The Stobart Super League XVII was the official name of the 2012 Super League season. Fourteen teams competed over 27 rounds, after which the 8 highest finishing teams entered the play-offs to compete for a place in the Grand Final and a chance to win the championship and the Super League Trophy.
The season kicked off on 3 February with two Round 1 fixtures being played: the Widnes Vikings, in their first Super League match since 2005, lost to the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, while defending champions the Leeds Rhinos defeated the Hull Kingston Rovers and ended on 6 October with Leeds Rhinos beating Warrington Wolves 26-18 in the 2012 Super League Grand Final.
Teams Super League XVII was the first year of the second round of Super League licences. Under this system, promotion and relegation between Super League and Championship was abolished, and 14 teams were granted licences subject to certain criteria. All existing Super League teams except Crusaders (who pulled out of the application process) earned a place in the 2012 season, Championship team Widnes Vikings were given a licence after their application was deemed better than Halifax and Barrow Raiders.
Geographically, the vast majority of teams in Super League are based in the north of England, five teams – Warrington, St. Helens, Salford, Wigan and Widnes – to the west of the Pennines in Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, and seven teams to the east in Yorkshire – Huddersfield, Bradford, Wakefield Trinity, Leeds, Castleford, Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers. Catalans Dragons are the only team based in France and are outside of the UK and London Broncos are the only team to be based in a capital city (London).
The maps below indicate the locations of teams that competed in Super League XVII.
Dragons
Broncos
Vikings
Saints
Wolves
Warriors
Reds
Hull
Hull KR
Tigers
Rhinos
Wildcats
Bulls
Giants
TeamStadiumCapacityCity/Area Bradford Bulls (2012 season) Odsal Stadium 27,000 Bradford, West Yorkshire Castleford Tigers (2012 season) PROBIZ Coliseum 11,750 Castleford, West Yorkshire Catalans Dragons (2012 season) Stade Gilbert Brutus 14,000 Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France Huddersfield Giants (2012 season) John Smith's Stadium 24,544 Huddersfield, West Yorkshire Hull F.C. (2012 season) Kingston Communications Stadium 25,404 Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire Hull Kingston Rovers (2012 season) MS3 Craven Park 9,471 Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire Leeds Rhinos (2012 season) Headingley Carnegie Stadium 22,250 Leeds, West Yorkshire London Broncos (2012 season) Twickenham Stoop 12,700 Twickenham, London Salford City Reds (2012 season) Salford City Stadium 12,000 Salford, Greater Manchester St Helens R.F.C. (2012 season) Langtree Park 18,000 St. Helens, Merseyside Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (2012 season) Rapid Solicitors Stadium 12,600 Wakefield, West Yorkshire Warrington Wolves (2012 season) Halliwell Jones Stadium 15,500 Warrington, Cheshire Widnes Vikings (2012 season) Stobart Stadium 11,500 Widnes, Cheshire, England Wigan Warriors (2012 season) DW Stadium 25,138 Wigan, Greater Manchester
Legend Reigning Super League champions Defending Challenge Cup Champions
Rules Rule changes Teams will now only be able to make 10 interchanges in a match which has been reduced from 12. If a player in possession of the ball hits the corner flag he will no longer be deemed 'In Touch'. After a try, teams now have the option of taking the conversion as a drop-kick instead of from a tee.
Operational rules All Super League clubs agreed to operate within the £1.7million salary cap for their top 25 first-tier players. Quota spots were reduced to 5, meaning only 5 players could be from abroad. However, players from France, Samoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea all count as federation-trained and thus do not count against the quota.
Table
Play-offs
The play-offs commenced following the conclusion of the 27-round regular season. To decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams, Super League uses its unique play-off system. The finals concluded with the 2012 Super League Grand Final.
#HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and Time (Local)VenueRefereeAttendance QUALIFYING AND ELIMINATION FINALS Q1 Wigan Warriors 46–6 Catalans Dragons 14 September 2012, 20:00 BST DW Stadium Richard Silverwood 7,232 Q2 Warrington Wolves 6–28 St. Helens 15 September 2012, 18:00 BST Halliwell Jones Stadium Ben Thaler 10,190 E1 Leeds Rhinos 42–20 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 15 September 2012, 20:00 BST Headingley Carnegie Stadium Steve Ganson 9,044 E2 Hull F.C. 46–10 Huddersfield Giants 16 September 2012, 18:00 BST KC Stadium James Child 8,662 PRELIMINARY SEMI-FINALS P1 Catalans Dragons 20–27 Leeds Rhinos 21 September 2012, 20:45 CEST Stade Gilbert Brutus Ben Thaler 11,523 P2 Warrington Wolves 24–12 Hull F.C. 22 September 2012, 18:45 BST Halliwell Jones Stadium Richard Silverwood 7,323 SEMI-FINALS SF1 Wigan Warriors 12–13 Leeds Rhinos 28 September 2012, 20:00 BST DW Stadium Richard Silverwood 8,235 SF2 St. Helens 18–36 Warrington Wolves 29 September 2012, 18:15 BST Langtree Park Ben Thaler 12,715 GRAND FINAL F Leeds Rhinos 26–18 Warrington Wolves 6 October 2012, 18:00 BST Old Trafford, Manchester Richard Silverwood 70,676
2012 Super League play-offs bracket
Season statistics
Top try-scorers RankPlayerClubTries1 Josh Charnley Wigan Warriors312 Sam Tomkins Wigan Warriors293 Ryan Hall Leeds Rhinos264= Ryan Atkins Warrington Wolves23 Chris Riley Warrington Wolves6= George Carmont Wigan Warriors20 Joel Monaghan Warrington Wolves8 Paul Wellens St Helens RLFC199= Vincent Duport Catalans Dragons18 Danny McGuire Leeds Rhinos
Top try assists RankPlayerClubAssists1 Michael Dobson Hull Kingston Rovers352 Tim Smith Wakefield Trinity Wildcats343 Sam Tomkins Wigan Warriors334 Rangi Chase Castleford Tigers295 Brett Finch Wigan Warriors286 Scott Dureau Catalans Dragons287 Daniel Holdsworth Salford City Reds238 Craig Gower London Broncos219 Jonny Lomax St Helens RLFC2110 James Roby St Helens RLFC20
Top goalscorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Kevin Sinfield Leeds Rhinos1182 Scott Dureau Catalans Dragons1133 Michael Dobson Hull Kingston Rovers1034 Danny Brough Huddersfield Giants1015 Danny Tickle Hull FC766 Daniel Holdsworth Salford City Reds697 Brett Hodgson Warrington Wolves688 Paul Sykes Wakefield Trinity Wildcats689 Luke Gale Bradford Bulls6510 Josh Charnley Wigan Warriors56
Top points scorers RankPlayerClubPoints1 Scott Dureau Catalans Dragons2812 Kevin Sinfield Leeds Rhinos2573 Michael Dobson Hull Kingston Rovers2454 Josh Charnley Wigan Warriors2405 Danny Brough Huddersfield Giants2256 Danny Tickle Hull FC1867 Pat Richards Wigan Warriors1788 Brett Hodgson Warrington Wolves1609 Daniel Holdsworth Salford City Reds16410 Sam Tomkins Wigan Warriors158
Discipline RankPlayerClub1 Michael McIlorum Wigan Warriors022 Luke O'Donnell Huddersfield Giants113= Bryn Hargreaves Bradford Bulls01 Gareth Hock Wigan Warriors Shaun Magennis St Helens RLFC Sam Moa Hull FC Tony Puletua St Helens RLFC Chris Tuson Wigan Warriors9= Jason Baitieri Catalans Dragons20 Ben Cross Widnes Vikings Michael Dobson Hull Kingston Rovers Olivier Elima Bradford Bulls12= Vinnie Anderson Salford City Reds10 Jason Chan Huddersfield Giants Jon Clarke Widnes Vikings Tony Clubb London Broncos Leroy Cudjoe Huddersfield Giants Gil Dudson Wigan Warriors Jacob Emmitt Castleford Tigers Brett Ferres Castleford Tigers Paddy Flynn Widnes Vikings Jamie Foster St Helens RLFC Luke Gale Bradford Bulls Gareth Haggerty Widnes Vikings Ian Henderson Catalans Dragons Chris Hill Warrington Wolves Daniel Holdsworth Salford City Reds Ben Jeffries Bradford Bulls Heath L'Estrange Bradford Bulls Willie Manu Hull FC Stephen Nash Castleford Tigers Mark O'Meley Hull FC Richard Owen Castleford Tigers Luke Patten Salford City Reds Steve Pickersgill Widnes Vikings Karl Pryce Bradford Bulls Michael Robertson London Broncos Michael Shenton St Helens RLFC Kevin Sinfield Leeds Rhinos Scott Taylor Hull Kingston Rovers Anthony Watts Widnes Vikings Paul Wood Warrington Wolves
Awards Awards are presented for outstanding contributions and efforts to players and clubs in the week leading up to the Super League Grand Final: Man of Steel: Sam Tomkins (Wigan Warriors) Coach of the year: Mick Potter (Bradford Bulls) Engage Super League club of the year: Wigan Warriors Young player of the year: Zak Hardaker (Leeds) Rhinos Carnegie community player of the year: Danny McGuire (Leeds Rhinos) Frontline Fairplay Index winners: Metre-maker: James Roby (St Helens) - 3,971 metres Hit Man: Danny Washbrook (Wakefield Trinity Wildcats) - 991 Tackles Mike Gregory Spirit of Rugby League Award: Jamie Peacock (Leeds Rhinos) Lifetime Achievement: Ryan Hudson, Ben Jeffries and Danny Orr
Media Television 2012 is the first year of a five-year contract with Sky Sports to televise 70 matches per season. The deal which runs until 2016 is worth £90million.
Sky Sports coverage in the UK see two live matches broadcast each week – one on Friday night, which kicks-off at 8:00 pm and another usually on Saturday evenings at 5:45 pm, although for 2012, some matches between May and August will be scheduled for Monday nights at 8:00 pm, filling the gap vacated by the summer break of Premier League football. Regular commentators were Eddie Hemmings and Mike Stephenson with summarisers including Phil Clarke, Shaun McRae, Brian Carney, Barrie McDermott and Terry O'Connor. Sky will broadcast highlights this season in a new show on Sunday Nights called Super League - Full Time, usually airing at 10pm.
BBC Sport broadcast a highlights programme called the Super League Show, presented by Tanya Arnold. The BBC show two weekly broadcasts of the programme. The first is only to the BBC North West, Yorkshire & North Midlands, North East & Cumbria, and East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire regions on Monday evenings at 11:35pm on BBC One, while a repeat showing is shown on BBC Two in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The Super League Show is also available for one week after broadcast for streaming or download via the BBC iPlayer in the UK only. End of season play-offs are shown on BBC Two across the whole country in a weekly highlights package.
Internationally, Super League is shown live or delayed on Showtime Sports (Middle East), Māori Television (New Zealand), TV 2 Sport (Norway), NTV+ (Russia), Fox Soccer Plus (United States), Eurosport (Australia) or SportsNet World (Canada).
Radio BBC Coverage:
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra (National DAB Digital Radio) normally carry one Super League commentary a week on Friday Nights. BBC Manchester will carry commentary of Wigan and Salford whilst sharing commentary of Warrington with BBC Merseyside. BBC Humberside will have full match commentary of all Hull KR and Hull matches. BBC Leeds carry commentaries featuring Bradford, Leeds, Castleford, Wakefield and Huddersfield. BBC Merseyside (AM/DAB only) will have commentary on St Helens and Widnes matches whilst sharing commentary of Warrington with BBC Manchester. BBC London 94.9 airs all London Broncos games home & away, mainly via online streaming only.
Commercial Radio Coverage:
102.4 Wish FM will carry commentaries of Wigan & St Helens matches. 107.2 Wire FM will carry commentaries on Warrington & Widnes Matches. BCB 106.6 (Bradford Community Broadcasting) have full match commentary of Bradford Bulls home and away. Yorkshire Radio increases its coverage to air 50 games in the 2012 season. Radio Warrington (Online Station) all Warrington home games and some away games. Grand Sud FM covers every Catalans Dragons Home Match (in French). Radio France Bleu Roussillon covers every Catalans Dragons Away Match (in French).
All Super League commentaries on any station are available via the particular stations on-line streaming.
Internet ESPN3 has worldwide broadband rights.