The Regular Season

• The regular season consists of 27 rounds.
• Each team will play all other Super League teams home and away once.
• Clubs will also play one additional round during the Magic Weekend, which will be played at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium on May 26 and 27.
• The club finishing top of the competition table at the end of the regular season will receive the League Leaders’ Shield.

The Play-off Series

• The Super League Play-offs will begin during September (Dates TBC).
• The clubs finishing in the top eight places at the end of 27 rounds will participate in the Play-offs.
• In a system unique to any sport, the winning team from week one with the highest league placing at the end of the regular season will be allowed to select their Qualifying Semi-final opponents from the two lowest-ranked winners in week two.
• The winners of the Grand Final are crowned Super League Champions.
• The Grand Final will be staged at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Saturday October 6.
• Rather than receiving medals for their victory, the players of the winning Grand Final team each receive solid gold ‘Championship’ rings.

WEEK ONE (September - Dates TBC)

Four matches will take place on Week One, effectively in two pools: the Qualifying Play-offs and the Elimination Play-offs

Qualifying Play-offs

These matches involve the teams who finish in the top four. They are:

1st v 4th
2nd v 3rd

The winners of these two games will progress directly to Week Three. The highest-ranked winning club will have Clubcall, whereby they choose who they play in Week Three.

The losers of these two matches will have another chance in Week Two, when they will be at home to the winners of the Week One Elimination Play-offs.

Elimination Play-offs

These matches involve the teams who finish fifth to eighth. They are:

5th v 8th
6th v 7th

The winners of both these matches will progress to Week Two. The losers are eliminated.

WEEK TWO (September - Dates TBC)

There are two matches in Week Two, called the Preliminary Semi-finals.

Preliminary Semi-Final 1

Highest ranked Qualifying Play-off losing team (1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th) v Lowest ranked Elimination Play-off winning team (5th, 6th, 7th or 8th)

• Winners to Clubcall
• Loser eliminated

Preliminary Semi-Final 2

Lowest ranked Qualifying Play-off losing team (1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th) v Highest ranked Elimination Play-off winning team (5th, 6th, 7th or 8th)

• Winners to Clubcall
• Loser eliminated

Clubcall (Date TBC)

Clubcall will take place in September (approx the second weekend of the Play-offs) and will be hosted by the highest ranked winning club from Week One.

• The host club will select who they play in Week Three and can only select from the winners of the two Preliminary Semi-finals (Week Two) – they cannot choose the other Qualifying Play-offs winner.
• The highest ranked club from the Qualifying Play-offs (Week One) must choose their opponents – they cannot cede the responsibility to the other Qualifying Play-offs winner.
• The team with Clubcall and the other Qualifying Play-off winners from Week One are guaranteed home advantage in Week Three. For example, should the teams that ended the regular season in 1st and 2nd place lose their opening play-off match, they could still find themselves playing away to the 3rd or 4th placed teams in Week Three.

WEEK THREE (September & October - Dates TBC)

Two matches again, losers eliminated from each, winners go through to contest the Super League Grand Final.

Qualifying Semi-Final One
Highest ranked QPO Winner v Clubcall selected club

Qualifying Semi-Final Two
Second ranked QPO Winner v Club not selected for Clubcall

WEEK FOUR (Saturday October 6, 2012)

Super League Grand Final, Old Trafford, Manchester

Clubcall FAQs

Can any team have Clubcall?
No. The highest ranked winning club from Week One will have Clubcall, whereby they choose their opponents in Week Three. Only a team that ended the regular season in 1st, 2nd or 3rd can win Clubcall.

Will the teams who finished 1st or 2nd at the end of the regular season be guaranteed home advantage in Week Three should they progress?
No. The two highest rank teams after Week One (the team with Clubcall and the other Qualifying Play-off winners) are guaranteed home advantage in Week Three. For example, should the teams that ended the regular season in 1st and 2nd place lose their opening play-off match, they could still find themselves playing away to the 3rd or 4th placed teams in Week Three.

Does the Clubcall team have to choose their opponents or can they relinquish the responsibility to the other Qualifying Play-offs winner?
The highest ranked club from the Qualifying Play-offs (Week One) must choose their opponents – they cannot relinquish the responsibility to the other Qualifying Play-offs winner. In addition, they can only select from the winners of the two Preliminary Semi-finals (Week Two) – they cannot choose the other Qualifying Play-offs winner. 

Competition Rules

Super League squads

• Each Super League club must nominate a first team squad of up to 25 players.
• Clubs may then make amendments to that first team squad during the season with the prior approval of the RFL.

Squad Announcement System

• Before each Super League and Carnegie Challenge Cup fixture, each Super League club must announce a squad of 19 players it will choose from for that match 48 hours before a game.
• Squad announcements will be made by 2pm on the appropriate day.
• Clubs cannot announce players who are not both correctly registered with the RFL and confirmed as a member of a club’s first team squad.

Day of Match	MON	TUES	WEDS	THURS	FRI	SAT	SUN
19 by 2.00pm on this day	SAT	SUN	MON	TUES	WEDS	THURS	FRI

  

 

 

 

 

Salary Cap Rules

• All teams in Super League XVII will operate under a ‘real time’ salary cap system that calculates a club’s salary cap position at the start of and throughout the season.
• The combined earnings of the Top 25 players must not exceed £1.65 million.
• Clubs are only allowed to sign a player if they have room under the cap.
• Clubs can spend a maximum of £50,000 on players outside the Top 25 earners who have made at least one first grade appearance for the club during the year.
• Costs for players outside of the Top 25 earners, who do not make a first team appearance, will be unregulated.
• Any player who has played for the same Club for at least 10 consecutive seasons will have half their salary excluded from the Salary Cap for his eleventh and subsequent seasons. This is measured from the season in which the player was registered as a professional player with the club and is subject to a maximum of £50,000 for any one club.

Club Trained Player rule

The purpose behind the ‘Club Trained Player’ rule is to encourage clubs to develop and better their own players so that there are more players coming into the game so that standards improve.

A further purpose is to afford an opportunity to junior players to play in top level competitive matches in order to aid their development and ensure the development of Rugby League.

Club Trained Player

A Club Trained Player is one who has been on a club’s register for three full seasons before the end of the season in which he ceases to be eligible by age for Reserve Grade Rugby League.

Federation Trained Player

A Federation Trained Player is one who has been on the register of one or more member clubs in the same Rugby League Federation as the club he wishes to join (Great Britain for the majority, France in the case of players joining Catalan Dragons) for three full seasons before the end of the season in which he ceases to be eligible by age for Reserve Grade Rugby League.

Non-Federation Trained Player

A Player who does not meet either of the definitions above.

Year	Club Trained - Minimum	Non-federation trained - Maximum	Federation trained - remainder
2010	7	6	12
2011	8	5	12
2012*	8	5	12

 

 

 

 

*subject to change afer a review of the system