The new Super League season begins in four weeks.
Hull KR’s Jimmy Keinhorst scores in the final minute of the derby against Hull FC.(Image: PA)
The 31st edition of the Super League competition takes centre stage come Thursday 12 February, with the latest opening round beginning with a tasty all Yorkshire affair between Super League newcomers York Knights and Super League champions Hull KR.
And while the clash in North Yorkshire is set to bring fireworks and the like, what about the opening round clashes of yesteryear? Here, we count down some absolute belters, from French parties to Hull FC winning in heavy fog at St Helens to Hull KR’s return to the big time.
10. Harlequins’ surprise, 2007
The all-conquering St Helens side may have had their eye on their World Club Challenge clash against Brisbane Broncos—two weeks from this round one fixture and one they’d go on to win—but it takes nothing away from Harlequins, or London Broncos, who produced a shock win. Some context? Saints blitzed the 2006 competition, winning the Challenge Cup, the League Leaders Shield, and then the Grand Final, so to lose 14-6, even at a snow- and sleet-soaked Knowsley Road was some surprise. But credit to the Quins, with Danny Orr inspiring them to an unlikely win.
9. Wakefield’s late heroics, 2015
Danny Washbrook’s 78th-minute try was enough to give Wakefield a derby day victory over Castleford Tigers eleven years ago. Trinity trailed 22-12 with just six minutes to go. However, after Ali Lauitiiti pulled one back, they threw the dice again, with the loose forward getting over for a dramatic opening round win.
8. Maloney Magic, 2021
The world was a strange place during the coronavirus years, and this 2021 opener between Catalans and Hull KR, played behind closed doors at Headingley, was no different. The game swung one way and then the other, with the French side building up a 28-4 lead. However, Hull KR fought back to level at 28-28, with the contest going into golden point. Step up, James Maloney, with the former Aussie Test half-back slotting a winning drop-goal between the posts.
Catalans’ James Maloney kicks the winning drop-goal against Hull KR (Image: SW Pix)
7. Brown’s nightmare, 2013
Nathan Brown left Huddersfield for St Helens prior to the 2013 season, so obviously the fixture gods pitted his new club against his old club for the season opener. However, the result was anything but what was expected, with the Giants, steered around the field by Danny Brough, and who led 40-0 before a late consolation try, running out huge 40-4 winners at the Totally Wicked Stadium—their first victory in the town of St Helens since 1978.
6. Sean Long’s Hull FC debut, 2010
With heavy fog coming down at Knowsley Road, let’s not pretend that this game would have gone ahead if it wasn’t on Sky Sports, but nonetheless, what an introduction it was for Sean Long in Black and White. Long had made the off-season move to Hull and was appointed club captain of a new-look team that had some big-name additions such as Craig Fitzgibbon and Mark O’Meley. It was Long going up against his former club that ensured this was a TV game, however, and he was at the heart of a rampaging opening round Airlie Birds’ performance, with the Tongan mafia of Sam Moa, Willie Manu, and Eplahame Lauaki also running riot in a 32-12 victory, and Tom Briscoe scoring a breakaway try with just one boot on. As you do.
Sean Long on his Hull FC debut against St Helens (Image: )
5. Cockayne has the last laugh, 2007
For years they had watched on enviously as their West Hull rivals went about their business in Super League, but come 2007 Hull KR finally had their chance to play in the rebranded top division. To say KR’s Super League debut was eventful for Ben Cockayne would be an understatement. The Rovers full-back was one of 12 survivors from Justin Morgan’s Championship-winning side and repaid that faith with a last-minute winning try. That was enough for the Robins to defeat Wakefield 14-9, with Cockayne one of three players sin-binned earlier in the clash that announced Rovers’ long-awaited return to the top flight.
TRY-TIME: Ben Cockayne wins the match for Hull KR in February 2007.(Image: SWpix)
4. Leeds’ crazy comeback, 2011
It’s Magic Weekend, it’s Cardiff, it’s the Millennium Stadium, and it’s Leeds Rhinos vs. Bradford Bulls. It’s a fixture that just loves drama, Jordan Tansey, anyone? And this was its latest instalment, with Leeds fighting back from 28-10 down to defeat the Bulls 32-28. Then rising star Elliot Whitehead scored a hat trick for the Bulls, but it was Leeds who had the final say with a last-gasp penalty try that stunned the crowd.
3. PSG power, 1996
Super League was born on March 29, 1996 (this writer’s birthday, fyi), with PSG beating Sheffield Eagles in the competition’s first-ever game. Former Eagle Frédéric Banquet scored the first try in both PSG and Super League history in front of 17,873 fans at the Stade Sébastien Charléty, with Maurice Lindsay famously saying on the night: “Some reporters came for a funeral and had to write about a party.” It’s a shame PSG only lasted two seasons, but eight years later a new French fire flamed down in Perpignan – and it’s been here ever since.
2. Dragon fire, 2006
Catalans created history on their Super League debut with 11,000 fans squeezing into Perpignan’s Stade Aimé Giral to watch a 38-30 thriller against Wigan Warriors. With Laurent Frayssinous, Justin Murphy, and Stacey Jones pulling the strings, le Dracs started their time in the northern hemisphere’s premier competition with a bang, and they’re still going strong to this day.
Stacey Jones celebrates Catalans’ win over Wigan back in 2006.(Image: )
1. Jimmy Keinhorst’s frantic finish, 2019
Does it get any better than a late winner against your biggest rivals with just six seconds to go? And on your debut? Probably not. That was Jimmy Keinhorst when squeezing over for Hull KR in the final play of the 2019 season-opening derby game against Hull FC at Craven Park, diving over the line after Danny McGuire’s pass. What an introduction, with Rovers edging past their fierce rivals 18-16 in front of a then-stadium record 12,100 crowd – one played in the snow, in sub zero temperatures, and with an orange ball.