The Super 8s are causing mayhem in the Super League. And it's great fun

Every minute of action in the Super League and Championship will matter this weekend – especially for troubled Leeds RhinosBy Gavin Willacy for No Helmets RequiredWhen Super League launched the Super 8s system a few years ago, they did so with the tagline “Every minute matters”. It was marketing nonsense, of course, but almost every result in the Super League and Championship will matter greatly this weekend, the penultimate round of fixtures before “the split”. For the second time in three years, the quite extraordinary will almost certainly happen: the reigning champions, Leeds Rhinos, are heading into the Qualifiers to fight off the best of the Championship for their place in Super League.In normal circumstances, you would assume Leeds, under returning sons Kevin Sinfield and James Lowes, would beat wooden-spooners Widnes at Headingley on Friday night and follow that with victory at the second-worst team in the league, Salford. But these are very strange times at Headingley, where Ryan Hall has joined a list of departing stars so long it must be testing even the most devoted Loiner’s loyalty to the Gary Hetherington regime. Related: What rugby league should learn from the World Cup in Russia Continue readingread full article

Source: TheGuardian

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