WHILE we may know who will be in the Super League play-offs when they get underway next week, the make-up of them is still up in the air.
Going into the final round of regular-season fixtures, Warrington Wolves have secured home advantage in the eliminator round at the very least, with their chances of sneaking into the top two now realistically over.
Behind them, however, things could end up looking a number of different ways…
Here are all of the permutations for Round 27, starting with how the Super League table looks and the relevant fixtures…
Round 27 fixtures for play-off teams (all Friday at 8pm)
Leeds Rhinos vs Hull FC
Leigh Leopards vs Wakefield Trinity
St Helens vs Hull KR
Warrington Wolves vs Toulouse Olympique
Wigan Warriors vs Catalans Dragons
Who will win the League Leaders’ Shield?
Wigan’s 40-8 victory at Leeds in Round 26 means Matt Peet’s side have put themselves into pole position to finish top of the pile.
They only need to avoid defeat at home to Catalans Dragons in order to be crowned League Leaders’ Shield winners, but any slip-up will open the door for Leeds Rhinos if they are victorious against Hull FC at Headingley.
Wigan and Leeds will both finish inside the top two and will therefore advance straight into the play-off semi-finals, where they will enjoy home advantage – Warrington could still finish level on points with Leeds, but the gap in points difference between The Wire and the Rhinos is realistically insurmountable.
How will the eliminator round look?
As previously mentioned, Warrington go into Round 27 knowing that they will finish no lower than fourth, meaning they will host one of the two eliminator ties at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.
However, their defeat at Wakefield Trinity on Saturday means that third place is not officially sewn up for them. In order to do that, they must avoid defeat against Toulouse Olympique on Friday.
Losing to the Frenchmen would open the door for Trinity to snatch third, which they would do if they win at Leigh Leopards while also overturning Warrington’s points difference advantage, which is currently 37.
But while Wakefield know they will finish either fourth or fifth, Leigh could still finish anywhere between fourth and sixth by close of play on Friday.
Beating Wakefield by 28 points or more would allow Adrian Lam’s side to jump into fourth and ensure Trinity would return to Leigh Sports Village in the eliminator round.
Should Wakefield win, however, Hull KR’s superior points difference would see them jump above the Leopards into fifth so long as the Robins win at St Helens.
That means Warrington's eliminator round visitors will be either Leigh or Hull KR - there is no scenario in which they could face Wakefield before the Grand Final.
Third will host sixth and fourth will face fifth in the eliminator round but despite Sky Sports publishing the dates of each match as part of their Round 26 coverage, Super League have insisted that dates will only be finalised once Round 27 is complete.
Super League play-off dates
Friday 18/Saturday 19 September – Elimination play-offs
Friday 25/Saturday 26 September – Play-off semi-finals
Saturday, October 3 – Super League Grand Final
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