Super League Struggles: A Look at the Longest Winless Starts to the Season
As the 2024 Super League season reaches the double-digit mark, London Broncos find themselves in a precarious position, winless in their first nine matches. But how does this compare to the most prolonged struggles at the start of a Super League campaign?
The inaugural 1996 season saw Workington Town endure a dismal start, losing seven of their first eight games before finally securing a victory in Round 9. That eight-match winless run remains one of the longest to open a Super League season.
Fast forward to 1999, and Salford City Reds matched that ignominious feat, failing to secure a win in their first nine league fixtures. The Broncos currently sit alongside them, praying they can avoid the same fate when they visit Leeds Rhinos at Headingley on Friday.
However, both Salford and the new-look Broncos pale in comparison to the woes of Castleford Tigers. The Yorkshire club went without a win in their first 10 Super League matches in 1997, finally breaking their duck against Salford in Round 11.
Heading into the 2000s, the struggles continued, with Castleford (2004) and Celtic Crusaders (2009) both enduring 11-match winless runs to start their respective seasons. Wakefield Trinity’s dismal 2023 campaign saw them go 13 games without a victory, the third-longest drought in Super League history.
“The dubious honor of the longest winless start to a Super League season belongs to the London Broncos of 2014, who went a staggering 23 matches without a triumph, finally tasting victory against Leeds in Round 24.”
As the current Broncos side strive to avoid joining this inglorious list, the battle for Super League survival has never been more intense.
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