Sunday 15 December 2019 12:15, UK
With the festive season in full swing, we take a look at what all 12 Super League teams might want for Christmas ahead of the 2020 season....
Last season: Fifth, lost in play-off semi-finals.
All they want for Christmas is: Danny Richardson to make his mark. The half-back has been brought in from St Helens following the departure of Luke Gale and Tigers head coach Daryl Powell has high hopes for the new recruit.
Gale played a key role in Castleford winning the 2017 League Leaders' Shield and reaching the Grand Final in the same year, winning Man of Steel in the process, so Richardson has big shoes to fill. However, he was a member of Super League's Dream Team in 2018 and the prospect of him combining with emerging talent Jake Trueman in the halves is an exciting one.
Last season: Seventh.
All they want for Christmas is: A year free from off-field drama. Steve McNamara has done much to improve the culture at Stade Gilbert Brutus since taking over as head coach, but last season's difficulties led to an extraordinary public rebuke of certain Catalans players by chairman Bernard Guasch.
That culminated in Dragons talisman Tony Gigot leaving at the end of the 2019 season and the French side will be eager to put those issues behind them as they bid to secure a place in the play-offs for the first time since 2014.
Last season: 10th.
All they want for Christmas is: Stress relief for Simon Woolford. The Giants head coach cut an exasperated figure at times during the 2019 season as his team alternated between producing some dazzling displays and slumping to some dismal defeats.
That left Huddersfield embroiled in a relegation battle and constant rumours about how secure Woolford's job was. Being able to recruit the Aidan Sezer and James Gavet from the NRL should mean some respite for the 44-year-old though.
Last season: Sixth.
All they want for Christmas is: Improvements in defence. Lee Radford's side only just missed out on making the play-offs in 2019, but - along with cross-city rivals Hull KR - had the second-worst defensive record in Super League after conceding 768 points.
Radford's focus on the forwards in his recruitment for 2020, bringing in NRL trio Tevita Satae, Ligi Sao and Mane Ma'u plus Josh Jones from Salford, should strengthen the team in that regard and help them avoid the type of heavy defeats which proved costly last season.
Last season: 11th.
All they want for Christmas is: For their recruitment drive to pay off. Tony Smith has embarked on a big overhaul of the Rovers squad after they avoided being relegated on points difference, bringing in 20 new faces so far ahead of the 2020 Super League season.
Influential hooker Matt Parcell, on loan last season from Smith's former club Leeds Rhinos, and New Zealand international three-quarter Shaun Kenny-Dowall both have the potential to make a big impact at Rovers next year, but their fortunes may depend on how quickly all of those newcomers settle.
Last season: Eighth.
All they want for Christmas is: To be looking up the table rather than down it. The Rhinos were the dominant force in Super League during the first part of the decade, but three of the past four seasons have seen them battling it out in the lower reaches of the division.
Interim head coach Richard Agar helped steady the ship following the upheaval of David Furner's short-lived reign and eventually guided Leeds to safety in 2019, but the expectation will be for him to have the club back where they believe they belong after earning the job on a full-time basis.
Last season: Third, Grand Final runners-up.
All they want for Christmas is: Someone to fill the void left by Jackson Hastings. The Red Devils bid farewell to several of the players who were key members of their run to the 2019 Grand Final against all expectations, but arguably the biggest loss is that of last season's Man of Steel.
Head coach Ian Watson has recruited shrewdly for 2020, with the experienced Kevin Brown joining as new half-back. But his team-mate Tui Lolohea, one of the unsung heroes of Salford's 2019 campaign, could well emerge as a talisman in his first full season at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Last season: League Leaders' Shield winners, Grand Final winners.
All they want for Christmas is: Kristian Woolf to carry on where Justin Holbrook left off. The new head coach could hardly ask to be coming into a team which is in a better position, with Saints having finished top of the table by a record margin and won the Super League Grand Final in 2019.
Woolf will have pretty much the same squad to work with as his predecessor as well, so the challenge for the 44-year-old is how to keep getting the best out of the team while wanting to implement his own way of doing things.
Last season: Promoted from Championship.
All they want for Christmas is: To show they belong in Super League. The Canadian club have achieved their aim of securing a place in the top flight, now comes the hard part as Brian McDermott's side seek to become an established presence in the division.
The signing of Sonny Bill Williams has expanded the Wolfpack's - and Super League's - profile beyond the rugby league world, but when the season kicks off the focus will be on their results as there are a few naysayers who will have the knives out if Toronto find it tough going.
Last season: Ninth.
All they want for Christmas is: The squad to stay clear of injuries. At times in 2019, it seemed as if the treatment room at the Mobile Rocket Stadium had a revolving door due to the number and variety of ailments which decimated the Wakefield squad and contributed to their post-Magic Weekend slump.
Tom Johnstone, David Fifita, Jacob Miller and Bill Tupou are among the influential players Trinity head coach Chris Chester will welcome back into the fold for the first game of next season against Hull KR, with the hope the injury curse does not strike again in 2020.
Last season: Fourth, lost in elimination final.
All they want for Christmas is: A first Super League title. Steve Price delivered the Wolves their first trophy under his stewardship in the form of the Challenge Cup in 2019, but a late-season collapse and first-round elimination in the play-offs ended their hopes of a return to Old Trafford.
It has become a running joke among fans of other clubs that it is always Warrington's year, but if Price could finally steer them to a maiden Grand Final triumph in 2020 then it would be like Christmas, birthdays and New Year's Eve all rolled into one for the Wire faithful.
Last season: Second, lost in preliminary final.
All they want for Christmas is: A return to the showpiece games. The 2019 season marked the first time in 10 years Wigan had not either won one of the three trophies on offer or been involved in one of the major finals - being pipped to a place in the Grand Final by Salford after finishing second in Super League and going out of the Challenge Cup in the last 16.
Head coach Adrian Lam knows from his playing days that success is demanded at Wigan, not just expected. However, the arrivals of Jackson Hastings and George Burgess should help the Warriors take a step towards closing the gap on rivals St Helens and featuring on the sport's grandest stages again in 2020.
