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PETER SMITH: Home truths prove a mixed blessing
Home seems to be where the hurt is in engage Super League this season. At the start of each year, every team claims that one of their goals is to make their home ground a fortress, but so far very few have done that.
Of the 76 games played on a club ground this term – in other words, excluding the Magic Weekend when every team was away from home – a remarkable 41 (53.95 per cent) have been won by the visiting side, with just 34 victories for the hosts (44.7 per cent) and one draw (1.3 per cent).
The biggest offenders are Celtic Crusaders, who have lost all five home games. That's not particularly a shock as the Welsh outfit have lost all six on their travels too.
But grounds where in the past teams have feared visiting are now becoming venues where they will feel they have a real chance of claiming the points – particularly Headingley Carnegie, Knowsley Road, the JJB Stadium and Grattan Stadium, Odsal.
Champions Leeds Rhinos have lost their last two home league games – to unfancied Salford City Reds and Harlequins – and are on a run of three straight losses on their own turf following last month's Carnegie Challenge Cup fourth-round defeat by St Helens.
Defeats on neutral grounds at Old Trafford and Murrayfield apart, Saints are unbeaten in 13 months away from home, which is a staggering record. They haven't lost on their travels since being beaten 30-24 at Castleford on April 6 last year.
But at home, they've lost twice already this season, in six league games. Both Hull KR and Bradford Bulls have travelled back down the East Lancs Road with maximum spoils.
Bradford and Wigan Warriors have fared even worse. Bulls have lost three of their five home games this year, with a draw and a lone victory, the Good Friday derby win against Leeds.
Wigan were beaten by Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and Castleford in their first two home matches and have since lost to Huddersfield Giants and St Helens, with Bradford and Celtic being the only sides who have failed to win at the JJB Stadium.
Castleford's improved form this year, after finishing bottom in 2008, has been one of the success stories of Super League XIV so far. But while in the past they've prided themselves on their form at the Jungle, they are a much stronger outfit on the road.
Cas have lost four of their six home league games to date and were taken to golden point extra-time by Co-op Championship side Halifax in the Challenge Cup last weekend.
None of the 14 teams in Super League is unbeaten at home this year and only Hull KR, Leeds, Saints and Wakefield – all successful in four out of six – have won more home games than they've lost.
So how does this compare with previous seasons? Well, in the first Super League campaign, in 1996, of the 132 games played – 12 teams played everyone else, once at home and once away – a total of 78 (59 per cent) were won by the hosts. Visiting sides won 51 (38.6 per cent) and there were three draws (2.3 per cent).
Last season, which included repeat fixtures with some teams visiting others on two occasions, there were 156 games played at club grounds, excluding the Magic Weekend, during the weekly rounds.
Of those, 93 were won by the home team (59.6 per cent) and just 58 by the visitors (37.17 per cent), with five draws (3.2 per cent).
Of course, there's still more than half a season to go and it could all change around, but all this seems to add up to is more evidence that Super League is becoming more of a level playing field – and has done so dramatically since last year.
It is also going to add an extra element of uncertainty and intrigue to the play-offs, when being at home is supposed to be a hard-earned and crucial advantage.
Is it a good thing? Yes and no. Of course, it's excellent for the competition. A vibrant league needs unpredictability of outcome and if Castleford can win at Wigan and Salford can beat Leeds at Headingley, you've certainly got that.
From a neutral's point of view, engage Super League is now more compelling than it has ever been. It's a cliche, but it's true that – with the possible exception of games involving Crusaders – there are no guarantees any more. For the armchair viewer in Plymouth or Aberdeen, it's great stuff.
On the flip side, could this actually damage attendances? After all, how many neutrals are there? Not many, in truth. Most fans have an allegiance and the majority of supporters at most games are following the home team.
Everyone claims they want to see a good game, but this column suspects that most fans would rather see their team win a bad one than lose a classic. Teams rely on home success for their bread and butter.
Castleford Tigers lost 19 of their 27 games last year, but home wins over Leeds and St Helens kept the fans cheerful and the turnstiles clicking, hence a respectable average attendance at the Jungle of 7,501, despite bottom spot in the table.
Success is what brings the supporters in, which is why Bradford Bulls crowds have been tumbling. Bulls' home form this year has been poor, the win over Leeds apart, explaining why only 8,643 turned up for their most recent game at Odsal, against Warrington.
In these difficult economic times, the success of the competition is actually posing more of a challenge, especially to the so-called top clubs.
Teams like Leeds and St Helens are no longer guaranteed success every week, which is great for the corporate sponsors and the TV viewers, but less attractive to the floating fans, who make up such a large proportion of every team's home gate.
It's a paradox. The goal of any competition is close games with unpredictable results. In actual fact, most fans and every club official would be happy if their team won 40-0 every week, particularly at home.
****
The RFL needs to come up with a better way of deciding drawn Challenge Cup ties.
Last Saturday's fifth-round game between Castleford Tigers and Halifax was a thriller, but the Co-op Championship side didn't deserve to lose to a golden point drop goal, 35 seconds into extra-time – effectively on the toss of a coin.
Fax didn't have possession of the ball in extra-time; they kicked off, Cas gathered, drove upfield and Brent Sherwin, pictured left, booted the one-pointer, which ended the tie.
Golden point hands an unfair advantage to the team receiving the ball from the kick-off.
With concerns over the amount of rugby played and an already crowded fixture list, it's understandable why replays have been scrapped.
But surely a full period of extra-time – even if it's only five minutes each way – would be fairer, allowing both teams a few sets with the ball.
The game could then go to golden point after that, if necessary.
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