Super League report card: Yorkshire clubs graded from B to F at one-third mark of 2024 season

St Helens, Catalans Dragons and Wigan Warriors have company at the top but appear to be the teams to beat once again.

Warrington Wolves have shown promising signs under rookie head coach Sam Burgess, while Willie Peters' Hull KR continue to make strides.

Salford Red Devils have been the surprise package after coming into the campaign with a threadbare squad and there is renewed optimism at Huddersfield Giants following an encouraging start.

Leeds Rhinos, like Huddersfield, are only four points behind leaders St Helens but have work to do to catch their traditional rivals.

Leigh Leopards claimed a statement win over Catalans last weekend to boost their hopes of a belated play-off challenge, seemingly leaving Castleford Tigers, Hull FC and London Broncos in a three-way scrap to avoid the wooden spoon.

Here, The Yorkshire Post grades the county's clubs at the one-third mark of the season.

Castleford Tigers: 10th (P9 W2 L7 PD -112)

Castleford had braced themselves for a challenging campaign and it has gone to script in that sense.

The Tigers came into the season with a younger squad and that inexperience has shown, not helped by a lengthy injury list.

It is perhaps no coincidence that they delivered their best performance of the campaign with co-captains Paul McShane and Joe Westerman in the pack.

The 40-0 rout of London was just the second time the experienced pair have lined up together this year; on the other occasion, the Tigers produced a strong first-half showing against Leeds.

Craig Lingard will be desperate to keep his top earners on the field but Castleford appear to be playing for 10th place, a finish that would exceed outside expectations in a season of significant change at Wheldon Road.

Grade: D-

Huddersfield Giants: 7th (P9 W5 L4 PD +55)

Huddersfield's record does not stand out as particularly impressive but they played seven of those games on the road in a curious start for Ian Watson's men.

They are well placed with four straight home fixtures to look forward to in May, starting with Friday's visit of Salford.

The Giants showed their attacking promise in thumping wins over Castleford and Hull before dispelling any thoughts they were flat-track bullies in impressive victories at Catalans and Leeds.

With a bit more composure, they may well have come out on the right side of last week's nerve-shredding game against St Helens.

The key for Huddersfield now is to build on their promising start by making home advantage count.

Grade: B-

Hull FC: 11th (P9 W1 L8 PD -230)

From the round one derby nilling to a series of drubbings in Tony Smith's final days as head coach, it has been a nightmare start to the season for the Black and Whites.

But for a last-gasp home win over London, Hull would be bottom of the table and could have few complaints.

The Airlie Birds conceded an eye-watering 252 points in a five-game period before stopping the rot somewhat in an 18-12 loss to Leeds.

It is likely to get worse before it gets better with four consecutive away fixtures coming up in May, even accounting for the impending return of key half-back Jake Trueman.

Whether Hull's A grade is under threat remains to be seen – they were just above the threshold in the indicative phase of the rollout – but it is a long way back to the top for the club regardless.

Grade: F

Hull KR: 5th (P9 W6 L3 PD +85)

There were question marks over KR's trophy challenge after a humbling defeat in Perpignan but they responded in perfect fashion to beat defending champions Wigan convincingly on home soil.

Just as they did in the aftermath of their heartbreaking Wembley loss last year, Willie Peters' side showed they can recover quickly from a major setback.

The big challenge for Rovers is to show they can beat the best sides away from home, something they have yet to do under Peters.

A testing period continues with games against St Helens and Warrington before a Challenge Cup semi-final date with Wigan.

The Robins have a strong platform but the next few weeks will give a better idea of whether they are the real deal.

Grade: B

Leeds Rhinos: 8th (P9 W5 L4 PD -6)

The Rhinos won more games than they lost in the opening nine rounds but struggled to pass the eye test.

Leeds saw off Salford and Catalans on home soil early in the season, only to lose convincingly against Warrington after a pair of defeats to Saints.

Much like last year, Rohan Smith's side have been good in patches and abject in others, usually during the same game.

That is a bad habit the Rhinos must shake if they are to threaten their traditional rivals in 2024.

Smith is bearing the brunt of the fans' frustrations but he retains the support of the board with the club within striking distance of top spot.

After backing Smith in the recruitment market, just how much patience the Rhinos hierarchy has remains to be seen.

Grade: D