Wigan Warriors: Kris Radlinski shares his views on the success of wheelchair rugby league as the 2023 fixtures are released

The fixtures for the 2023 Super League season have been released, as the competition looks to build on the success of the World Cup, where England came away as champions.

Radlinski states there must be a lasting legacy from the tournament in order to grow the sport as much as possible.

‘The big message is legacy’

“It caught a few people by surprise,” he said.

“People within the sport knew there was a real hidden gem, and that it needed that platform in the form of the World Cup to showcase it to the world.

“I was watching social media, seeing people telling their others to watch it.

“It just elevated the sport.

“Jon Dutton and his team produced a masterstroke putting all three World Cups together, and it built this package that put the sport in a place where it hasn’t been before.

“The big message is legacy, and if we waste that now then we’ve only got ourselves to blame.

“The coverage on BBC in particular was something we had never had, and now we’ve got to utilise it and reinvest it to take the sport to a place we’ve always wanted it to be.

“It’s not about patting ourselves on the back, we need to roll our sleeves up.

“If things start going well, you don’t rest; you go again.”

Warriors discover their fixtures

Wigan start the 2023 campaign with a home game against Halifax Panthers on March 19.

This fixture could see Adam Rigby and Declan Roberts go head-to-head with England teammates Rob Hawkins and Wayne Boardman.

Meanwhile, they round off the regular season with an away trip to Leeds on September 2.

Here is the full fixture list:

Halifax Panthers (H)- March 19

Leeds Rhinos (H)- April 1

Halifax Panthers (A)- April 15

Hull FC (H)- May 13

Warrington Wolves (H)- May 20

London Roosters (A)- June 3

London Roosters (H)- June 24

Hull FC (A)- July 8

Warrington Wolves (A)- July 29

Leeds Rhinos (A)- September 2

New-look season structure

This year’s campaign has a new-look season structure, which sees the introduction of four new Central Inclusion Rounds, where the LDRL and PDRL formats will also be celebrated.

One of these events coincides with the Super League Magic Weekend in early Newcastle, which takes place in early June.

The other locations are Birmingham, Manchester and London.

These additions make the wheelchair league a ten-round competition.

RFL social and inclusion manager Chris Godfrey said: “CreatedBy funding has provided Clubs and Foundations with vital resources so that they can continue to deliver inclusive Rugby League activities in their wider communities and the Central Inclusion rounds will be a great way to celebrate this.

“We have specifically chosen Birmingham, Manchester, London and Newcastle as our host cities because we believe they’re regions where our inclusive Rugby League offers can thrive, and we’re really looking forward to our first event which will be held in Birmingham on April 15.”

For the third consecutive year, Sky Sports will broadcast the Grand Final, with further details to be confirmed.

Roberts recognised

Elsewhere, last weekend it was revealed Warriors’ Phil Roberts had been named as the 2022 Coach of the Year at the Wheelchair Rugby League Awards.

The player/coach led the club through their first season in Super League.