Super League XI

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Super League XI is the official name for the 2006 engage Super League season in the sport of rugby league. Bradford Bulls were looking to retain the title they won in Super League X. This season saw the entry of Catalan Dragons, who are the first French team to compete since the demise of Paris Saint Germain at the end of Super League II.

Twelve teams competed for the Super League XI title, of which six qualified for the end of season play-offs. The two teams emerging from the play-offs, St Helens and Hull FC took part in the Grand Final at Old Trafford on October 14. St Helens won the match by 26 points to 4. It was Hull's first Grand Final appearance.

Castleford Tigers were relegated on Saturday 16 September after finishing 11th (because Catalans Dragons finished 12th but were exempt from relegation, the 11th placed-team was relegated). They will be replaced in 2007 by Hull KR.

For more competitions, see Rugby league in 2006

[edit] Super League XI Table

Final Table (September 17, 2006)

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Pts For	Pts Agst	Points
1	St Helens	28	24	0	4	939	430	48
2	Hull FC	28	20	0	8	720	578	40
3	Leeds Rhinos	28	19	0	9	869	543	38
4	Bradford Bulls †	28	16	2	10	802	568	32
5	Salford City Reds	28	13	0	15	600	539	26
6	Warrington Wolves	28	13	0	15	743	721	26
7	Harlequins RL	28	11	1	16	556	823	23
8	Wigan Warriors †	28	12	0	16	644	715	22
9	Huddersfield Giants	28	11	0	17	609	753	22
10	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	28	10	0	18	591	717	20
11	Castleford Tigers	28	9	1	18	575	968	19
12	Catalans Dragons*	28	8	0	20	601	894	16

* - Exempt from relegation

† - Teams deducted 2 points for breaching the salary cap. [1] [2]

[edit] Super League XI Results

[edit] SL Round 18

The week prior to this round saw the shock move of Stuart Fielden from the Bradford Bulls to Wigan for an Super League record fee of £450,000. Despite the win over Warrington they remain bottom of the league after round 18.

Bradford Bulls 42 Huddersfield Giants 16

Hull FC 28 Castleford Tigers 10

Leeds Rhinos 36 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 20

Wigan Warriors 30 Warrington Wolves 12

Catalan Dragons 38 Harlequins RL 18

St Helens 28 Salford City Reds 6

[edit] SL Round 19

The bottom half of the table is now very compressed, with 6 teams able to get in the playoffs and 5 still could be relegated.

Huddersfield Giants 14 Leeds Rhinos 36

Castleford Tigers 52 Warrington Wolves 26

Harlequins RL 24 Wigan Warriors 26

Catalan Dragons 20 Hull FC 24

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 36 St Helens 52

Salford City Reds 17 Bradford Bulls 16

[edit] SL Round 20

Wigan are off the bottom of the table for the first time in three months but are still in the relegation spot since Les Catalans cannot be relegated. Warrington ended their bad run of results by beating Huddersfield.

Leeds Rhinos 26 Bradford Bulls 24

Warrington Wolves 30 Huddersfield Giants 26

Harlequins RL 24 Castleford Tigers 16

Wigan Warriors 42 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 24

St Helens 52 Catalan Dragons 26

Salford City Reds 20 Hull FC 24

[edit] SL Round 21

Wigan are out of the relegation zone after beating Salford - their fifth win on the trot. Wakefield had a chance to put Wigan back in the drop zone but blew a 20-0 lead against Huddersfield to allow the Giants to record a crucial victory. Elsewhere Hull's Richard Horne became the first player in 91 years to score tries in eleven straight games for the club in their victory over Warrington.

Bradford Bulls 30 Catalan Dragons 16

Hull FC 36 Warrington Wolves 24

Castleford Tigers 31 Leeds Rhinos 30

Wigan Warriors 20 Salford City Reds 12

Huddersfield Giants 26 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 20

St Helens 30 Harlequins RL 24

[edit] SL Round 22

Hull's 13 match winning streak came to an end at Harlequins but 2nd place rivals Leeds lost to leaders St Helens, who had Jamie Lyon sent off. Wigan's recent revival was halted by Warrington.

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 20 Bradford Bulls 42

Catalan Dragons 26 Salford City Reds 6

Harlequins RL 18 Hull FC 16

Warrington Wolves 22 Wigan Warriors 20

Huddersfield Giants 34 Castleford Tigers 10

Leeds Rhinos 14 St Helens 18

[edit] SL Round 23

Wakefield re-ignited the relegation battle with a win against local rivals Castleford, despite being reduced to 11 men by the end of the game. Leeds lost the battle for second place, and their third league match in a row.

Castleford Tigers 0 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 18

Bradford Bulls 50 Warrington Wolves 22

Salford City Reds 34 Harlequins RL 0

Hull FC 23 Leeds Rhinos 16

Wigan Warriors 40 Catalan Dragons 4

St Helens 56 Huddersfield Giants 8

[edit] SL Round 24

Castleford Tigers 4 St Helens 72

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 34 Catalan Dragons 14

Harlequins RL 28 Bradford Bulls 26

Salford City Reds 35 Warrington Wolves 34

Leeds Rhinos 18 Wigan Warriors 20

Huddersfield Giants 12 Hull FC 26

[edit] SL Round 25

St Helens rested a number of senior players for the trip to Perpignan ahead of the Challenge Cup Final. Despite this, their young side were only beaten by a Stacey Jones try 30 seconds from full time.

Bradford Bulls 48 Castleford Tigers 10

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 12 Leeds Rhinos 14

Catalan Dragons 26 St Helens 22

Warrington Wolves 28 Harlequins RL 22

Hull FC 11 Salford City Reds 10

Wigan Warriors 14 Huddersfield Giants 10

[edit] SL Round 26

St. Helens returned to full strength having won the Challenge Cup in the week between rounds 25 and 26 of Super League XI.

Leeds Rhinos 54 Warrington Wolves 16

St Helens 34 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 12

Wigan Warriors 38 Bradford Bulls 16

Castleford Tigers 27 Harlequins RL 12

Huddersfield Giants 24 Salford City Reds 18

Hull FC 26 Catalan Dragons 12

[edit] SL Round 27

The relegation battle will go down to the wire as Wakefield beat Bradford while Castleford lost to Salford. Wakefield meet Castleford next week for what could be a relegation decider. St Helens receive the League Leaders Shield for a second successive year as recognition for finishing top of the regular Super League season. Harlequins secure survival after beating Wigan. Salford secure a top-6 play-off spot for the first time in their history. Warrington secure the last play-off spot, but can still over-haul Salford for fifth place.

Salford City Reds 26 Castleford Tigers 16

Bradford Bulls 12 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 20

St Helens 54 Leeds Rhinos 18

Catalan Dragons 12 Huddersfield Giants 20

Harlequins RL 31 Wigan Warriors 30

Warrington Wolves 26 Hull FC 14