What happened in Super League final round?

Beth Cobden made her first Lightning appearance since last season against Bath

Loughborough Lightning secured a coveted home semi-final as the regular Super League season came to an end.

But has this season been as competitive as predicted at the start of the campaign?

Here is everything you need to know about the final round of the regular season.

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Lightning secure home semi-final ahead of Thunder

Going into the final round of the regular season, Loughborough Lightning and Manchester Thunder knew they would play each other in the semi-final, but who would have home advantage was up for grabs.

Thunder's hopes of a hosting the semi-final at Belle Vue were slim, with the two teams separated by a goal difference of 50 coming into their final matches.

The defending champions' 61-40 win over Strathclyde Sirens was impressive but it was not enough to secure the advantage after Lightning had thrashed Team Bath 82-57.

Lightning head coach Vic Burgess had targeted scoring plenty of goals earlier this season and it paid off with her side also boosted by the return of mid-courter Beth Cobden, who has not featured this season because of injuries.

Elsewhere, London Pulse suffered just their second loss of the season, a 52-46 defeat by Saracens Mavericks.

Pulse had already secured their home semi-final against Surrey Storm but head coach Sam Bird will be disappointed to have finished the regular season with defeat.

Celtic Dragons and Leeds Rhinos played out a tight 59-59 draw, just the second tie of the season.

Was this really the 'most competitive' season?

At the start of the season many predicted 2023 would be the most competitive Super League season to date, but has this campaign lived up to that?

"I do think this is going to be the most competitive Super League season we've seen. Everyone says it every year but I genuinely believe it's true this time," said Thunder captain Natalie Metcalf on the opening weekend in February.

While the season has produced some exciting match-ups, the four semi-finalists established themselves as clear front-runners early in the season and by round 16 all four had confirmed their play-off place without any real outside challenge.

In previous years the fight for top-four has often gone to the wire with Team Bath and Saracens Mavericks usually in the mix but 15 points separate fourth and fifth place this campaign.

While some teams might have come close to taking a top-four scalp, the only side to do so were Mavericks in their final match of the regular season where Camilla Buchanan's side gave a glimpse of their potential against league-leaders Pulse.

However, many of the squads are undergoing periods of transition with new coaches and players.

Severn Stars, who have emerged as a potential future challenger, came agonisingly close to victory over Thunder while Rhinos made the semi-finals in their maiden season but are still developing as a team and head coach Liana Leota said her attention has already turned to next season.

Dragons have shown signs of improvement under new coach Jill McIntosh and Bath will look to bounce back from a difficult season which saw them finish outside the play-off places for the first time since 2015.

While landslide victories have been less frequent with matches within the top four and between teams in the rest of the league more difficult to predict, teams will be looking to next year to further close the gap on the top teams.

World Cup watch: Metcalf's stellar season

Metcalf has 74 England caps since making her debut in 2015

In a period of transition and a wave of England retirements, Thunder mid-courter Natalie Metcalf has become more integral to the Roses squad than ever.

England head coach Jess Thirlby showed her reliance on Metcalf's leadership and quality throughout the Commonwealth Games last year and international matches in the winter, with the wing attack starting almost every match.

The 30-year-old has provided Thunder's shooters with 554 circle feeds in 18 appearances, the highest tally in the league.

She has also played her part at goal attack, a shooting role which she may have to do during the World Cup, and has brought consistency to a Thunder squad who have suffered with injuries.

Since the retirement of Roses captain Serena Kirsten, Metcalf has captained England and while Thirlby is yet to announce who will lead the Roses at the World Cup it is hard to imagine it not being Metcalf.

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