Engage Super League XII is the official name for the year 2007's Super League season in the sport of rugby league.
The 2007 season kicked off on the weekend of February 2, 2007 at the Galpharm Stadium. For the first time, the league had a staggered start due to the World Club Challenge between St Helens and Brisbane Broncos. The first round of matches began on the weekend of February 9-11th 2007.
St Helens were the defending Super League and Challenge Cup winners. Hull Kingston Rovers played in the Super League for the first time ever after being promoted from National League 1 in 2006. This season also included the first Millennium Magic weekend, which took place on the weekend of the 5th and 6th of May 2007 in Cardiff.
Super League XII featured 12 teams and had 27 rounds including the Millennium Magic round. St Helens, Leeds, Bradford, Hull FC, Huddersfield and Wigan qualified for the end of season play-offs and Salford City Reds were relegated to National League 1.
The first weekend of the play-offs saw both Bradford and Huddersfield defeated narrowly by both Wigan and Hull respectively. The second weekend of the play-offs saw St Helens defeat Leeds and get an instant passageway into the grand final whilst Wigan overcame Hull at the KC Stadium to set up a semi final encounter with Leeds. The semi final saw Leeds easily dispose of a tired Wigan side that had come from sixth and saw Leeds enter the grand final against St Helens in which they won convincingly to lift the Super League trophy for 2007.
[edit] Notable Moments
- 4th February - Super League XI champions St Helens open the new season with an 18-10 win at Huddersfield Giants
- 9th February - The first big shock of the season as Harlequins win 14-6 against St Helens at Knowsley Road
- 10th February - Promoted Hull Kingston Rovers win their first Super League match at Craven Park, 14-9 against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.
- 18th February - St Helens' stuttering start continues, losing 29-22 at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.
- 2nd March - Hull Kingston Rovers continue their fantastic start with a 26-16 win at Wigan Warriors.
- 3rd March - Salford City Reds earn the first shut-out of the season, beating Catalans Dragons 10-0 at The Willows.
- 5th May - The Millennium Magic weekend begins in Cardiff. Paul Cooke plays his first game for Hull Kingston Rovers against his previous club, local rivals Hull FC. Rovers win 14-10. Meanwhile, St Helens beat local rivals Wigan Warriors 34-18 and Catalans Dragons lose 28 - 32 to Harlequins RL.
- 6th May - Millennium Magic concludes in Cardiff. Huddersfield Giants continue their fine run of form with a 36-12 win over Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and Warrington Wolves thrash Salford City Reds 50-18. In a dramatic final match, Leeds Rhinos beat Bradford Bulls in the West Yorkshire derby 42-38. The game sees 13 tries, including a Brent Webb hat-trick, but Leeds win in controversial circumstances. Trailing 38-36, they are awarded a disputed penalty by referee Steve Ganson. Kevin Sinfield kicks from long range for a draw but hits the cross-bar. Jordan Tansey, however, runs on to the loose ball and scores a try to win the game. However, video replays show Tansey is offside at the kick. In the aftermath, video ref Ashley Klein admits it was he who advised Ganson to award the initial penalty. A 58,831 aggregate crowd saw the event at the Millennium Stadium.[1] Super League clubs agreed to repeat the event during the following season with Nigel Wood, the RFL's chief operating officer, saying: "The clubs and fans thoroughly enjoyed the day and our aim is to make next year's event even bigger and better."[1]
- 3rd June - Hull Kingston Rovers' Makali Aizue is given the first red card of the season at Belle Vue Stadium. Wakefield Trinity Wildcats overturn a 9-2 half-time deficit to win 30-15 win with the extra man.
- 15th June - The first ever Super League match without a try sees Salford City Reds beat Harlequins 5-2 at The Willows. It is also the lowest scoring match in Super League history.
- 17th June - Kiwi wing Lesley Vainikolo plays his last match for Bradford Bulls at Osdal. Hooker Terry Newton steals the headlines with four tries in a 34-8 win over Hull FC, but Vainikolo says goodbye by taking the conversion after Paul Deacon's try at the end of the match. It is the first time he has ever attempted a kick at goal in his life but nevertheless he gets the two points.
- 29th June - Lesley Vainikolo scores his final try for Bradford Bulls in a 38-14 derby win at Leeds Rhinos.
- 1st July - Severe flooding causes the match between Hull FC and Salford City Reds at the KC Stadium to be postponed. Meanwhile, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats earn a striking 32-6 win against Wigan Warriors to aid their push for a playoff place.
- 6th July - The relegation struggle looks like being a straight fight between Salford City Reds and Hull Kingston Rovers. Salford lose 35-18 at home to Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.
- 8th July - Hull Kingston Rovers are still in trouble as they lose the Humberside derby at home to Hull FC 20-30.
- 20th July - Wakefield Trinity Wildcats earn a shock 23-16 win at Headingley Stadium against Leeds Rhinos to boost their bid for the playoffs.
- 21st July - Salford City Reds shock Bradford Bulls 14-10 at The Willows to aid their struggle against relegation.
- 3rd August - The big relegation four-pointer ends Salford City Reds 24-30 Hull Kingston Rovers. Salford are now three points adrift of Rovers at the bottom with just five matches left.
- 4th August - Following their four-point penalty for breaching the salary cap, Wigan Warriors lose 43-24 at Warrington Wolves; there is now a strong chance Wigan will not reach the playoffs for the third season in a row. Huddersfield Giants beat Catalans Dragons 42-22 at the Galpharm Stadium to boost their chances, with Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and Harlequins RL losing to Bradford Bulls and Leeds Rhinos respectively.
- 11th August - A boost for Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls as St Helens suffer a surprise loss, 21-0, at Catalans Dragons in a dress rehearsal for the Challenge Cup final on the 25th.
- 12th August - In two crucial matches in the chase for playoff places, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats beat Harlequins 28-14 at Belle Vue while Hull FC thrash Warrington Wolves 46-14. Huddersfield Giants drop out of the top six.
- 2nd September - Salford City Reds are assured of relegation when Hull Kingston Rovers thrash crosstown rivals Hull FC 42-6.
- 7th September - St Helens Finished top of Super League for the third successive year running.
- 9th September - Huddersfield Giants secure their first ever play-off place with a 24-22 win over neighbours Wakefield
- 13th October - Leeds Rhinos win the super league grand final for the second time
Regular season final standings
Source: superleague.co.uk.
Classification: 1st on league points; 2nd on match points difference.
League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.
Pld = Games played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; PF = Match points scored; PA = Match points conceded; PD = Points difference; Pts = League points.
- Notes
^ a: Bradford deducted 2 points for breaching 2006 salary cap rules[2]
^ b: Wigan deducted 4 points for breaching 2006 salary cap rules[3]
[edit] Play-offs
[edit] Week One
Elimination Play-Off A: Grattan Stadium, 21 September
- Bradford Bulls 30–31 Wigan Warriors (Bradford eliminated, Wigan qualify for Week Two)
- Bradford had a 30–6 lead with 25 minutes left, but succumbed to a furious Wigan comeback.
Elimination Play-Off B: KC Stadium, 22 September
[edit] Week Two
Qualification Match: Knowsley Road, 28 September
Elimination Semi-Final: KC Stadium, 29 September
[edit] Week Three
Final Eliminator: Headingley Carnegie Stadium, 5 October
[edit] Grand Final
At Old Trafford, 13 October
[edit] Television
In Super League XII for the first time all live matches were broadcast in High Definition with Dolby 5.1 sound on Sky Sports HD.[4]
[edit] 2007 Dream Team
[edit] External links
[edit] References
