Super League (rugby league)
 | |
| Countries |
 Floria |
|---|---|
| Confederation | ARL |
| Founded | 2017 |
| First season | 2017 |
| Number of teams | 1 |
| Levels on pyramid | 1 |
| International cup(s) | Rugby League World Club Challenge |
| Current champions |
 Meadowedge Warriors (2019) |
| Most championships |
 Northcliff Vikings  Northsilver Panthers Meadowedge Warriors (1 Title) |
 2020 Florian Super League | |
The Super League, referred to as the Florian Super League to avoid confusion with other similarly named competitions, is the highest level rugby league competition in Floria and is the highest level of professional rugby league in Apollonia. It is run by the Florian Rugby Football League and is contested by 14 teams with the top six teams entering the postseason playoffs. All 12 teams are based within the Confederate States of Floria. Previously, the league has had a team from Freeland. There is the use of promotion and relegation in the league with the bottom team in the league being relegated to Florian Super League 2.
Matches are played from February to September and the season culminates in the leagues' playoff final, the Florian Super League Grand Final. The teams which reach the Grand Final, qualify for the Rugby League World Club Challenge.
History
Establishment
Expansion
After the formation of the league. The organisers of the competition released a plan to expand the game to new cities domestically and abroad. They planned to expand the league to 20 teams. On November 21st, 2017, the Florian Super League committee openly addressed proposals for two clubs to be entered into the league for the 2019 season. Five franchises applied for Super League status. At the end of the month, the league's current members voted on each application and Birmingham Titans and the Southern Storm (originally to be based in Blyth but now Oldhaven) were accepted after gaining almost unanimous votes. The Wolfpack was also awarded a license but they were denied automatic promotion in a decision made in January 2018. The two other applicants, the Southern Knights and Coldley Panthers were accepted into the Semi-Professional leagues. In a very controversial decision, a last-minute bid for Super League status in 2018 from KR Viten Sharks was accepted after Northcliff Broncos were revoked a license. The Wolfpack was angry about the decision but an appeal was rejected. In the process, KR Viten Sharks became the first foreign team to play in the Florian Super League. However, the Sharks would leave to join the Micras Balkan Super League. Due to the failure of the Fastbet Cup and Fastbet Premiership, the league took control of the second tier and the new Super League 2 was launched and will kick off in 2019. The new competition allowed more new franchises into the Super League organisation. From 2021, the league will be expanded to 24 teams featuring teams from all states and territories of the Florian Republic. The expanded league will also split into two conferences of 12 teams.
Florian rugby league civil war
In late March 2018, Some Florian clubs were angry with the administration of rugby league in the country and these clubs formed the Florian National Rugby League, a breakaway organisation that was deemed illegal by the Florian government. The organisation was later shut down. The conflict had a huge effect on all aspects of the Florian game, with many previously aligned Florian National Rugby League switching to Rugby Union and lack of money invested into grassroots rugby league. The effects of the breakaway would greatly damage the professional game resulting in the league dropping in popularity and being left behind by rival competitions such as the FFL and SLF.
Teams
The Super League (rugby league) consists of 18 teams: Three based in Northcliff, two in Blackoak, Dragonmoor and Havenbarrow. Other teams are from Birmingham, Meadowedge, Newhedge, Newmarsh, Northsilver, Stonehall,Oldhaven and Westlake. The league operates a promotion and relegation system with its feeder league, Florian Super League 2. In its inaugural season in 2017, only 12 teams competed in the league. After the 2017 season, it was announced that the league would be expanding to 16 teams and therefore the four highest placed teams in the Florian Championship were promoted. After having their license revoked, on the 14th December 2017 the Northcliff Broncos were expelled from the league and were replaced by KR Viten Sharks from Freeland, effectively creating an continental competition. KR Viten Sharks however would leave after one season to join the new Micras Balkans Super League.Northcliff Broncos would be then readmitted into the league. In 2018, the Birmingham Titans, Oldhaven Wolfpack and Southern Storm were granted Super League licenses.
Current Clubs
| Super League clubs | ||||||
| Colours | Club | Established | Location | Stadium | Capacity* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Birmingham Titans | 2017 | Birmingham | Eastpak Stadium | 34,000 | |
|
Blackoak Bulls | 2017 | Blackoak | Blackoak metropolitan Stadium | 10,300 | |
|
Blackoak Giants | 2017 | Blackoak | Stone Brewery Stadium | 55,097 | |
|
Coldley Panthers | 2017 | Coldley | Florian Telecom Arena | 15,000* | |
|
Dragonmoor Devils | 2017 | Dragonmoor | Dragonmoor City Stadium | 12,000 | |
|
Dragonmoor Dragons | 2017 | Dragonmoor | Dragonmoor City Stadium | 12,000 | |
| Etourney Aces | 2020 | St. Edwins | Etourney Stadium | 9,164 | ||
| Florian Eura Hunters | 2017 | Togofaga | Hunters Stadium | 14,800 | ||
|
Havenbarrow Wolves | 2017 | Havenbarrow | Wolves Park | 15,200 | |
| Longsight Sharks | 2020 | Longsight | Steinfield | 54,074 | ||
|
Meadowedge Rabbitohs | 2017 | Meadowedge | Meadowedge Stadium | 45,500 | |
|
|
Meadowedge Warriors | 2017 | Meadowedge | Meadowedge Stadium | 45,500 | |
|
Newmarsh Olympic | 2017 | Newmarsh | Olympic Stadium | 60,000 | |
|
Newmarsh Saints | 2017 | Newmarsh | Saints Road | 23,000 | |
|
|
Northsilver Panthers | 2017 | Northsilver | Panthers Arena | 25,586 | |
|
Oldhaven Wolfpack | 2017 | Oldhaven | The Den | 9,000 | |
|
Northcliff Tigers | 2017 | Northcliff | Northcliff Sports Complex | 20,000 | |
|
Northcliff Roosters | 2017 | Northcliff | various | ||
|
Stonehall Rhinos | 2017 | Stonehall | Stonehall Hotspur Stadium | 54,329 | |
|
Southern Storm | 2017 | Oldhaven | Thunder Park | 74,000 | |
| Vice City Raiders | 2020 | Vice City | Millennium Field | 68,740 | ||
|
Westlake Wildcats | 2017 | Westlake | 'Wild' Park | 5,333 | |
| Current Champions |
Famous Super League Rivalries
The Super League (rugby league) is well known for the many rivalries it has in its leagues. The most famous are shown below:
Northcliff Tigers vs Northcliff Roosters
The rivalry of these two Northcliff clubs has been described as the biggest and most violent rugby league derby on Micras. Both clubs are two of the biggest clubs in the country and both are currently dominant in the league. Northcliff Roosters are the better out of two due to them winning more titles than Northcliff Tigers. The rivalry is nicknamed the Immortal derby.
Blackoak Bulls vs Blackoak Giants
Dragonmoor Devils vs Dragonmoor Dragons
Season Structure
Pre season
Preseason begins in January and ends in early February. In this time clubs play friendlies against other teams in Floria.
Regular Season
Rugby League is a summer sport in Floria and the regular season starts late March following a brief series of friendlies. 18 teams currently compete in the competition. A round of regular season matches is played every weekend for 29 weeks, usually until the end of September. All matches are played on Saturday afternoons and evenings. Teams receive two competition points for a win. Teams on the table are ranked by competition points, then match points differential (for and against) and points percentage are used to separate teams with equal competition points. At the end of the regular season, the highest-ranked club after 29 rounds wins the Minor Premiership. The eight highest-ranked clubs at the end of the regular season advance to the postseason playoffs.
The league adopts the golden point rule during the regular season. Therefore, matches ending in draws after regulation time advance to extra time until a winner is decided by scoring a point.
Super Round
In an attempt to expand the sport of rugby league, and market the Florian game to a global audience, the Super League (rugby league) has staged games in large stadia abroad in countries and domestic areas which traditionally don't play rugby league. The "Magic Weekend" concept, which involves staging an entire round of Super League in such a stadium, was first staged in Viten in 2017. The concept was stopped in the 2020 season.
Playoffs
The eight highest placed teams at the end of the regular season compete in the Playoffs series. The system consists of a number of games between the top eight teams over four weeks in September, until only two teams remain. These two teams then contest the Grand Final, which is usually played on the first Sunday of October.
Super League Grand Final
The Florian Super League Grand Final determines the season's overall champions and is the third popular sporting event in Floria. The Grand Final is always played on a Sunday and is televised on TV networks such as Red Sports, RLM24 and other TV channels. The game has an opening ceremony featuring entertainment and the singing of the national anthem as well as an invitational nines game. At the conclusion of the Grand Final, there is a presentation ceremony where the winning team are awarded champion medals and then the man of the match is given the Edwin Farrar Medal.
Player draft
From the 2019 season, the Super League (rugby league) and Florian Super League 2 has operated a player draft. Players available for the draft are selected from amateur clubs and university programs. The clubs of the league each have six rounds to pick one player from each round. The worst-ranked team in the Florian Super League choose first and the champions of the previous season choose last. Clubs are required to make their selection within a certain period of time, the exact time depending on which round the pick is made in. No draft was held in the 2020 and the event won't be hosted again until 2022, by that time the six new expansion teams should have played a full season.
League Champions
| Season | Grand Finals | Minor Premiership Finished first in Regular Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Score | Runners-up | ||
| 2017 | Northcliff Roosters
|
34–18 | Northsilver Panthers
|
Northcliff Roosters
|
| 2018 | Northsilver Panthers
|
10–8 | Stonehall Rhinos
|
Northsilver Panthers
|
| 2019 | Meadowedge Warriors
|
24–18 | Northcliff Roosters
|
Meadowedge Warriors
|
Media Coverage
| Country | TV Broadcasters | Radio Broadcasters |
|---|---|---|
 Craitland |
VVision | none |
 Krasnocoria |
StadioSport | StadioSport Radio |
 Floria  Etourney |
FBC Sport Red Sports |
FBC Sports Radio |
 Senya |
Senya TV Sport | none |
 Mercury |
RLM24 | none |
| Worldwide | Florian Super League Live Pass* | |
- Only available to countries which do not have a broadcasting deal for the Florian Super League. Coverage will be provided by FBC Sports.
In the Confederate States of Floria , the Super League (rugby league) has deals with two networks, Red Sports and FBC Sport. Collectively, these contracts cover every regular season and postseason game. The Florian Super League is available to the rest of Micras via an official Livestream channel. Matches are also broadcasted in Mercury, Craitland and Senya.
Detailed Florian coverage
- Thursday Night Football starts at 7:30 pm and matches are shown on the free to view on FBC Sport.
- Friday Night Football starts at 5:45 pm with the first match shown on Red Sports. A second match, 7:55 pm is broadcast by both Sports Hub and Red Sports.
- Super Saturday includes one Florian Super League 2 afternoon game at 3:00 pm, followed by two Florian Super League matches, the first at 5:30 pm followed by and then 7:30 pm, all Super Saturday is televised live and ad break free' on Red Sports.
Matches on Sunday are currently are covered by FBC Sports.
Records
Team
- Most Titles - 1 Northcliff Roosters, Northsilver Panthers,Meadowedge Warriors
- Most League Leaders Trophies - 1 Northcliff Roosters, Northsilver Panthers,Meadowedge Warriors
- Most Wooden Spoons - 1 Dragonmoor Devils, Northcliff Eagles, Havenbarrow Rovers
- Longest winning Streak - 20 matches, Northcliff Vikings (2017)
- Longest losing streak - 11 matches, Dragonmoor Devils (2017)
Match officials
Below, is a list of match officials currently officiating in the league, three of which are FMRL tier one officials:
Referees
|
|
'The Bunker' Video Referees
- Ewan Davies
- Tom Berry
- William May
Two referees system
The Super League (rugby league) uses a two-referee system. In every match, there are two referees, two touch judges, video referee and a timekeeper.
Sponsorship
The league was not sponsored in its first season.
The title sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. There have been two different title sponsors since the league's formation:
| Period | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | no sponsor | Super League |
| 2018 | Fastbet | Fastbet Super League |
| 2019 | Wicked Devil | Wicked Devil Super League |
| 2020- | Fastbet | Fastbet Super League |
As well as title sponsorship, the league has a number of official partners and suppliers, such Raptor (Offical ball supplier), Queens Press (Offical beverage), VykMotors (Official motor company) and N@G@ (Offical communications partner). Drag0n is to make the official game, Rugby League World. Florian Airlines is the official airline of the league and will provide travel to matches abroad in Etourney and other countries. On the 5th December, The eyecare company, Quicklenses became an official referee sponsor. After a long negotiation talk, fast food company Chicken King became the sponsor of the video referring system.
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