It’s that time of year again when fans of all twelve Super league clubs descend on one location for a weekend-long festival of rugby league. This year sees the annual festivities move back to what many consider to be its spiritual home in Newcastle, after a year away last year, held at Leeds’ Elland Road Stadium. It’s a divisive concept, for certain, and one that has gone through a fair few different iterations and venues, but with attendance set to hit an all-time high this weekend at St James’ Park, it’s hard to see the Magic Weekend going anywhere anytime soon. But what does the 2025 edition of this yearly tradition have in store, well, that’s what I’m attempting to cover here, as I look at all six fixtures and preview the weekend, enjoy!

Leigh Leopards vs Catalans Dragons

It’s been a storming start to the season for the Leopards, who are sitting pretty in third place at time of writing, trailing only Hull KR and Wigan Warriors in the Super League table. Their opponents for Newcastle have had a much more stuttering start to the 2025 campaign, having registered five wins, and four defeats thus far, leaving them seventh in the table.

A variable that could be in play for both teams is their looming Challenge Cup semi-finals the week after Magic Weekend, with Leigh meeting Warrington, and Catalans meeting league leaders Hull KR the week after for a spot at Wembley, could this lead to one or both teams taking their eye off the ball?

The advent of both teams having a semi-final undoubtedly at the back of their minds makes this one a hard game to call. On one hand, Leigh have made a stronger start, and come into this game on a four-game (including cup games) winning streak, meanwhile Catalans just about survived the challenge of Wakefield las week, and have looked the far shakier team thus far in 2025. The smart money would be on Leigh extending their winning run to five games, but anything could happen here.

Hull KR vs Salford Red Devils

So we come to our first big mismatch of the weekend, as high-flying table-toppers Hull KR take on perennial strugglers Salford Red Devils. Salford’s financial issues are vast and well-known at this point, the team still can’t pick their strongest squad because of a sustainability cap, and since the teams’ last meeting in February (a 42-0 home victory for Hull KR), Salford’s fortunes have only gotten worse.

While it is true that Hull KR have their semi-final the week after against Catalans to worry about and they’re missing their first choice wingers for the second consecutive week, it’s hard to foresee any result other than a Hull KR win, and probably a sizeable one at that. While there will be some sympathies towards Salford, Hull KR still have their points difference to worry about, and so the onus will be on them to run up a high score against much-weaker opposition. Expect Hull KR to rotate a few in and out of the squad, but it’s set to be another long day at the office for the Red Devils.

St Helens vs Leeds Rhinos

To close out day one, we have a clash of the titans (when it comes to Super League-era teams, that is) as St Helens take on Leeds Rhinos. This is the second meeting of these teams this season, but their first in the league, with St Helens defeating Leeds 22-14 in the Challenge Cup in March, the Rhinos will be keen to get the two league points against their fellow hopefuls, especially after their disappointing defeat to Hull KR last weekend.

Saints themselves will be hoping to bounce back from two consecutive losses (to Wigan and Warrington) and put themselves back in the conversation for the top four. Honestly, it’s been a disappointing start for Paul Wellens’ men. Since the season started with the 82-0 drubbing of Salford, their form has been inconsistent to say the least. They sit in fifth currently, but only on virtue of their points difference. A loss here could leave them as low as eighth (depending on results elsewhere), and while the season is still young, it would be easy to understand why Paul Wellens may well be feeling the pressure given the Saints glittering history in the competition.

It’s a close one to call, this game. Probably one of the hardest of the round, but I went with a Leeds win in mine & Ian’s predictions, and I’m sticking with that, although I would be surprised if this game went either way.

Huddersfield Giants vs Hull FC

Luke Robinson has undergone somewhat of a baptism of fire in his first full season in charge of the Huddersfield Giants. He has never been able to name a full-strength side since day one on account of the Giants’ horrendous injury list, and while his team have had the ability to start games well, they invariably drop off in the second half, and currently sit rock bottom with zero wins from their opening nine games.

Hull FC, by contrast, are a team refreshed under the guidance of John Cartwright. After their woeful 2024 season, the Arlie Birds underwent a facelift on and off the pitch, with new owners, new coaching staff, and a raft of new players all coming in to help change their fortunes around, and to much initial success too. The team who only managed to pick up three wins all season last year are currently sitting pretty in fourth place, having already almost doubled their number of wins in the league from 2024.

Like their cross-city rivals, Hull FC have been handed a one-sided game on paper, and similarly, it’s difficult to see anything other than a Hull FC win, but the possibility of this round being a banana peel should be prevalent in the minds of both East Yorkshire clubs. It would be easy to take their eye off the ball because of their opposition, but it’s hard to see either outfit falling into that trap. I can only see a comfortable Hull win here.

Wigan Warriors vs Warrington Wolves

Here it is, the marquee match of the weekend. At least it likely is in the eyes of the powers that be, and yet they chose to put it in the curious position of second-to-last in the day’s running order, when it should have been a shoo-in to close out the weekend. Regardless, these two sides were pre-season favourites to be duking it out at the top of the table, and have already clashed this season, in the competitions debut in Las Vegas, where the Warriors eased past the Wolves. Will it be the same again in Newcastle?

Wigan come into this match on great form, ever since their pair of losses to Hull FC and Leeds Rhinos (in the cup and in the league, respectively) the Warriors haven’t lost, and even brushed aside their closest title challengers (so far) Hull KR in the own backyard. They’ve won four on the bounce, and the rustiness to their game that was evident at the start of the season is starting to get worked out, which should frighten every team in the competition.

The Wolves, by comparison, have had an inconsistency in their form, managing to beat St Helens twice (once in the cup and once in the league), but losing to the likes of Hull FC and Leigh. They’re eighth at the moment, and while you’d expect them to be there or thereabouts at the business end of the season, their form hasn’t come anywhere near the heights of last season.

It’s another close call here, at least on paper. Warrington will be hoping to avenge their Las Vegas loss from earlier this season, but they will have to bring their A game to contend with a Wigan team who are just hitting their stride. I anticipate a Wigan win, but can’t see it being as comprehensive as their earlier Stateside clash.

Castleford Tigers vs Wakefield Trinity

Finally, to close out the weekend, we have the West Yorkshire derby, coming just two weeks after the last one (aren’t the loop fixtures a wonderful thing?). This previous game turned out to be a close one, with just one point to separate the sides when the final whistle blew.

The two teams are side-by-side in the table, with Wakefield looking better off with a four-point gap on their inter-city rivals, but Castleford have added a few new faces to their side in the fortnight since these two sides last met, with Tom Amone beefing up their pack, and Chris Atkins added to their halves. Two players may not be enough to turn around their fortunes, but they will add some much-needed firepower to a flagging Tigers side.

I predicted a Wakefield win earlier this week, and I’m standing by that. I think it will be another close-run game in a weekend that could have a few of those. There won’t be much in it, I don’t think, but a Trinity win seems most likely. Although it seems a strange choice for a show-closing game, I hope the two West Yorkshire sides can pull out a performance worthy of their main event position.

Written by Nathan Major-Kershaw (Site editor & Hull KR fan)