funding, that's making it doubly hard to try and compete. A French TV deal would help but it wouldn't be much help. They will have to smart in how they spend.

It is now decided. Fourteen clubs. The new teams will surely have some recruited players signed, subject to SL entry. London will be using 2026 to establish themselves as a successful and popular club in the city and they will want ot be there in 2027. Will there be sixteen in 2027? Probably not, but if a TV deal was improved due to that happening, then who knows?

Pictures: York Knights & Bradford Bulls. (I couldn't find one for TO).

The Bulls Are Back!

UK's Super League is moving from 12 to 14 teams in 2026, by all accounts. With the demotion of Salford Red Devils, a third vacancy came up. Toulouse Olympique and York Knights are the obvious teams to gain promotion as they contested the Championship (division 2) grand final. 

So three slots in all up for grabs with no shortage of clubs putting their hands up to be one of those entering the 'promised land' of Super League.

There is a grading system to decide who qualifies and while on field performance is included in that, there are many off field criteria that are also important. 

To the right is a chart showing the top 12 clubs. On that basis, the Bradford Bulls have been granted the replacement slot created by Salford's relegation. This has created a stir among some RL fans that the Bradford Bulls have no business being rated that highly. 

I'm not going into that conspiracy theory. What the club does bring is a strong RL culture in the city, good crowds both home and away plus they are at this point doing well financially.

The downside is their antiquated stadium and for some, their historically poor financial performance. Whatever, they are in.

So what about the other two if indeed the competition goes to 14? To the left, are the next 12 clubs with their rankings. That would mean that Toulouse and York are the clubs joining the Bulls. I hope there are 14 teams and I hope they are the two.

Are there any unlucky sides if the above becomes reality? The London Broncos have new ownership and are determined to go places. Their history isn't good and London is a tough nut to crack. I think a year in the expanded Championship would do them good in the long term. 

So congratulations to the Bradford Bulls. I think you are lucky to get this break so I hope you don't blow it. Good luck to Toulouse and York who IMO deserve to join them. London, if you miss out, use 2026 to establish youself in the capital and prove that there is an appetite for top flight RL down there. 

Super League Men's Finals Series : 2025

The grand final highlights are above. 

Going into the finals series, it was hard to see past a Wigan Warriors v Hull KR final. KR had won the league with the Warriors second. KR also won the Challenge Cup but in this case Wigan was nowhere near the final. Still the Warriors were my favourites to win the final with match winning players in Field and French.

Of course, in knock out games anything can happen. A team just needs to have a bad day and it's all over rover. So lets see  how it panned out.

Quarter finals: Two sides sat this round out, the reward for being one of the top two in the league. The Leigh Leopards defeated a galant Wakefield Trinity 26-10. In the other match the Leeds Rhinos lost a tight one, 14-16 to St Helens RLFC. 

Semi finals: Wigan returned to defeat Leigh 18-6 and Hull KR also won, 20-12 over Saints. Neither winner was that convincing, with KR getting some calls in their favour. The two best teams in the league progressed to the big one.

Grand Final: The same two sides from last year met when Wigan were the victors 9-2. The 2025 gf was again held at  Old Trafford football ground. In the 2025 edition, Hull KR made some early mistakes which Wigan didn't capitalise on. Then KR took its chances to lead 10-2 at the break.

In the second half, the Warriors tried to come back but the mistakes continued and KR was able to pull away to win the game 24-6. Opposite to the song, Wigan saved the worst to last. KR were more composed and deserved not only winning the grand final but also the treble. 

NSW Cup League & Finals : 2025

The first article on this competition - one below the NRL - and while it's called the NSW Cup, it includes Canberra, Victoria and New Zealand. Melbourne (Victoria) aren't fielding a side in it and rarely have. 

I looked into the history of the competition to do a piece on that but decided against doing so. It doesn't have the consistency of participants, so trying to establish historical success would have little meaning.

As for the 2025 season, the NZ Warriors easily won the league with an eleven point margin over the second placed St George. Second to tenth was tight with only a six point spread covering them.  

The chart below shows where the clubs finished in 2024 with St George and Parramatta in particular improving their rankings. North Sydney was the big loser. Blue shows the five sides that progressed to the playoffs, which are discussed below. 

First round: There were three teams from Sydney and two from elsewhere. The NZ Warriors had a bye while the second to fifth teams did battle. Two close games saw winners St George and Canberra progress, along with Parramatta whose third league placing gave them another life.  

Second Round: The Warriors joined for this round and were upset by St George 10-24. In the other match, Parramatta narrowly got past Canberra 36-30. St George went directly to the grand final.

Third Round: The NZ Warriors picked themselves up after the last round defeat to breeze past the Eels 42-12. They now had to do what they failed to do the week before if they wanted to add to their winning the league with a grand final victory as well.

Grand final: The Warriors got their revenge with a sound 30-12 result. They were the best side through the season and thoroughly deserved the double. 

The grand final highlights are below. The commentator's voice is interesting to say the least. 

State Championship Winners : 2014-2025

I haven't taken any notice of the NSW Cup and I didn't know the NSW and Queensland champions played off to find the top side that is below the NRL competition. I decided to educate myself. 

Many of the NSW teams in particular are part of an NRL club. In contrast, Queensland has independant clubs. Either way, most are associated with NRL sides.  

I decided to check out the history of the interstate match up, expecting Queensland teams to dominate. I had this idea the Queensland Cup is a stronger competition. If that is so, it is not reflected in the results. Of the ten years it has been held, the first two winners were clubs north of the border. Since then one narrow win in 2024. Otherwise, NSW based teams have proved victorious.

The 2025 match highlights can be seen in the video above. 

UK Championship (Division 2) Finals: 2025

Six sides took part in the finals series of the Championship, the European second division. Winning the grand final or even just making it there should help press claims for Super League status in 2025. Grand final highlights are in the video above.

First round: The top sides from the league had a week off so three to six did battle. The Halifax Panthers were too good for Oldham but well done to Oldham as a newly promoted side getting this far. In the other fixture, Bradford overcame Featherstone 28-8. 

Semi finals: York hosted Halifax and booked their place in the grand final with a solid 30-18 victory. Bradfoed went to France and did very well to lose narrowly 20-24. The top two league teams showed their class in progressing through.

Grand final: York had home advantage but there was little between the sides through the season and that is how the final panned out. York scored two unconverted tries and Toulouse kicked five penalties to edge it 10-8. Poor discipline by York hurt them, as did missed conversions. Both will now hope to be promoted to Super League next season. 

UK SL/Championship (Women) Finals : 2025

This covers both finals series for women's RL in the UK. First up, the elite Super League playoffs, then the second division (Northern Championship) finals.

Super League: The top four from the league went on to press for grand final success. Wigan had already won the cup and league so were looking to do the treble. It was hard to see who could stop them. In 2024, York won the grand final against St Helens. 

Semi finals: Wigan took on Leeds, a club which hadn't won anything since its 2022 grand final victory. The wait goes on when it was easily beaten 0-38 by the Warriors. In the other semi, St Helens battled to a narrow 12-8 win over the holders York Valkyrie. 

Grand Final: 5,000 attended the match, a record for the event. Wigan went in hot favourites but were soon trailing, with Saints players desperately not wishing to take home another runners up medals. Then Wigan took control and despite a late try from Saints, got home 16-12. 

Northern Championship: The London Broncos were promoted to this division and amazingly went through the league season undefeated. Meanwhile, Featherstone Rovers had been demoted from Super League and had lost just one match. 

Semi finals: London maintained their unbeaten run in getting past Salford 22-10 and Featherstone overcame another newly promoted side the Cardiff Demons 20-14. The top two clubs from the league were to meet in the final.

Grand Final: Played in London, the locals took an early lead 10-0 but it was whittled down to 10-8 by the break. Feathestone then went on to overtake London and gain immediate promotion back to Super League.

NRLW Women's Finals Series : 2025

Six teams made it to the finals series. Three from Queensland and three from NSW (two from Sydney). Two sides were likely to stand out. The Brisbane Broncos are the most successful club historically and the Sydney Roosters. who have been the best in recent times, The latter were the 2024 grand final winning club. 

First round: Newcastle were expected to defeat the Gold Coast and delivered on that expectation. Cronulla vs North Queensland was slightly harder to pick, although I had Cronulla as my choice. In a tight affair, the Sharks prevailed 24-18. 

Second round: The two rested sides returned to the action. The Roosters struggled to overcome the Sharks but in the end sqeaked home 17-16. In contrast, the Broncoes were in fine form in powering past the Knights 30-6. The Broncos certainly looked the form side going into the grand final.

Grand final: Brisbane got ahead early but the Roosters didn't go through the whole season undefeated by fluke and came back to lead with minutes to go. A late try was awarded to the Broncos that secured the title they last won in 2019. 

I wasn't sure with that last try that the ball was grounded, but if it was, it was a prominent blade of grass that did the honours. Either way, it was awarded and that's all that matters. Tight games are often decided by fine margins.

NRL Men's Finals Series : 2025

The top eight were decided and off they all went in pursuit of the grand final trophy. Four clubs from Sydney and one each from Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and New Zealand.

First round: League winners Canberra got run down in spectacular fashion by Brisbane and Cronulla shut out the in form Sydney Roosters. The NZ Warriors came into the finals in less than ideal form and the inform Penrith Panthers in the end ran away with the match. Finally, Melbourne were just too experienced for the plucky Canterbury Bulldogs side. 

Second round: With two teams having a week off, Canberra tried to get redemption for last week's heatbreak but were outplayed by a very solid Cronulla Sharks. I the other encounter, Penrith's experience in finals paid off in a comfortable win over the Bulldogs. 

Third Round: One game away from a grand final berth. Melbourne got home against a plucky Cronulla while Brisbane enjoyed another nail biting victory over the last four grand final victors Penrith. Is the dynasty over for the losing Panthers? 

Grand Final: Melboune won its last grand final in 2020 and Brisbane in 2006 so for the latter a long time between drinks of the celebratory sort. Melbourne was ahead for much of the game but Brisbane have been reveling in arm wrestles and wouldn't go away. In the end, they won yet another tight one 22-18.