Super League run-in: Difficulty of each team’s remaining fixtures assessed

St Helens face Leigh Leopards in Warrington on Saturday before Hull KR and Wigan Warriors lock horns at Headingley the following day.

While those four teams continue to fight for silverware on both fronts, the rest of the Super League clubs have the opportunity to take a breath and assess their situations heading into the final eight rounds.

From the League Leaders' Shield and the play-offs to survival, it is all to play for at both ends of the table.

To assess the difficulty of each team's run-in, we have come up with a formula.

Every fixture is given a difficulty rating based on the league position of the opponent and whether it is home or away.

The formula turns the league table upside down with leaders Catalans Dragons (12 points) regarded as the toughest fixture and Wakefield Trinity (one point) considered the easiest on paper.

One point is added for a home game and two if it is away. The higher the score, the tougher the run-in.

Here, we assess the remaining fixtures for all 12 sides.

1. Catalans Dragons (28 points)

Run-in: Salford Red Devils (h), Warrington Wolves (a), Leigh Leopards (a), Wigan Warriors (h), Hull KR (a), Wakefield Trinity (a), Leeds Rhinos (h), Salford Red Devils (a).

Difficulty score: 67

The Dragons are in the box seat as they aim for a repeat of their 2021 League Leaders' Shield success but face a series of testing fixtures during the run-in, most notably back-to-back dates with Leigh and Wigan.

2. Leigh Leopards (26 points)

Run-in: Wigan Warriors (a), Leeds Rhinos (a), Catalans Dragons (h), Hull KR (a), Huddersfield Giants (h), St Helens (a), Wakefield Trinity (h), Wigan Warriors (h).

Difficulty score: 69

Remarkably, last year's Championship winners are still in the hunt for top spot thanks to nine wins in 10 games but with four matches remaining against other top-four sides, they will need to outdo themselves to claim the League Leaders' Shield.

3. Wigan Warriors (24 points)

Run-in: Leigh Leopards (h), Hull KR (h), Hull FC (h), Catalans Dragons (a), Salford Red Devils (h), Leeds Rhinos (a), Castleford Tigers (h), Leigh Leopards (a).

Difficulty score: 69

With two games against Leigh and a trip to Catalans to come, Wigan are still very much in the League Leaders' Shield conversation.

4. St Helens (22 points)

Run-in: Leeds Rhinos (h), Salford Red Devils (a), Hull KR (h), Castleford Tigers (a), Wakefield Trinity (a), Leigh Leopards (h), Warrington Wolves (a), Hull FC (h), Huddersfield Giants (h - TBC).

Difficulty score: 60 (53 over eight games)

The home clash with Leigh in September is Saints' only remaining fixture against a fellow top-four side, while they also have a game in hand to squeeze in as they look to find form at the business end of the season.

5. Warrington Wolves (22 points)

Run-in: Wakefield Trinity (a), Catalans Dragons (h), Leeds Rhinos (a), Hull FC (a), Castleford Tigers (h), Salford Red Devils (a), St Helens (h), Huddersfield Giants (a).

Difficulty score: 55

The early pacesetters are in danger of dropping out of the top six altogether on the back of six defeats in seven games but there are opportunities for points during the run-in.

6. Hull KR (20 points)

Run-in: Castleford Tigers (h), Wigan Warriors (a), St Helens (a), Leigh Leopards (h), Catalans Dragons (h), Huddersfield Giants (a), Salford Red Devils (h), Wakefield Trinity (a).

Difficulty score: 66

Rovers will know more about their play-off chances once they negotiate a challenging run against the current top four.

7. Salford Red Devils (20 points)

Run-in: Catalans Dragons (a), St Helens (h), Huddersfield Giants (a), Wakefield Trinity (h), Wigan Warriors (a), Warrington Wolves (h), Hull KR (a), Catalans Dragons (h).

Difficulty score: 74

Salford have six games remaining against sides currently in the top six, which makes another play-off appearance a tough ask.

8. Leeds Rhinos (18 points)

Run-in: St Helens (a), Leigh Leopards (h), Warrington Wolves (h), Huddersfield Giants (a), Hull FC (a), Wigan Warriors (h), Catalans Dragons (a), Castleford Tigers (h).

Difficulty score: 71

Leeds face an uphill battle after a damaging defeat to Hull KR with all the top five still to play.

9. Hull FC (18 points)

Run-in: Huddersfield Giants (a), Wakefield Trinity (h), Wigan Warriors (a), Warrington Wolves (h), Leeds Rhinos (h), Castleford Tigers (a), Huddersfield Giants (h), St Helens (a).

Difficulty score: 53

Trips to Wigan and Saints aside, Hull have a favourable run-in and will fancy a late play-off charge after winning seven of their last 10 matches.

10. Huddersfield Giants (14 points)

Run-in: Hull FC (h), Castleford Tigers (a), Salford Red Devils (h), Leeds Rhinos (h), Leigh Leopards (a), Hull KR (h), Hull FC (a), Warrington Wolves (h), St Helens (a - date TBC).

Difficulty score: 69 (61 over eight games)

The Giants appear to have given themselves too much to do in the play-off race but if they build on recent wins over Catalans and Wakefield, they could be there or thereabouts at the end of the regular season.

11. Castleford Tigers (8 points)

Run-in: Hull KR (a), Huddersfield Giants (h), Wakefield Trinity (a), St Helens (h), Warrington Wolves (a), Hull FC (h), Wigan Warriors (a), Leeds Rhinos (a).

Difficulty score: 60

Castleford have winnable games in their fight to stay in Super League but five away fixtures is a problem for a side that have not won on their travels this year, Magic Weekend aside.

12. Wakefield Trinity (6 points)

Run-in: Warrington Wolves (h), Hull FC (a), Castleford Tigers (h), Salford Red Devils (a), St Helens (h), Catalans Dragons (h), Leigh Leopards (a), Hull KR (h).

Difficulty score: 70

Trinity have a challenging run-in but five games at Belle Vue – where they have won three in a row – offers Mark Appelgarth's team hope of avoiding the drop.