SUPER League kicks off this weekend - and here is a closer look at the 12 teams who will be contesting the competition.

CASTLEFORD.

Coach: Craig Lingard.

Key ins: Nixon Putt (Central Queensland); Luke Hooley (Leeds); Rowan Milnes (Hull KR).

Key outs: Niall Evalds (Hull KR); Blake Austin (loan expired); Gareth Widdop (Halifax).

Prospects: Head coach Lingard will need to draw on all his experience if he is to keep Cas out of the bottom two. Much will depend on how the likes of Hooley and Milnes make the Tigers spine their own.

CATALANS DRAGONS.

Coach: Steve McNamara.

Key ins: Theo Fages (Huddersfield); Jayden Nikorima (Melbourne); Jordan Abdull (Hull KR).

Key outs: Sam Tomkins (retired); Adam Keighran (Wigan); Mitchell Pearce (retired).

Prospects: Last year’s Grand Finalists have lost a host of key names in the close season. Retiring duo Tomkins and Pearce leave big holes to fill.

HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS.

Coach: Ian Watson.

Key ins: Adam Clune (Newcastle Knights); Adam Swift (Hull); Hugo Salabio (Wakefield).

Key outs: Theo Fages (Catalans); Chris McQueen (retired); Jermaine McGillvary (Wakefield).

Prospects: The excitement created by the news that Tom Burgess will be joining the Giants for 2025 won’t help them much this season but does at least underscore the ambition of a club that flopped to a disappointing ninth-place finish last term.

 HULL FC.

Coach: Tony Smith.

Key ins: Herman Ese’ese (Dolphins); Liam Tindall (Leeds); Fa’amanu Brown (Newcastle Knights).

Key outs: Jake Clifford (North Queensland); Chris Satae (Catalans); Adam Swift (Huddersfield).

Prospects: Two trying seasons have left the experienced Smith under no illusions that he has to deliver in 2024, and the departure of Clifford is a major blow. But there were signs of improvement towards the end of last year and the black.

HULL KR.

Coach: Willie Peters.

Key ins: Tyrone May (Catalans); Peta Hiku (North Queensland); Jai Whitbread (Wakefield).

Key outs: Shaun Kenny-Dowall (retired); Rhys Kennedy (London); Jordan Abdull (Catalans).

Prospects: Rovers had a memorable 2023, coming agonisingly close at Wembley and reaching the play-off semi-finals, and are clearly a club heading in the right direction. May is a superb addition in the halves.

LEEDS.

Coach: Rohan Smith.

Key ins: Lachie Miller (Newcastle Knights); Brodie Croft (Salford); Andy Ackers (Salford).

Key outs: Aidan Sezer (Wests Tigers); Sam Walters (Wigan); Blake Austin (released).

Prospects: The arrival of ex-Man of Steel Brodie Croft from Salford was a real statement of intent from the Rhinos, and after a strong recruitment drive.

LEIGH.

Coach: Adrian Lam.

Key ins: Matt Moylan (Cronulla Sharks); Owen Trout (Huddersfield); Jack Darbyshire (Warrington).

Key outs: Joe Mellor (Salford); Ben Reynolds (Featherstone); Joe Wardle (Oldham).

Prospects: Keen to prove themselves more than one-season wonders, the Challenge Cup holders have kept a low profile in the transfer market, wisely focusing on retaining those stars who made their first season back in the top-flight such a success.

LONDON.

Coach: Mike Eccles.

Key ins: Sadiq Adebiyi (Keighley); Rhys Kennedy (Hull KR); Hakim Miloudi (Limoux).

Key outs: Dean Whare (released); Corey Norman (released); Paul Ulberg (Toulouse).

Prospects: The Broncos can hardly be blamed for not splashing the cash due to the impending IMG gradings which are seemingly certain to consign them to relegation irrespective of how they do on the field. Eccles will have to work all his magic to get more than a handful of wins out of a squad that still looks Championship level at best.

SALFORD.

Coach: Paul Rowley.

Key ins: Nene Macdonald (Leeds); Ethan Ryan (Hull KR); Joe Shorrocks (Wigan).

Key outs: Brodie Croft (Leeds); Andy Ackers (Leeds); Ken Sio (released).

Beset by financial and stadium concerns, this has been a close season to forget for Salford fans, who have seen last year’s star names Croft and Ackers drift over the Pennines. But they have recruited astutely, and head coach Rowley can be guaranteed to get the best out of a squad that still promises to have their moments.

St Helens Star:

ST HELENS.

Coach: Paul Wellens.

Key ins: Daryl Clark (Warrington); Matt Whitley (Catalans); Waqa Blake (Parramatta).

Key outs: James Roby (retired); Will Hopoate (retired); Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook (retired).

Prospects: Saints being Saints, they have reacted to the twin blows of losing their four-year grip on the title, and of the retirement of the talismanic James Roby, with anything but panic. Wellens has sourced the best possible replacement for Roby in Clark, and their hunger to win back the title will make his side more dangerous than ever.

WARRINGTON.

Coach: Sam Burgess.

Key ins: Lachlan Fitzgibbon (Newcastle Knights); Toby King (Wigan); Zane Musgrove (St George).

Key outs: Daryl Clark (St Helens); Peter Mata’utia (retired); Sam Kasiano (released).

Prospects: The arrival of Burgess has attracted column inches but he remains an unknown quantity in a coaching capacity. Fitzgibbon and Musgrove look like quality imports from Down Under and King and Sam Powell arrive fresh from Wigan’s winning 2023 campaign.

WIGAN.

Coach: Matt Peet.

Key ins: Kruise Leeming (Gold Coast); Sam Walters (Leeds); Adam Keighran (Catalans).

Key outs: Kai Pearce-Paul (Newcastle); Morgan Smithies (Canberra); Sam Powell (Warrington).