The fixture between Harlequins and Bradford will be played at another time during the course of the season. It was originally scheduled to be played before Round 1 to accommodate a friendly with Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles on Round 2 weekend but was postponed because a frozen pitch at The Twickenham Stoop. The match was rearranged for 8 August, to coincide with the semifinal stage of the 2009 Challenge Cup, in which both sides were knocked-out in Round 4.
Leeds maintained their 100% winning start to the season with a hard-fought victory over Hull KR.
Wigan fell to Castleford in their third successive loss - their worst start to a season in 24 years, and their worst ever start in the Super League.
The Leeds vs Celtic fixture was the first fixture of the season, played before Round 1 in order to accommodate Leeds Rhinos' World Club Challenge fixture against Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles during the Round 3 weekend. Leeds started the defence of their Super League title with a victory over the Crusaders, who were making their Super League début.
Hull KR became the first team to win a match by a single point in the 2009 season.
Nineteen-year-old Shaun Ainscough picked up Wigan's Man of the Match award for his second match in-a-row.
Castleford became the first team of the season to score 50 points or more .
Celtic and St Helens take part in the lowest-scoring match in Super League history, and the first to be 0-0 at half-time.
Hull FC and Leeds both continue their unbeaten start to the season, while Celtic and Warrington fail to register their first points, despite running St Helens and Leeds (respectively) close.
Bradford hooker Wayne Godwin suffers a broken leg in the match against Wigan.
Hull FC and Leeds both extend their winning start to 5 wins from 5 games, while at the other end of the table, Celtic and Warrington both continue their losing streak, and have now lost all of their first 5 games of the season.
Hull FC and Leeds both lose, breaking the two remaining 100% season records.
Warrington win their first game of the season.
The Celtic vs Wakefield match was postponed 40 minutes before the scheduled kick-off due to "unforeseen circumstances". Later, it was announced that one of Wakefield's players, Leon Walker, had collapsed and died during their reserves match earlier in the day, and this was the reason for the postponement.[1] The match was rearranged to coincide with the quarterfinal stage of the 2009 Challenge Cup, in which both sides had already been knocked-out.
This round saw the traditional Easter derbies, with Wigan taking on St Helens, Leeds travelling to Bradford, Castleford hosting Wakefield, and both Hull clubs meeting at the KC Stadium.
Bradford win their first home game of the season, with Leeds being denied two tries from the video referee.
Chris Hicks claims a hat-trick and scores 30 points in a 22–58 defeat of Bradford at the Grattan Stadium.
St Helens become the first team to score 60 points or more in a single game, against Castleford.
Huddersfield's six-win run comes to an end against Super League champions, Leeds. On the other hand, Hull FC extend their losing run to six with a loss to Wakefield.
For the first time in over a year, since round 10 of Super League XIII, both St Helens and Leeds lose in the same round.
The top four teams in the league before this round; St Helens, Leeds, Huddersfield and Wakefield, all lose their fixtures.
Shaun Ainscough scores 4 tries against Wakefield, while Chris Hicks scores a hat-trick for the second successive weekend, this time against Huddersfield.
Hull KR record their sixth win in a row, after a home victory to Castleford, who have failed to win a game during regular time in four matches.
Bradford lose to both of Super League XIV's newly promoted sides, Celtic and Salford respectively, in successive weeks.
Wigan's defeat at Warrington means they have never won at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in a professional match to date since the stadium's opening in 2004.
In the first ever Super League match not to feature an English side, Celtic's hapless form at home continues with a defeat to Catalans, bringing their Brewery Field 2009 record to five defeats out of five.
David Hodgson claims a hat-trick and Huddersfield score ten tries as Wakefield lose five matches in a row, this being their worst defeat since Round 24 of Super League X in terms of defeat margin.
Keith Senior scores twice in his 300th match for Leeds, who comfortably beat Hull FC at Headingley.
A test match between France and England is played in Paris over this weekend. Players on international duty miss their respective club's matches. Due to the test, and because ten Catalans players were selected for France,[3] the round's fixture between Catalans and Salford was rearranged for 7 August.[4]
Craig Stapleton is sent off for using foul and abusive language in Salford's match against Catalans.[5]
Castleford drop out of the play-off places on points difference after a heavy defeat to St Helens.
The first Super League home win at Brewery Field comes with defeat of Wigan.
For the fiftieth year in a row, Huddersfield fail to win at Headingley. Leeds leapfrog Hull KR for second place.
"Perpignan has a population of a little over 100,000 but there are three million inhabitants in Barcelona which is a two hours drive at the moment and will become much closer when the high-speed link is completed."
– Christophe Levy, Catalans Dragons general manager[6]
Catalans' home match against the Warrington was rearranged to take place in Spain, at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, the venue for the 1992 Summer Olympics. The aim was to spread the sport of rugby league into Catalonia, in what the Catalans' general manager described as the club's "Magic Weekend".[6] Over 15,000 advance tickets were sold.[6]
The Wigan vs Wakefield fixture was played before Round 1, due to maintenance work at the JJB Stadium during the month of June in anticipation of the upcoming Premier League season, in which Wigan Athletic F.C. play in sharing the same stadium. Both clubs had a week's break over this round's weekend as a result.
Harlequins drop out of the play-offs for the first time all season, and because of their defeat to St Helens, only five teams remain with a positive points difference.
In the last match at the JJB Stadium before its name change on 1 August over 20,000 attendees see Wigan defeat Leeds, the tenth such attendance in the stadium's Super League history.
In an ill-tempered affair, Leeds pull ahead of St Helens on points at the top of the table with only one round of the regular season remaining.
Wigan's win over Hull FC guarantees them a home tie in the first weekend of the play-offs (as they are now sure to finish 5th or 6th in the table), while Hull FC now have no chance of making the play-offs.
Clint Newton scores a hat-trick in a win that maintains Hull KR's 3rd spot, and leaves Warrington struggling to qualify for the play-offs.
Like Wigan, Wakefield's win guarantees them 5th or 6th spot, and a home tie in the first round of the play-offs.
Huddersfield keep up the pressure on Hull KR with a win over Celtic.
After a sub-standard season, Bradford keep their play-off hopes alive with a win over Salford.
Castleford guarantee themselves a place in the play-offs, at the expense of Harlequins, who now look unlikely to qualify.
Green cells indicate teams in play-off places at the end of the round. An underlined number indicates the team finished first in the table in that round.
Note: Table is in round-by-round format, and does not necessarily follow chronological order. Rearranged fixtures are treated as though they were played on their respective rounds' weekends. Rearranged fixtures:
Harlequins RL vs Bradford Bulls, Round 2
Leeds Rhinos vs Celtic Crusaders, Round 3
Celtic Crusaders vs Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, Round 6
Wigan Warriors vs Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, Round 17
Super League has used a play-off system since Super League III in 1998. When introduced, 5 teams qualified for the play-offs, which was subsequently expanded to 6 teams in 2002. For the first time, eight teams will compete in the play-offs in 2009.[10]
Following the final round of matches, all eight play-off teams will be decided. The 2009 play-offs see the introduction of a system where the winning team from week one with the highest League placing will be allowed to select their opponents for week three.[10]
Except this choosing opportunity, the new format follows the play-off system of the Australian Football League.
Week 1. Qualifying/Elimination play-offs: Fixtures decided by regular reason finishing positions. Higher ranked teams play lower ranked teams. Higher ranked teams receive home ground advantage.
Week 2. Preliminary semi-finals: Fixtures decided by regular season finishing positions. Higher ranked teams play lower ranked teams. Higher ranked teams receive home ground advantage.
Week 3. Qualifying semi-finals: Winners of Qualifying play-offs play winners of Qualifying semi-finals. Fixtures decided by club call. Winners of Qualifying play-offs receive home ground advantage.
Under the rules of the Super League play-off system, Leeds were awarded a "club call", which allowed them to decide which of the winners from the Preliminary Semi-Finals they played.
Hull FC
Wigan Warriors
Leeds Rhinos
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
St. Helens
Warrington Wolves
Catalans Dragons
Huddersfield Giants
Salford City Reds
Crusaders
Bradford Bulls
Hull Kingston Rovers
Castleford Tigers
Harlequins RL