Super League set for dramatic, fun-filled conclusion - but at what cost?

If a competitor quits or cannot complete the race, the entire team is eliminated.

There is no time to sleep or nurse injuries; every minute matters.

While rugby league is child’s play by comparison and there is not the same degree of jeopardy, that tagline could be dusted off for the final few weeks of the Super League season.

It was famously used in 2015 when Ryan Hall’s last-gasp try for Leeds Rhinos diverted the helicopter carrying the League Leaders’ Shield to Huddersfield in the most dramatic finish to a Super League campaign.

Seven years on, there is the potential for drama in every corner of the competition.

St Helens appear to have top spot and the shield wrapped up but must travel to second-placed Wigan Warriors on the penultimate weekend.

Huddersfield Giants and Catalans Dragons have not given up on a top-two finish, which brings with it a welcome week off and a home semi-final for a Grand Final place at Old Trafford.

As many as five teams are separated by only two points in a fascinating battle for the two remaining play-off places.

Castleford Tigers are in the box seat but appear to be losing their way, a claim that cannot be levelled against the resurgent Rhinos under Rohan Smith.

Just outside the top six, Salford Red Devils, Hull FC and Hull KR are all locked on 20 points.

At the bottom, perennial title contenders Warrington Wolves find themselves in relegation trouble at the end of a miserable first season under Daryl Powell.

Warrington must find a way of pulling clear of Wakefield Trinity and Toulouse Olympique, two teams that have been in desperation mode for months.

It has the makings of a thrilling finish but as with Eco-Challenge, only the strongest will stay the course.

Not since 2019 have Super League clubs been faced with as many as the 27 games that have been squeezed into a shortened season.

With injuries already stretching some squads to breaking point, there is a fear that Super League is sleepwalking into a player welfare crisis.

Five rounds are scheduled for the final three weeks of the regular season with Wakefield expected to play their games in the space of 19 days.

On the penultimate weekend when the stakes are at their highest, Wigan, St Helens, Hull and Toulouse are being asked to play twice in three days.

Fans are already being served up a watered-down version of Super League with star players missing across the board, as Castleford head coach Lee Radford pointed out in the aftermath of his side’s defeat at St Helens.

“I think we are seeing games now not of the highest quality,” he said.

“We have got another double-header before the end of the season and that’s going to have a massive knock-on effect.

“The coaches don’t produce the fixture list, so that’s something that needs to be looked at. Across the competition, it is starting to fracture.”

It is the survival of the fittest at the business end of the season with injuries as prevalent as they have ever been.

Suspensions certainly have not helped coaches with another eight players banned in the aftermath of round 22.

While caution from the top is understandable at a time when the cost of the sport’s insurance cover has reportedly quadrupled, common sense is needed now more than ever.

Struggling coaches are crying out for help and the competition needs the best players on the pitch if it is to deliver the competitive play-off series this season deserves.

But there is every chance St Helens and Wigan will contest the Grand Final if, as expected, they go on to finish in the top two.

Their reward would be a weekend off between the end of the regular season and the play-off semi-finals, leaving them with a distinct advantage over their jaded title rivals.

Until then, they will be in the trenches just the same as every other team in Super League.

The players will just get on with it as they always do but many will go to a dark place over the coming weeks.

As well as the physical toll of a congested schedule, they are carrying the hopes of cities and towns.

The ill-thought-out double-header over the August bank holiday weekend will claim casualties, potentially crushing Grand Final and World Cup dreams.

England head coach Shaun Wane could be forgiven for watching the closing stages of the season through his fingers.

An inquest will be called if the national team fall flat on home soil and the demands on players will be discussed, yet money always wins.

Clubs will find a way to negotiate the gruelling course and there will be enough entertainment and drama to go around - but at what cost?