BWhSL: Round 1 Round Up

Reigning Betfred Wheelchair Rugby League Super League champions Wigan Warriors began their title defence with a 54-16 win at Hull FC on Sunday. 

The Warriors put their recent Challenge Cup Final disappointment at the hands of Catalans Dragons behind them, but were made to battle all the way by a determined Hull FC side at the Allam Sports Centre and led only 12-0 at the break before cutting loose in the second half.

Hull put up an impressive defensive display in the first half with the only score coming from Chris Greenhalgh, but the Warriors were too dominant and stormed home with the victory.

Last year’s beaten finalists, Leeds Rhinos, also opened with a win against Halifax Panthers. Both sides are packed with international talent with the Rhinos, led by England captain Tom Halliwell, many pundits’ favourites to regain the Super League crown in 2024. 

The Rhinos had a ten-point advantage going into the break thanks to three tries from Nathan Collins with James Simpsons’ side eventually going on to win the game 64-52.

This year’s competition is a five-team one, also featuring London Roosters who sat out the opening weekend and who will make their 2024 bow against Wigan Warriors this Saturday (22 June) at the University of Bedfordshire. Each team will play ten rounds of fixtures, with the Grand Final taking place on Sunday 13 October – and shown live on Sky Sports (venue TBC).

The 2024 format for the Wheelchair RL Super League Wheels of Steel Award has also been announced. A panel of five will vote on a match-by-match basis, recognising and awarding points, for consistency throughout the season.

A member of the panel watches each Betfred Super League game throughout the season and will award points to the three outstanding players: 3 points for their chosen man of the match, 2 for the runner-up, and 1 for the third-ranked player. This includes ‘Player’ open to all participants, and ‘Young Player’ for those under the age of 23.  The panel will also select the Coach of the Year.

After the final round of the regular season, the top three players in the Wheels of Steel Leaderboard and Young Player Leaderboard will be announced. The panel members will then meet after the play-off round to ratify the winner.