Super League end-of-season report: Leeds Rhinos take road less travelled as Hull FC go off rails

That has certainly been the case since 2018 with Saints' rivals powerless to prevent an unprecedented four-peat.

Yorkshire had a representative in each major final but Huddersfield Giants and Leeds Rhinos were unable to complete the job.

Castleford Tigers, Hull KR, Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity were all left to consider what might have been after bowing out at the end of the Super League regular campaign.

Here, The Yorkshire Post dishes out end-of-season grades to the county's clubs.

Castleford Tigers: C

On the face of it, Castleford failed to achieve Lee Radford's objective of making the play-offs.

But the Tigers should be commended for taking it down to the final few minutes of the regular season with a makeshift spine.

Round one was the only occasion Radford had the luxury of naming his first-choice spine of Niall Evalds, Jake Trueman, Danny Richardson and Paul McShane.

Sheer will took Castleford to the brink of the play-offs but they ultimately ran out of steam on the final day at Headingley.

There was enough to encourage Radford in his first year in charge, leaving the Tigers boss with something to build on in pre-season.

Huddersfield Giants: B

When the season ends with a 28-0 drubbing on home soil, remembering the positives can prove difficult.

But there were many throughout a breakthrough campaign under Ian Watson, not least reaching a first Challenge Cup final since 2009.

Huddersfield bounced back from an agonising defeat in the Tottenham showpiece to finish third but their exertions had caught up with them by the time Salford Red Devils visited in the play-offs.

The Giants turned the John Smith's Stadium into a fortress during the regular season and are hard to beat when they nail Watson's game plan.

The challenge for Huddersfield is to come up with an effective plan B, which could well mean adding creativity in the off-season.

Hull FC: E

Yet again, the Black and Whites collapsed in the second half of the campaign on their way to a hugely disappointing ninth-place finish.

Hull missed out on the play-offs in each of Brett Hodgson's two seasons in charge but the manner of the defeats cost the Australian his job.

Only relegated Toulouse Olympique conceded more points than the Airlie Birds in 2022, which highlighted a lack of spirit when the going got tough.

Hodgson could point to a lengthy list of absentees throughout a challenging season but he was unable to address the underlying issues that have blighted the club in recent years.

Super League's most experienced coach Tony Smith has been tasked with improving the culture and re-establishing Hull as title challengers.

Hull KR: D

Expectations aren't quite as high across the river in east Hull but there was genuine optimism for the first time in a long time following last year's run to the Super League semi-finals.

The Robins lacked the same kind of spark in 2022, not helped by Smith's sudden decision to announce his planned departure during a press conference in April.

KR's form nosedived in the aftermath and Smith paid the price with his job in early July.

Rovers did not lack spirit under interim boss Danny McGuire but ran out of bodies, quite literally.

The Robins are ushering in a new era and have recruited well - but much will depend on whether Willie Peters can keep his best players on the field.

Leeds Rhinos: B

The Rhinos achieved their main objective, even if it did mean taking the road less travelled to reach Old Trafford.

Beset by selection issues and a crippling lack of confidence, Leeds endured the worst start to a season in the club's history and Richard Agar fell on his sword.

Enter Rohan Smith, a relative unknown to the extent that even some Rhinos players had never heard of him.

The Australian oversaw a remarkable transformation from relegation candidates to Grand Finalists, improving Leeds' alarming disciplinary record along the way.

The Rhinos have rediscovered their identity under Smith and will be a team to be feared in 2023.

Wakefield Trinity: D

A 10th-place finish was about par for a Trinity squad that was always destined to struggle if injuries hit.

Back-to-back away wins at Warrington Wolves in March raised hopes but little did they know that Daryl Powell's team would go on to finish second bottom.

Wakefield finished strongly to remove the threat of relegation, claiming memorable wins over Castleford and Wigan Warriors as well as a notable victory at the Totally Wicked Stadium, albeit against an understrength St Helens.

The timely form spike was not enough to save Willie Poching's job, with the baton passed to highly rated young coach Mark Applegarth.

With big-spending Leigh Centurions likely to replace Toulouse in Super League, it is a massive off-season for Trinity on the recruitment front as they aim to avoid another relegation scrap.