Super League XXII
The 2017 Super League season, known as the Betfred Super League XXII for sponsorship reasons, was the 22nd season of Super League and 123rd season of rugby league in Britain. Twelve teams competed over 23 rounds, including the Magic Weekend, which took place at St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, after which the eight highest entered the Super League play-offs for a place in the Super League Grand Final. The four lowest teams then entered the qualifying play-offs, along with the four highest teams from the Championship, to determine which teams will play again in Super League XXIII.
Super League XXII featured twelve teams, the third year in which this number has taken part. This was also the third year since promotion and relegation was reintroduced into the competition, seeing Leigh promoted and Hull KR relegated from last season.
Teams
Eleven teams in Super League are from the North of England. Six teams hail from the historic county of Lancashire, west of the Pennines: Warrington, St. Helens, Salford, Wigan, Leigh, and Widnes. Five teams hail from the historic county of Yorkshire, east of the Pennines: Huddersfield, Wakefield Trinity, Leeds, Castleford, and Hull F.C. Catalans Dragons, located in Perpignan, France, are the only team outside the North of England. St Helens, Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves, and Leeds Rhinos are the only teams to have played in every season of Super League since 1996.Leigh were promoted from the Kingstone Press Championship after finishing in 2nd place in The Qualifiers for 2016. Leigh became the first club promoted to the Super League under the Super 8s system, and the first club promoted to Super League since Widnes received a license for Super League XVII. Leigh last competed in the top flight in Super League X. Hull Kingston Rovers were relegated to the Championship after losing the 2016 Million Pound Game to Salford.
| Team | 2016 position | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
| Castleford Tigers | 5th | The Mend-O-Hose Jungle | 11,750 | Castleford, West Yorkshire |
| Catalans Dragons | 6th | Stade Gilbert Brutus | 14,000 | Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France |
| Huddersfield Giants | 12th | John Smith's Stadium | 24,544 | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire |
| Hull | 3rd | KCOM Stadium | 25,404 | Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Leigh Centurions | Promoted | Leigh Sports Village | 12,700 | Leigh, Greater Manchester |
| Leeds Rhinos | 9th | Headingley Carnegie Stadium | 22,250 | Leeds, West Yorkshire |
| Salford Red Devils | 10th | AJ Bell Stadium | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester |
| St. Helens | 4th | Totally Wicked Stadium | 18,000 | St. Helens, Merseyside |
| Wakefield Trinity | 8th | Beaumont Legal Stadium | 11,000 | Wakefield, West Yorkshire |
| Warrington Wolves | 1st | Halliwell Jones Stadium | 15,500 | Warrington, Cheshire |
| Widnes Vikings | 7th | The Select Security Stadium | 13,500 | Widnes, Cheshire |
| Wigan Warriors | 2nd | DW Stadium | 25,138 | Wigan, Greater Manchester |
Regular season
Standings at end of regular season
Super 8s
Format
After 23 games the league table was frozen and the teams were split up into 2 of the 5 "Super 8s". The teams finishing in the top 8 went on to contest the "Super League Super 8s" to determine which teams would go through to the semi-final play-offs to compete for a place in the Grand Final. Teams finishing in the bottom four were put alongside the top 4 teams from the Championship, in "The Qualifiers" Super 8 group, where these teams will reset their season standings to 0 and also play 7 extra games each, as they attempt to earn a place in the following Super League competition.Castleford Tigers topped the Super League Super 8s and were awarded the League Leaders Shield as well as a home advantage in the play-off semi-finals. The other home advantage was won by Leeds Rhinos with Hull and St Helens taking the other two places in the play-offs.
Results
Final standings
Playoffs
The Qualifiers
The Qualifiers
The Qualifiers sees the bottom 4 teams from Super League table join the top 4 teams from the Championship. The points totals are reset to 0 and each team plays 7 games each, playing every other team once. After 7 games each the teams finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd will gain qualification to the 2018 Super League season. The teams finishing 4th and 5th will play in the "Million Pound Game" at the home of the 4th place team which will earn the winner a place in the 2018 Super League. The loser, along with teams finishing 6th, 7th and 8th, will be relegated to the Championship.Million Pound Game
Catalan's victory over Leigh ensured the continuation of Super League rugby in France for another season and meant Leigh were relegated to the Championship.It also decided which four teams would enter the 2018 Challenge Cup at round 5 with the top three in the Qualifier and the winner of the Million Pound game forming the quartet.
Player statistics
Top try scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Tries |
| 1 |  Greg Eden | Castleford Tigers | 38 |
| 2 | Liam Marshall | Wigan Warriors | 21 |
| 3 | Ben Jones-Bishop | Wakefield Trinity | 20 |
| 4= | Greg Minikin | Castleford Tigers | 19 |
| 4= | Jermaine McGillvary | Huddersfield Giants | 19 |
| 4= |  Albert Kelly | Hull | 19 |
| 7 | Joe Burgess | Wigan Warriors | 18 |
| 8= | Matt Parcell | Leeds Rhinos | 17 |
| 8= | Mason Caton-Brown | Wakefield Trinity | 17 |
| 8= | Jamie Shaul | Hull | 17 |
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Luke Gale | Castleford Tigers | 129 |
| 2 | Marc Sneyd | Hull | 103 |
| 3 |  Liam Finn | Wakefield Trinity | 96 |
| 4 |  Mark Percival | St. Helens | 95 |
| 5 | Luke Walsh | Catalans | 69 |
| 6 |  Danny Brough | Huddersfield Giants | 61 |
| 7 | Ben Reynolds | Leigh Centurions | 48 |
| 8 | Michael Dobson | Salford Red Devils | 46 |
| 9= | Liam Sutcliffe | Leeds Rhinos | 45 |
| 9= | Gareth O'Brien | Salford Red Devils | 45 |
| 9= | Kallum Watkins | Leeds Rhinos | 45 |
Top try assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | George Williams | Wigan Warriors | 29 |
| 2 | Danny McGuire | Leeds Rhinos | 24 |
| 3 | Robert Lui | Salford Red Devils | 23 |
| 4 | Danny Brough | Huddersfield Giants | 22 |
| 5= | Luke Walsh | Catalans Dragons | 20 |
| 5= | Luke Gale | Castleford Tigers | 20 |
| 7= | Paul McShane | Castleford Tigers | 19 |
| 7= | Michael Shenton | Castleford Tigers | 19 |
| 9= | Zak Hardaker | Castleford Tigers | 18 |
| 9= | Marc Sneyd | Hull | 18 |
Top points scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Points |
| 1 | Luke Gale | Castleford Tigers | 317 |
| 2 | Mark Percival | St. Helens | 254 |
| 3 | Marc Sneyd | Hull | 237 |
| 4 | Liam Finn | Wakefield Trinity | 196 |
| 5= | Greg Eden | Castleford Tigers | 152 |
| 5= | Kallum Watkins | Leeds Rhinos | 152 |
| 7 | Luke Walsh | Catalans Dragons | 150 |
| 8 | Danny Brough | Huddersfield Giants | 141 |
| 9 | George Williams | Wigan Warriors | 131 |
| 10 | Gareth O'Brien | Salford Red Devils | 124 |
Attendances
Average attendances
| Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest |
| Castleford Tigers | 11 | 104,776 | 9,525 | 11,500 | 7,094 |
| Catalans Dragons | 11 | 96,551 | 8,777 | 10,804 | 7,254 |
| Huddersfield Giants | 11 | 64,081 | 5,826 | 8,666 | 4,973 |
| Hull | 11 | 128,900 | 11,718 | 15,487 | 10,222 |
| Leeds Rhinos | 11 | 164,449 | 14,950 | 18,029 | 13,169 |
| Leigh Centurions | 11 | 71,732 | 6,521 | 9,012 | 4,938 |
| Salford Red Devils | 11 | 51,736 | 4,703 | 6,253 | 2,678 |
| St Helens | 11 | 118,240 | 10,749 | 13,138 | 9,040 |
| Wakefield Trinity | 11 | 58,178 | 5,289 | 7,187 | 4,017 |
| Warrington Wolves | 11 | 115,253 | 10,478 | 11,681 | 9,152 |
| Widnes Vikings | 11 | 63,437 | 5,767 | 8,279 | 4,253 |
| Wigan Warriors | 11 | 153,810 | 13,983 | 23,390 | 11,637 |
Top 10 attendances
- Statistics correct as of 23 July 2017
End of season awards
- Man of Steel: Luke Gale - Castleford Tigers
- Coach of the year: Daryl Powell - Castleford Tigers
- Super League club of the year: Castleford Tigers
- Young player of the year: Oliver Gildart - Wigan Warriors
- Foundation of the year: Wigan Warriors
- Rhino "Top Gun": Marc Sneyd - Hull F.C.
- Metre-maker: Alex Walmsley - St. Helens
- Top Try Scorer: Greg Eden - Castleford Tigers
- Hit Man: Danny Houghton - Hull F.C.
- Outstanding Contribution:
Thomas Bosc - Catalans Dragons
Chris Bridge - Warrington Wolves
Rob Burrow - Leeds Rhinos
Eorl Crabtree - Huddersfield Giants
Gareth Ellis - Hull
Andy Lynch - Castleford Tigers
Leon Pryce - Bradford Bulls
Iafeta Paleaaesina - HullMedia
Television
2017 is the first of a five-year contract with Sky Sports to televise 100 matches per season.Sky Sports coverage in the UK will see two live matches broadcast each week, usually at 8:00 pm on Thursday and Friday nights.
Regular commentators will be Eddie Hemmings with summarisers including Phil Clarke, Brian Carney, Barrie McDermott and Terry O'Connor. Sky will broadcast highlights on Sunday nights on Super League - Full Time at 10 p.m.
BBC Sport will broadcast a highlights programme called the Super League Show, presented by Tanya Arnold. The BBC show two weekly broadcasts of the programme, the first to the BBC North West, Yorkshire, North East and Cumbria, and East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire regions on Monday evenings at 11:35 p.m. on BBC One, while a repeat showing is shown nationally on BBC Two on Tuesday afternoons at 1.30 p.m. 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 on Sunday afternoons.
Internationally, Super League is shown live or delayed on Showtime Sports, Sky Sport, TV 2 Sport, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Sports and Sportsnet World.
Radio
BBC Coverage:- BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra will carry two Super League commentaries each week on Thursday and Friday nights ; this will be through the 5 Live Rugby league programme which is presented by Dave Woods with a guest summariser and also includes interviews and debate..
- BBC Radio Humberside will have full match commentary of all Hull F.C. matches.
- BBC Radio Leeds carry commentaries featuring Leeds, Castleford, Wakefield and Huddersfield.
- BBC Radio Manchester will carry commentary of Leigh, Wigan and Salford whilst sharing commentary of Warrington with BBC Radio Merseyside.
- BBC Radio Merseyside will have commentary on St Helens and Widnes matches whilst sharing commentary of Warrington with BBC Radio Manchester.
- 102.4 Wish FM will carry commentaries of Wigan & St Helens matches.
- 107.2 Wire FM will carry commentaries on Warrington Home and Away.
- Radio Yorkshire will launch in March carrying Super League commentaries.
- Radio Warrington all Warrington home games and some away games.
- Grand Sud FM covers every Catalans Dragons Home Match.
- Radio France Bleu Roussillon covers every Catalans Dragons Away Match.